Sleepless in B’town

Okay…I agree, not as catchy as sleepless in Seattle…but I’m at home in Bloomington and have been sleepless since a little after 3 am.  I laid in bed reading books (yes, books, plural) on my Kindle, with Spook snuggled up next to me.  It sounds sweet and picturesque, doesn’t it?  The truth of it is that Spook was sleeping peacefully, while I was in pain.  But really, how could I move to try to find a more comfortable position when she was zonked out beside me, her head resting on my shoulder?  Huh?  I couldn’t do it, I just couldn’t start tossing and turning and wake her up.  Ah…the things we go through for our pets.

Anyhow, I’ve been reading books on self publishing, publishing e-books on Kindle, and starting a website.  The website seems the least daunting of the three.  Probably because I’ve been blogging for a couple of years and am at least somewhat familiar with making that transition.  But the self-publishing?  Wow!  Seems like there’s a lot involved in that.  And I’ve read some e-books that were obviously self-published…probably without anyone taking the time to edit, or even proofread, them.  I wouldn’t want any book I wrote riddled with mistakes.  I did discover that you can go back in to edit and update your e-book if you use Amazon’s KDP (Kindle direct publishing)…kind of makes me question whether or not these other authors reread their books.  KDP also allows you to run promotions for your book.  A few interesting tidbits there.

Apparently you have to format your manuscript for Kindle too.  Just to give you an idea of how much I don’t know, that’s something that wouldn’t have occurred to me prior to reading these books, although having seen the messes that some authors have published, I should have been aware of that fact.  I have downloaded the free publishing books that Amazon provides, so it seems like I have a lot more reading (and learning) ahead of me before I even attempt to publish one of my books that way.

kindle 003

I have a few (okay, a lot of) questions for you already published authors out there…e-books? Traditional publishing houses?  Self-publishing?  What are your experiences with any or all of these publishing methods?

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11 Responses

  1. I have two self published books out. Kindle is straightforward easy has mass market attractions but has millions of titles available. Try Goodreads forums for guidance for other sites. Printing in paperback and hardback I use Lulu but CreateSpace and others are frequently used.

    Editing is the hardest part, attention to detail and getting proof readers are just part of the process.

  2. It sounds like you got some good advice already. I know some people who’ve self-published, so let me know if anything comes up you might want to ask regarding other eBook formats.

  3. Best thing to do to would be to call a Publisher? I know someone on here who asked the same question a while back and got a lot of links and help. If I remember who it was I will post it here if that is ok..

    Shaun x

  4. I wish I had some advice–I just don’t want to self-pub unless there is no other way.

    • I know what you mean, and yet there are folks who do it and it’s worked for them. There are a lot of published authors in the area where I live (major university town) and many of them have either self published or published with a small publishing house. Oh, I did join my local writer’s guild…so I may come up with some ideas there too.

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