Writers On The Move

Ten Reasons Why You Shouldn't Shortchange Self-Publishing

Ten Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Shortchange Self-Publishing

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning
HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers

I have been Sinatra’s proverbial “prince, pauper” and a number of other things when it comes to publishing—meaning that I have tried publishing every almost every way imaginable and am here to tell you there is no one right way to do it. It can depend on your personality (are you super independent?), your pocketbook, the nature of your title, the time window you have and more. Because the term self-publishing is so often misunderstood, it is important to tell you what true self-publishing is and is not.

1. It is frugal—or not—depending on the choices you make. It is flexible. You do everything yourself which is very frugal—very nearly free—with everything but you time. Or you hire the skills you know you should (like book cover design) and some skills you don’t want to take on (perhaps like formatting) when your pocketbook allows. And when you chose to ignore those guidelines for skills everyone adamantly recommends you avoid because you are too frugal or just plain stubborn (like editing), you tackle learning as much about it as you possibly can with the vengeance of becoming a professional and plan on doing double duty when it comes to getting help from beta readers as suggested in my The Frugal Editor.

2. As suggested above (but bears repeating), you can publish with no upfront costs.

3. You make all the net profit from your book. If you don’t, then it’s not really self-publishing. In fact it may be an indicator that it is vanity publishing which carries problems of its own. (By the way, I don’t like the “vanity” term because it negates the value of creativity of any book.)

4. That you can’t use your own ISBN number is a myth. You must pay for your ISBN if you want one that carries no hidden code for a press that isn’t your own, but they can come free with some like Amazon and others like the dreaded vanity presses you have probably heard about. Most readers won’t know the difference.

5. You keep all the rights to your work and, yes, though it isn’t easy, you can change your mind later.

6. You make all the net profit from your book. If you don’t, then it’s not really self-publishing.

7. You can (but won’t always!) publish more quickly. There are some very good reasons to want to do this. Your book’s topic may be time sensitive. You are aware that you may not live forever. You may simply have other stories (or books) waiting for their own time in the sun.

8. You make all the profit net profit from your book. If you don’t, then it’s not really self-publishing. A better net profit is about making earnings for your efforts, but they also give you more room to play with like offering your book at a discount at book fairs and still make a profit for yourself (albeit a smaller one).

9. Make no mistake, the likelihood of your self-published book of becoming a true bestseller or of seeing it on the shelves of bookstores everywhere is far less than if you snag a huge (read that “Big New York Five” as an example) contract. But if you’re publishing only to get huge sales (or profits), it is a long shot in cany case. Publish—traditionally, self, or somewhere in between—for other good reasons. There are plenty great reasons for each scenario.

10. If you have another business, you can self-publish a book that will impart your professional credibility to your customers and attract new ones. (To say nothing of producing a little extra income stream).

Note: Your book may lead to other creative income streams like audio books, CDs, toys, and suggest other free promotions for the good of your book or other pursuits.

More About the Author

Carolyn Howard-Johnson started what she considers her “real writing” career when most are thinking of retiring. She brings her experience as publicist, journalist, marketer, editor, retailer, and the author of those books published almost every way possible including traditionally, to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program including a class on editing for self-publishers. The books in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers have won multiple awards. That series includes The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor which won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award. Her self-published How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically launched to rave reviews from Karen Cioffi, writer and publisher.

Karen says, “I’m an author, content writer, and online marketing instructor. Reading Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s The Frugal Editor has given me lots and lots of tips and reminders on how to write right, whether I’m writing fiction, nonfiction, blogging, or marketing. It’s a writing tool I’ll refer to over and over again.”

Howard-Johnson is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community’s Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list of “Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen” and was given her community’s Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts.

The Two Elements of Point of View

By Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer

As the title states, there are two elements to point of view (POV).

1. The first element is who’s telling the story.

From whose viewpoint is the story being related to the reader? Or whose story is it?

With this part of POV, you’re choosing the character who is telling the story.With young children’s books, there should be only one POV: that of the protagonist.

When you’re writing in one character’s POV, it’s essential that you don’t accidentally fall into head-hopping.

Head-hopping suddenly brings another character’s POV into the story within the same scene. It may be the same paragraph or the same chapter.

There’s no lead-in to the POV change, which makes it jarring to the reader. It can cause the reader to pause, making him read the passage a few times to get it straight.

It may seem that sticking to one POV is an easy thing, but it’s actually a very easy slip to make. You can slip into another character’s POV without even realizing it.

An example:

Jason is the POV character. Ralph is his best friend.

Jason couldn’t wait to tell Ralph his good news. He grabbed Ralph by the arm and spun him around.

“Hey,” Ralph yelled. His immediate thought was to have his fist ready.

This sentence brings Ralph’s POV into the scene as his thoughts are being made known to the reader.

To eliminate it:
Jason couldn’t wait to tell Ralph his good news. He grabbed Ralph by the arm and spun him around.

“Hey,” Ralph yelled, his fist ready to fly.

With this little change, you’re keeping the essence of the scene while also keeping it in Jason’s (the POV character) POV.

Another example.
Jason couldn’t stop thinking of the girl he and Ralph met earlier. And neither could Ralph.

When you slip into another character’s internal thoughts, you’re head-hopping.

See how easy it is to do this-just four little words.

A simple fix:
Jason couldn’t stop thinking of the girl he and Ralph met earlier. He knew Ralph couldn’t either.

According to Jerry Jenkins, “I avoid that [head-hopping] by imagining my Point of View or Perspective Character as my camera—I’m limited to writing only what my character “camera” sees, hears, and knows.”

2. The second element is whether the story is told in first, second, or third person.

The second element establishes how the story is told. In other words, is it told in first person, second person, or third person limited?

This is a powerful element of storytelling.

A quick overview:

First-person pronouns: me, I, mine, and my.

The protagonist is telling his story. He’s the narrator.

Examples of this POV are:
–Angry Ninja by Mary Nhin
–Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor
–The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

Second-person pronouns: you, your, and yours.

The protagonist is the narrator and talks directly to the reader.

Examples of this POV are:
–How to Babysit a Grandpa by Jean Reagan
-Train Your Angry Dragon By Steve Herman
–The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone

Third-person limited pronouns: he, she, they, it.

A narrator is telling the story through the protagonist’s perspective in the case of young children’s books.

The narrator is inside the protagonist’s thoughts, senses, and feelings.

According to MasterClass, it ”can give readers a deeper experience of character and scene, and is the most common way to use point of view.”

Examples of this POV:
–Walking Through Walls by Karen Cioffi
–The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
–The Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

I hope this helps you get a better handle on point of view.

This article was first published at: https://karencioffiwritingforchildren.com/2021/07/11/writing-and-point-of-view-2-must-know-elements/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, ghostwriter, editor, rewriter, and coach with clients worldwide. If you need help with your story, click HERE.

Karen also provides:

FICTION WRITING FOR CHILDREN COURSE
A guided self-study course and mentoring program.

HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN'S FICTION BOOK
A DIY book to help you write your own children’s book.

WRITERS ON THE MOVE PRESS
Self-publishing help for children’s authors.

Give Local Book Sales a Try

We even had a table at my very first Comic Con!

By Linda Wilson @LinWilsonauthor

A group of fellow children’s authors and I have formed a loosely-knit group of book sellers extraordinaire in our hometown, Albuquerque, New Mexico. We keep each other informed of upcoming sales and fairs by having our names on the lists of local events. One person fills out the application, and if accepted, those who want to participate share the cost of the booth or table(s). When possible, we carpool to the events.

The events include retirement communities’ arts & crafts fairs, church fairs, and high school and college fairs. Other participants at these events are vendors selling their hand-crafted wares, such as jewelry, hand-sewn and crocheted items, canned goods, and about any other hand-crafted item you can think of. Aside from being fun, especially around the holidays when sales are at their peak, a lot of effort goes into participating. Ideas gathered from my own background as an elementary teacher and grade school volunteer, and the many clever displays by vendors I’ve observed, I’ve come up with “The List” of items I need to make sales. I hope these ideas will help you avoid some of the pitfalls I first fell into before I became an experienced book seller entrepreneur.

The List

Set-Up

After applying and being accepted to an event, check the rules to see if tables, chairs, and tablecloths are provided. Also, for outdoor sales some organizers offer canopies. There are also rules about where you can park to unload, and where to move your car when done. If you need your own tables and chairs, I recommend purchasing portable folding tables with handles. I own two 8’ tables which turn out to be necessary for most sales, and a folding chair. We usually are able to rent a 10 x 10’ space.
A collapsible folding utility wagon cart can help cut down on the number of trips you need to make for setting up your supplies.
Rectangular black tablecloths show off your wares in style. A spiffy table scarf shows off the theme of your books and/or the season. Since we live in New Mexico, we use Southwest scarves, or scarves for the season.
Often, depending on the number of authors sharing the space, room on and around the tables is limited. So, any seasonal decorations need to fit. Around holiday time I’ve draped a Santa hat on my book display, or have decorated with a sprig of holly, etc. Bright colors are a good idea for attracting potential customers to your table.
A canopy for outdoor sales is a good idea. I purchased a blue Crown Shades 10x10 pop up canopy and have been pleased with it. US Weight Tailgater Canopy Weights helped keep our canopy from harm at one outdoor sale that was extremely windy.

Display

Many different types of display stands are available on Amazon. I chose one (pictured below) that would allow customers to see the books at eye level so that they could browse more easily than if the books were simply stacked on the table.
Two-three 8 x 10” picture frames make a professional appearance for displaying special certificates your books may have been awarded, your price list neatly typed and easy to read, and also a photo or two of the characters in your books.
A banner, which can be created and purchased from local graphics shops or from a company such as VistaPrint, is a terrific way to draw people to your table.
Also, large posters of the front covers of your books can be made at Staples and displayed on stands near your table. Floor stand-up signs are a terrific way to advertise yourself and your books. A lack of space would be the only thing that would prohibit this type of advertising, but floor stand-ups are very effective.

Mobile Payments

Be ready for sales made with good old-fashioned cash by going to the bank and having plenty of change. Square is a popular way to collect payments, or Square’s many other competitors.
Purchase a receipt booklet for customers who want a written receipt.
Purchase bags, found inexpensively on Amazon, which are appreciated by customers for your books and their other purchases.
Keep a supply of pens.

Incidentals

Every sale is different, and often you won’t know what to expect about what your space is like until you actually arrive. You will be glad you kept a supply of incidentals, which include:

Hanging your banner: Often you pin your banner to the tablecloth at the front of your table. Sometimes you can hang it behind you if there is a wall or open space. Large safety pins for pinning your banner on your tablecloth through rivets on four corners of the banner

Scissors
Scotch tape and stronger tape, bungee cords and plastic ties, and a step ladder for hanging your banner behind your table
Various size clips

Other incidentals

Sharpie markers
A table-size white board for various notes, and dry-erase pens
A phone charge
Don’t forget your lunch, snacks, and water!

Last but Not Least: Ideas to spruce up your sales

Before each sale, I go through everything and to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything, and pack it in the easiest way possible. I take plenty of books. Extras that aren’t used for display are kept underneath the table.
I make sure I’ve put stickers from awards my books have won on each book.
I have purchased bright colored fabric bags and tissue paper for people who buy my books in bundles of four or five books. This idea has worked beautifully. Customers seem happy to have the fabric bag in addition to the books. The bright color bags are attractive displayed on the table as well. Selling books by the bundle has been a terrific sales approach.
I have also purchased bags for people who buy one or two books.
I have purchased, and in one case created, small swag gifts to go with each of my books. Here’s the breakdown:

A Packrat’s Holiday: Thistletoe’s Gift: A small owl, which is a character in the book.

Cradle in the Wild: I found a craft idea for making a bird’s nest online, which is the subject of this book purchased the materials, which include Spanish moss for the nest, small pom pom balls and wiggle eyes to look like birds, and packed the materials in zip-lock bags to hand out to customers who buy this book.

Secret in the Stars: An Abi Wunder Mystery: A pen with a fluffy, fuzzy top, to encourage writing in a diary.

Tall Boots: a four-leaf clover to signify 4-H. 4-H has endorsed this book. Membership in 4-H is encouraged.

Waddles the Duck: Hey, Wait for Me!: A small rubber duck.

Swag giveaways, such as bookmarks and flyers are always a good idea to keep handy for customers to take with them who aren’t ready to buy but want to stay in touch with you. Now, off you go on making local sales! What I enjoy most by making local book sales is reaching out to my local community and meeting my readers. This approach has been very rewarding for me in my quest to write articles and stories for children. I hope you will find your own reward in this approach, too.

Our book display stand
under our canopy at an
outdoor book sale

Linda Wilson is the author of the Abi Wunder Mystery series and other books for children. Her two new releases are Waddles the Duck: Hey, Wait for Me! (2022) and Cradle in the Wild: A Book for Nature Lovers Everywhere (2023). You’ll find Linda on her Amazon author page, on her website at LindaWilsonAuthor.com, and on Facebook.

Click the links for free coloring pages and a puppet show starring Thistletoe Q. Packrat. While you’re there, get all the latest news by signing up for Linda’s newsletter. Connect with Linda: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

In the Spotlight: An Interview with Author Simon Rose

by Suzanne Lieurance

It’s always fun (and helpful) to learn how other writers work, so I like to interview a different author each month.

This month, the spotlight is on prolific author Simon Rose. He has several other roles, too, which you'll soon find out about.

I’ve known Simon for many years, but we hadn’t stayed in touch lately, so it was nice catching up with him.

Author Simon Rose

Suzanne Lieurance: Tell us about yourself as a writer, author, speaker, coach, and consultant. What kinds of things do you write? Who do you coach? What kind of consulting do you do? Tell us about your books.

Simon Rose: I’m originally from the UK but am now based in Calgary in Western Canada. I’m the author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children and young adults. I’m also the author of several guides for writers, including The Time Traveler’s Guide, The Children’s Writer’s Guide, Where Do Ideas Come From?, and many non-fiction books.

My novels are all in the science fiction and fantasy genre. The Sorcerer’s Letterbox and The Heretic’s Tomb are historical fiction adventures set in medieval England, The Alchemist’s Portrait is a time travel story, The Emerald Curse is all about superheroes and comic books, The Doomsday Mask is all about the legend of Atlantis, and The Sphere of Septimus involves the characters traveling into another world and is in the same vein as the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia, or Lord of the Rings. Future Imperfect is a technology-driven story featuring mysterious messages from the future, and Flashback, Twisted Fate, and Parallel Destiny are in the paranormal genre. The Shadowzone series is a science fiction adventure set in a dark parallel version of Earth. The Stone of the Seerseries is a young adult historical fantasy series set during the English Civil War in the seventeenth century.

The Stone of the Seer Series

I’m an instructor of writing courses for adults with the University of Calgary and also offer a number of services for writers, including coaching, editing, consulting, and writing workshops, as well as copywriting services for the business community. I work as a coach and consultant with writers in many different genres. This has involved both substantive, developmental, and copy editing of completed novels, but I also work as a coach for writers with works in progress. You can learn more about some of the projects I’ve worked on that have subsequently been published here on my website. You can also see some of the references and recommendations from other clients that I’ve worked with.

I've just wrapped up work on a study guide for a fellow author's historical fiction novel, set in World War I and World War II. You can learn more about my various coaching, editing, and consulting services, for all age groups and genres, on my website, as well as my services for business writing projects.

SL: How did you get started as a writer?

SR: When my children were small, I started reading children’s books again for the first time in many years. Some of the books were wonderful and I wished that I could write something similar. However, some of the books were very poor and I was surprised that they’d ever been published. This made me wonder if I could write stories of my own. I started thinking that I should write fairy tales and picture books for younger children but after reading the first three Harry Potter novels, I realized that I wanted to write for the age group that those books are aimed at. I wasn’t interested in writing about the same things, such as magic, wizards, and imaginary creatures, and instead focused on themes that I was interested in, such as science fiction, fantasy, time travel, history, comic books, ancient mysteries and civilizations, superheroes, other dimensions, and the paranormal. I began submitting to publishers and the first novel came out in 2003, followed by another seven with the same publisher. I’ve since worked with several other publishers, both for fiction and nonfiction, and published my own books as well.

SL: Do you also offer courses (either online or in person) about writing? If so, tell us about those.

SR: I offer coaching, editing, consulting, and mentoring services for writers of novels, short stories, fiction, nonfiction, biographies, and in many other genres, plus work with writers of scripts and screenplays.

I’m also a writing instructor and mentor at the University of Calgary and have some courses coming up in the fall, including Writing for Children and Youth. My own online courses, including Writing Historical Fiction and Writing for Children and Young Adults, are also always available.

SL: Many children’s authors would like to offer school visits and get paid for them. Do you have any tips about this?

SR: I offer presentations, readings, author in residence programs, and conduct workshops for children at schools and libraries, including virtual author visits. An author visit can be highly inspirational, inviting children to unlock their own creative potential, and encourage them in their own writing. Younger students especially are almost always thrilled to meet a published author, particularly if they've read their books. It has been more challenging to connect with schools in recent years, so I try to offer more value with a variety of sessions that also help me to stand out from the crowd. I offer presentations covering such topics as where ideas come from, story structure, editing and revision, character development, time travel stories, history and research, plus many other aspects of writing and publishing.

SL: What do you enjoy most about being a writer, coach, etc.?

SR: In addition to the writing and seeing my ideas come to life, I enjoy meeting my readers at schools, young writers’ conferences, or at events, and also working with other authors, no matter what the genre. I also like to meet other authors at events and conferences, exchanging ideas and experiences.

SL: What does a typical writing day look like for you? Are you working on a new book? What is your most recent book?

SR: I’m not sure if I have a typical writing day these days. At the moment, I’m working on my current projects with the novel series and the screenplay, planning marketing and promotional campaigns for the coming months, teaching online course, and working with a few other writers on their projects.

I’m working on another historical fantasy novel series, this time set in the early years of World War II, that I’m hoping to publish next year. I’ve recently completed another story that takes place in the later stages of World War II and am putting the finishing touches to that one as well, potentially for publication the following year. Yet another series is currently in development in the same paranormal genre as my previously published Flashback series, which you can learn more about on my website.

I’ve also been working on the script for a film project and continue to work on the adaptations of my Shadow zone series into screenplays for movies and TV shows. You can learn more about my work writing screenplays for clients and creating adaptations of my own work on my website.

My most recently published books were those in The Stone of the Seer young adult historical fantasy series, featuring The Stone of the Seer, Royal Blood, and Revenge of the Witchfinder. The exciting story is mostly set in the mid-seventeenth century during the English Civil War. In The Stone of the Seer, Lady Elizabeth Usborne, Kate, and Tom encounter a magical stone, mysterious parchments and manuscripts, and an incredible time viewing device. In Royal Blood, Lady Elizabeth, Kate, and Tom are in London, witnessing the political turmoil at the time of the Civil War, including the king’s trial and execution. Revenge of the Witchfinder takes place in multiple time periods. The story features weird dreams, disturbing visions, parallel lives, and a bewildering identity crisis, as the lead characters discover to their horror that not even the passage of centuries can prevent a bloodthirsty witchfinder from the 1640s from seeking his deadly revenge.

SL: How much marketing for your books, writing services, coaching, etc. do you do? Do you have any tips for other writers?

SR: It’s very important not to forget about the marketing. You may produce the greatest book ever written. However, no one else is going to see it if your book doesn’t become known to potential readers. Be visible as an author. Do as many readings, signings, and personal appearances as you can. Get your name out there and hopefully the rest will follow. Especially for newly published authors, books don’t sell themselves and need a lot of help.

I do as much marketing as I can on social media on places such as Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, my blog, and elsewhere online. I also recently exchanged space on my blog with some other authors, something that I’ve done before, in which we posted interviews about each other’s books, which hopefully generated some traffic for each of us again.

SL: What is the most challenging part of the writer’s life for you?

SR: Writing is in some ways the easy part. It can be a very long process not only to write a book, but also to get it published. A book is a marathon measured in years rather than weeks or months. Don’t be afraid to revise and revise over and over again. Most authors go through many revisions before their work reaches its final format. Remember too that your book will never be to everyone’s taste, so don’t be discouraged. A firm belief in your own success is often what’s necessary. After all, if you don’t believe in your book, how can you expect other people to?

SL: What is your best tip for anyone who wants to write for children?

SR: Read as much as you can and write as often as you can. Keep an ideas file, even if it’s only a name, title, sentence, or an entire outline for a novel. You never know when you might get another piece of the puzzle, perhaps years later.

Ideas come from anywhere and everywhere really. Books, movies, TV, online research, out walking the dog, dreams, an overheard conversation, friends and family, history, mythology, and so many other sources. I have a few ideas that may never come to anything, but I still keep them anyway. It’s always a good plan to save them because you never know if, or when, an idea might fit into a story. My first four novels were all based on very early story ideas and were the first books to be published. However, later ones such as The Sphere of Septimus, or the Shadowzone series were also very early ideas. They just took longer to develop as novels. Flashback was also one of my earliest ideas but again it took a while for me to develop the initial story, and consequently the rest of the series. Even if the ideas don’t work right away, they might in the future, and you just never know when you’ll get another piece of the puzzle.

Many new authors decide not to listen to advice regarding their story and suggestions related to how it might be improved or how to fix problems in the plot, believing that they know best. You don’t have to make those changes if you don’t agree with them, but as an author you at least need to consider them. Some new authors, especially those that self-publish their books, also often don’t do enough editing and checking of their work before they make their book available to readers and this should be one of the most important aspects of the process, no matter how a book is published.

In many ways writers need to write what they know. This might sound a little odd because no one actually knows how to travel in time, attend a wizard school, visit other dimensions, have superpowers, or go to the edge of the universe, at least as far as we know anyway. But what this term actually means is that it’s much easier to write about what you know or about what you’re interested in. You’ll have far more ideas about your own favorite topics, and you’ll also decide exactly what you want to write about and not just try to do the same as everyone else or follow a hot new trend, whether it’s teenage wizards, vampires, zombies, or something else. If you write about unfamiliar topics, you’ll have to do more research for a story or perhaps plan out the story a lot more, rather than letting the ideas from your imagination flow into the computer or onto the paper as the story keeps coming to you. Writing about things that you’re not passionate about will seem much more like work when writing is supposed to be fun. Write about what you know and love and it’s going to be a much more enjoyable experience.

SL: Where can readers learn more about you and your writing and various services?

SR: You can learn more about me, my books, and my various services for writers on my website at www.simon-rose.com or elsewhere online.

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