{"id":30796,"date":"2012-09-04T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2012-09-04T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jcdanielsblog.com\/?p=285"},"modified":"2013-01-22T22:12:14","modified_gmt":"2013-01-23T03:12:14","slug":"self-pub-blade-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shilohwalker.com\/website\/2012\/09\/self-pub-blade-song\/","title":{"rendered":"Self pub & BLADE SONG"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve had a lot of people asking me things about what\/how\/why I did things with Blade Song (focusing on the ebook…technically, the print version that’s coming won’t be self published)<\/p>\n

So I’m going to just do a quick run down of the basic process I used.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the first thing I did was write the book. \u00a0Then I had a beta reader read it and see if it sucked it or not and I tried to sell it in traditional markets but nobody was biting.<\/p>\n

Sooooo…since I had it and I wanted to get it out there, I decided to self publish it.<\/p>\n

This isn’t my first self-published book, not by a long-shot, but it\u00a0is<\/em> the first full-length book, it’s the first urban fantasy book I’ve done and it’s really the biggest project I’ve ever taken on.<\/p>\n

Edits<\/h3>\n

The primary editor I worked with is Sara Reinke, although she only takes on projects occasionally. \u00a0Sara is an author, but also has editing experience from Samhain. \u00a0When I talked to her about this project, I asked her if she’d help me…well, I begged. \u00a0She did this out of the kindness of her heart and because I threw myself at her feet over P.F. Changs one day. \u00a0If you want to inquire about her rates, you need to contact her. \u00a0She doesn’t do these often, but she does occasionally take on projects. \u00a0You can reach her via her website.\u00a0http:\/\/sarareinkeauthor.blogspot.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

I also had a secondary line editor, Lorena Streeter.<\/p>\n

The rates she quoted:<\/p>\n

Services and rates effective 7\/1\/12<\/p>\n

A basic editorial read, checking for timeline, continuity, consistency, and glaring errors is 75 cents a page.<\/p>\n

Simple edit: spelling, punctuation, grammar including sentence structure: $1.75 a page.<\/p>\n

Comprehensive edit includes the above, but also includes suggestions for story structure, characterization, plot questions, as well as suggestions for any paragraphs that should be restructured, deleted, moved, and so forth. $2.75 a page.<\/p>\n

Word-use read (spelling errors not caught by spellcheck programs, homonym confusion, word usage errors): 50 cents a page.<\/p>\n

Contact @\u00a0lorenas@cfl.rr.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’ll probably have a third for future books. \u00a0NY pubbed books usually have numerous editors going over them and I still found things I’d missed even after numerous passes by all of us, so maybe a third line editor will help.<\/p>\n

Formatting<\/h3>\n

Now it’s possible to format on your own. \u00a0Nadia Lee<\/a> has a fantastic book on it. \u00a0I used that for several of my books, including the first few Hunters I reissued. \u00a0But, it gives me a massive headache and after a while, my eyes start to cross and my deadlines are getting murderous.<\/p>\n

I asked Jax Cassidy from Romance Divas<\/a>\u00a0for some names on edits and formatting and she passed on several names, including LK Campbell<\/a>. LK has since saved my life, for very little compensation.<\/p>\n

From her site, formatting a book runs roughly:<\/p>\n

Normal fees for basic formatting (based on word count) are as follows:
\nShort Stories Under 10K – $10.00;
\nShort Stories 10K-20K $15.00
\nNovella 20K-45K – $20.00
\nNovel-length 45K-80K $25.00
\nNovel-length 80K-100K – $30.00
\nNovel-length 100K-125K – $35.00
\nFor very long novels $35.00 + $5.00 for each 10K over 125K<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And she can do it in Kindle, Nook & Smashwords formats.<\/p>\n

Covers<\/h3>\n

There’s very little question of who I have do my covers. \u00a0It’s Angela Waters Art<\/a>. \u00a0She’s my go-to person.<\/p>\n

Distribution<\/h3>\n

One question I was asked\u00a0a lot<\/em> was how did I get the book up for pre-order. \u00a0You can sort of thank Sylvia Day<\/a> for that. \u00a0I’d asked her how she had BARED TO YOU up on Net Galley and she mentioned she’d used INscribe<\/a>. \u00a0I wanted BLADE SONG up on Net Galley. \u00a0So I checked on INscribe and I’ll be honest, at first I was leery. \u00a0It handles distribution for you and there’s some upfront fees, yes. \u00a0Some of the forms made my head spin. \u00a0(I don’t do well with forms.) \u00a0But it had two undeniable benefits…getting that book on Net Galley for a fraction of what it would cost me to do it on my own. \u00a0And making the book available for pre-orders. \u00a0They can also get the book available for some of the special deals with Amazon and BN, like the Daily Deals, etc.<\/p>\n

And<\/em>… they can distribute your ebook to\u00a0libraries<\/em>. \u00a0One of their partners is Overdrive. \u00a0They have world wide distribution so your book isn’t just made available to Amazon, BN, etc. \u00a0Ebook partners in countries across the globe will be able to order the book, if you choose.<\/p>\n

A quick run-down from my contact at INscribe:<\/p>\n

INscribe Digital helps…distribute and market effectively. They distribute content to all the biggest retailers, and work with the online merchants to drive sales and suggest promotions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Promo<\/h3>\n

Finally<\/em>, all those years of sending dead roses to bloggers paid off… *Just kidding*<\/p>\n

The first thing I did was set up a huge giveaway. \u00a0I did a rafflecopter giveaway of 50 PDFs back in June, well before the book was due out. \u00a0This suggestion came from Ilona Andrews<\/a>…I was talking to her back in the spring and she suggested a big giveaway.<\/p>\n

I contacted Patricia Briggs<\/a>–I already knew Patty enjoyed my work, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask to for a cover quote. \u00a0She was happy to read it over and so I sent her a copy and hoped for the best. \u00a0Carolyn Crane<\/a>\u00a0was happy to read it as well and…\u00a0yay<\/em>! \u00a0Both of them liked the book.<\/p>\n

I posted a call on my blog to see if anybody might be interested in hosting me for a blog tour. \u00a0Some very awesome people responded, included my die-hard favorite author, Lynn Viehl<\/a>. I had print galleys printed up on LuLu (I hadn’t yet worked out the print deal for the book) and did giveaways on Goodreads. \u00a0Having the book on Net Galley helped a lot.<\/p>\n

Several bloggers read it in advance and were talking it up and no, I didn’t bribe or send them roses. \u00a0Word of mouth is one of the biggest things you can get for a book, but there’s no magical guarantee any book will get that. \u00a0I managed to get a little bit of buzz going on this one, but there’s no rhyme or reason to what works and what doesn’t.<\/p>\n

So…the first full-length self pub project doesn’t look to be a total flop. \u00a0Yes, I’m going ahead with book 2. \u00a0Sara has Night Blade<\/em> and I’ll have it back in a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n

The things that I think helped the most…<\/p>\n

it’s the things that help with my traditionally published stuff.<\/p>\n