How to get published- novel writing?

What you think is the impressive part of any novel? Yes, the beginning of any novel! Those first lines are very important. They should be effectual and influence the reader so that reader continues to read. This could be the first step towards writing a successful novel and getting it published. Beginning of the story is very crucial for new writers and the writers who are trying to establish themselves.

Novel writing is a writing of an imagination on the pages. It requires creativity and thoughts that comes out of a person’s mind. For more original work, a writer requires patience and perseverance. The crucial factor that is required to write a novel is passion and love for your work. Every time a writer comes to a blank spot in his or her mind, it is the passion to write that will help in achieving a goal or completing a novel.

When you decide to write a novel, you need to do a lot of research depending on the type of subject you are handling. You need to meet people who are professional in their respective fields and make connections, lay out an outline, etc. It is not a work of one or two days. It requires proper planning. When you are in a process of writing a novel, it should come from your heart because you love writing. Money and fame are the things which come after you successfully complete your novel, and publish it.

Writing a novel requires self determination. There are no superiors to supervise you or force you to complete. It is completely done by self motivation. It is a work of art and genuine desire. It does not have any definite pattern. Whether your style of writing is successful or not is determined only after the novel gets published. When you complete the novel, publishing is the next big step you need to conquer. The publisher goes through your work and decides to publish it only if the publisher finds the work worthy. There are some things you can do to get your novel published.

Checking for the published novels:

You better be very precise and good at your work. The manuscript you are sending should be good and polished. You must recheck your work, and be sure that everything is complete and good.

Technicalities To Follow:

·         The manuscript should be without any spelling mistakes, it is not forgivable. You must also run grammar check to be on safer side.

·         You must check the characters role, locations, and names; and be sure of its consistency in the novel.

·         The manuscript should be in right order.

Words

·         The words that you use in the novel are very crucial. It should be clear and understood by readers.

·         The text should be simple, not too long, and not very complicated too. Make sure the language is simple to understand yet influencing.

·         Try to make sentences short, and do not use more than one comma.

·         Try to use adjectives and adverbs smartly and where ever necessary.

Actors:

·         Prioritize the actors in your novel. Remove the actors that are not necessary and making the story very long or slow.

·         Try to avoid actors that are similar or make it into one character.

·         Make sure the central character of novel is strong one.

·         If you bring the main character more near a real person, it can happen that the reader will try to identify it with her or himself.

·         You must not fall in love with any one character of your novel.

·         A strong hero with a strong rival is always interesting.

Approach

·         You must use your writing to show every scene in your novel to reader and not tell things.

·         Along with original work, you need to make it little colorful. It should not be overly simple. The reader wants something that brings grin or smile on face.

Above are few things you can do with your novel in order to get it published. A true and perfect work will never go unnoticed. According to the type of novel, you must give it simplicity and excitements. If you are working on fiction, you must have interesting plots that will engross your reader and your publisher. The most important thing is faith in oneself. You must trust what you are creating and you will definitely achieve success.

©2012-2013 Claretta Taylor Pam, Innovative Publishers Media Group & Innovative Publishers. All Rights Reserved

How to be your own literary agent?

Today, a large number of writers are emerging in the literature world. Mostly, new budding writers are coming with new ideas. As soon as the writing work is complete and final manuscript is ready, the most difficult challenge for a writer is to find a literary agent to get the book published. When you search for agents and look at the work of the book proposals, you will find that most of them are rejected and the reason is failure to follow the guidelines for publishing.

It is very difficult to get your book published, if you are trying to be your own literary agent. There are publishers who are not interested in your manuscript if it is not through an agent. They follow the policy very strictly, and your work can be sent back unopened if it is not through an agent. For that, you will have to make a very thorough search in publishing market without help of any agent. There is a consulting Writer's Market which helps find publishers who will take your manuscript. Your work must be fine and perfect in order to get your work published without any help of agent.

There are many minute things that you need to look for (which agent takes care of), before you send your work to a publisher. There should be query letter and outline of manuscript attached with your original manuscript. The letter should be professionally written and the manuscript should be edited and polished perfectly. In old ages, the writers used to do all these themselves, but modern authors look for a literary agent who can give them crucial direction for getting their books published. They require a person who will get the book published and help them for long writing career ahead.

There are many technicalities involved which you have to carry out with your publisher, if you your own literary agent. When the publisher shows interest in your book, the most intricate task is negotiation. You need to talk with your publisher to get a good advance and good percentage in royalty. You can search for some good information online and from well wishers about how to negotiate smartly. You need to do a lot of homework before you approach your publisher. You can even find your other writers who have published their work through your publisher and what advance they have received. You can find out about royalty percentages and advances and accordingly prepare yourself to negotiate with your publisher. With this piece of knowledge, you can give assertive argument if you are being paid less.

Today not only publisher, but finding a good literary agent has become difficult. Even the literary agent goes through your work and then decides depending on how promising you are. This makes the literary agent well established in market with delivering good stuff and writers. Therefore, their job is also very difficult. It is the duty of a literary agent to respond correctly at the requirements of their writers.

Written contracts are the most fearful and complex work involved. The writers seek for literary agents due to this overwhelming process. With all the negotiations of royalty, creating a contract is a maddening process. If you have decided to be your own literary agent, you will have to gain full knowledge about all these formalities. You need to study thoroughly in this subject matter. Just signing away the contract blindly can be risky. There are American rights and overseas rights, and they are different from each other. You might get different payments for these rights. But these are important to make your work international. You can submit a manuscript to different publisher to get your book overseas. There are reversion rights and negotiations involved in it. You need to have good knowledge about these things.

Marketing is very important to get your book known. Only writing a good book and getting it published is not enough at all. You need to make the book known among the readers. Today, writers themselves do the marketing. As you are your own literary agent, you will have to think about the marketing strategy to get your book noticed. You can create websites and highlight your work, get good reviews, write blogs on your work, you can even add some personal information about the journey in writing the book to attract your readers.

©2012-2013 Claretta Taylor Pam, Innovative Publishers Media Group & Innovative Publishers. All Rights Reserved

Self publishing with CreateSpace

Do you want to self-publish and distribute your books? Definitely, self publishing is the most alluring endeavor for every author. However, many authors just fail in their quests. There may be numerous reasons for their failure but choosing a correct platform for self publishing is one of the most essential aspects.

CreateSpace is one of the renowned companies that will help you out in your quest. Being a member of the Amazon group of companies, CreateSpace offers one of the most economical, easiest and fastest ways to get millions of potential customers. CreateSpace supports Media formats including Amazon MP3s, books, CDs, DVDs, video downloads, etc.

Do you know that you need not to make an up-front investment in inventory with the CreateSpace? This is so as CreateSpace features manufacturing-on-demand model. Therefore, your products will be produced as customers order. In addition, CreateSpace ensures the order fulfillment along with customer service. Thus, you can easily focus on promoting your titles.

Benefits of Choosing CreateSpace As Your Publishing Partner

•                    No title set-up or membership fees.

•                    A non-exclusive agreement – It helps keep your future distribution and publishing options open.

•                    Opportunity to be a part of the growing community of passionate musicians, authors and filmmakers sharing tips and resources for success.

•                    Flexible royalty model – Get royalties on the basis of the list price you set.

•                    Free CreateSpace UPC or ISBN if you do not have one yet.

•                    Topnotch Support: Get committed support from the CreateSpace team of experts all through the publishing process

•                    Broad Distribution: Opportunity to make your book available for ‘n’ numbers of wholesale outlets and retail across the U.S.

•                    Affordable Publishing Options: Select from a complete range of marketing, book design, and editing services that suit your budget and needs.

•                    Low Member Book Pricing: Get low prices, when you order copies of your own book

Numerous self-publishers are choosing CreateSpace over all the other options available on the virtual world. With this online publishing platform, you can publish your work easily and within a short time span too. However, it also needs you to be internet-savvy to avoid the technical issues. If you want to avoid confusions, then here are some tips to make the process easy -

Edit your work before uploading- Editing is the most essential aspect of publishing your book. Many times, some misspelled or misused words remain unnoticed. It is better to get someone to do this job for you. If not, then forget about your work for a week or so and then edit the content. What it means is to read it with a fresh mind and you will notice errors quickly. Print your work on a paper and read it loudly to spot the flaws, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. After making the necessary changes, correct the electronic copy too. Now, it is ready for uploading. 

Get the file into an upload-ready format- CreateSpace needs particular formats for uploading a book to the system. You can do the conversion of Word documents to portable document format with free programs. However, you can hire the services of book-making professionals to ease your task of file conversion.

Good cover design- Definitely; you are a good writer with great creativity. But let your creativity be with words only. Never take the risk of creating your own cover design. Some writers do have the artistic talent, they can try it. But it is always a smart decision to have some professional aid to create cover page. Besides the texts and images, file formatting can be another important aspect of rejections. You can avoid all this stress, by hiring the professionals do the things. Keep in mind that budget will not be much of a problem as you can seek for those providers offering high quality services for less.

All in all, CreateSpace is comparatively easy to use. Many authors like this self publishing platform due to its multiple benefits. CreateSpace is a user-friendly option to ease your quest. Today, self-publishing has caught the interest of aspiring authors. You can join this trend easily with CreateSpace to get the job done.

©2012-2013 Claretta Taylor Pam, Innovative Publishers Media Group & Innovative Publishers. All Rights Reserved

Best writing software- should I go for it?

Today being a writer or writing does not mean that you just need a notebook and pen.  In recent era, numerous writing software programs are available which are amazingly helpful for writing. Now, you do not need to have lots of papers, pens and scraps lying around. Today, there are collaborative documents, which help you share your work with others. You need a good feedback on your work. So now you can share your work with multiple people and get feedback instantly, along with the original work intact with you.

Journal is one such writing, which is multitasking and appears to be a boon for a writer. The name is very simple but it has amazing functionalities. You can store huge amount of functions in the Journal. You can make your personal notes, your research and you can create many other files. All the information you need about your writing will be in one place. This helps to increase your productivity and you are saved from searching your work every time you need.

If you are working on two completely different subjects for the same project, you can create two different files in single software. You can click ‘open the subjects’ you require at the same time. It is less fussy and very comfortable to work with.

There are many other writing software programs available in the market. Most commonly, they have same configurations, with one or two aspects more or less. There are writing software created for technical writing, content writing, even novel writing software are available. A novel writer can create each character differently, write about it independently and then combine the files at the end. All the written work remains in one place orderly. Now, the novel is also published on internet along with its hard copy. Therefore, there are software present which can do scriptwriting, and formatting for publication on internet.

There are many interesting programs available in the software, which will help you to arrange your ideas and story by a series of questions. Now, you can do endless creative writing such as stories, plots, poetry, and screenplay and store it in same place. There is no mess or risk of losing the document. The creative writing and novel writing software are very useful for the writers to organize themselves without any stress. But when it comes to writing, only the writer can do that with his or her imagination and skills.

Now, when you go into the market looking for novel writing software, you must look out for few things:

·         A best novel writing software must consist of templates which are used for creating plots, creating characters, their personalities, settings, sub plots, etc. All these facilities you must get in one place.

·         The creation of the characters and outline must be flexible enough and it must be easy for writer to make changes in the characters or story line. Everything must happen very easily.

·         There are very useful templates in the software which are useful for character development. The templates have some character defining options. There are programs fed into the software which can help you to get a good name for your character.

·         Very important aspect of the writing software is very sensitive grammar and spell check software. You must check for it.

·         You must look for features that will help to cultivate your settings, plots, characters, etc.

·         The software must be user friendly and easy to navigate. It should not be complicated as it will take days to understand the software.

·         The software must be such that you can yourself get the settings and install it on your computer.

·         The instructions regarding the software must be clear and detailed. The manual must be there to resolve issues in case of any confusion, and customer services must be available at all times.

You can do all this research in the market and over the internet. You will get options for the best novel writing software and you will also get information about the free novel writing software which you can use for some time limit. The best ones are the ones who can be useful to you in all the aspects while writing. The writing software are very useful in organizing your work, it is up to writer, to use it to his or her advantage.

©2012-2013 Claretta Taylor Pam, Innovative Publishers Media Group & Innovative Publishers. All Rights Reserved

Self publishing made easy with Barnes and Noble

Are you a starved author looking to cut out the middle men to maximize the earnings from the sale of your book? Well, many writers want to jump in self-publishing venture. If you want to publish the book on your own, then Barnes and Noble can be the right self-publishing partner for you.

In today’s tech savvy world, everyone wants  to earn more. Thanks to the Internet that has provided the best global platform. Now, writers can get a book to market instantly by distributing it in electronic form. Online sites like Barnes & Noble offer E-books and offer instant gratification to keen readers.

It is very easy for readers. Just click a button, download a book and start reading. You can try your hand at e-book publishing, by submitting your work to Barnes & NoblePubIt. With this latest self-publishing platform, you can directly upload the book you have written to the Barnes & Noble eBookstore. Once you upload on this platform, Barnes and Noble act like your book distributor. Your book will be sold as a bona-fide ebook and you will get a nice profit from each ebook sale. The price range varies from $1 - $200. For books sold under $10, you will get 65% and 40% on books that are over $10.

How to self publish on Barnes&Noble-

Visit the Barnes & Noble PubIt! Website. Here you will need to have Barnes & Noble login information. Click "Sign In" and enter the BN.com account details. Now, proceed to the next section.

If you do not have an account, then you have to click "Create an Account" option. You will see a window displaying a sign-up form. You have to enter appropriate details including name, email address, etc. in the respective text boxes. After filling the form completely, create a password. And use this password in the given textbox. You have to fill all the contact Information including  city, state, country, ZIP code, phone number and cell number in the text boxes.

After that you will have to enter a name in the Publisher Name field.  Here enter a name which you desire to appear as the publisher of your e-book. In the "Publisher Website" field, you have to enter details of your website. Click "Continue." And you will be on the "Terms and Conditions" page.

Here you will get to see the "E-Book Publication and Distribution Agreement". Go through it and put a check mark next to "I have read and agree to the terms." Now, click continue and you will see the "Payment Information" page containing credit card, banking and tax details. You have to give this information, as the Barnes & Noble site will send you tax details and payments each year. When you are finished with all the details, click "Submit." This will  create your account. Now, get back to the Barnes & Noble PubIt! Page. Now, you can sign in with your account details.

Upload Your E-Book

When you are ready with sign in details and your account page, you can start to upload your book. At the top of your account page, Click "My Titles" option. Now, click "Add a Title" and you will see the "Add a Title" page containing form fields, which allow you to set pricing details and describe your book. Enter details in the required fields.

Now, click the "Browse" button. This button is in Section Two of the page. When you click it, you will see a window showing the files present on your hard drive. Select and double-click the file containing your e-book. Just press "Upload and Preview" tab and the site will start uploading the file. You can preview your book. After reviewing and verifying the book, your content will be uploaded. In section three, click the "Browse" button and find an image file, which you wish to use as the cover for your book. This is the optional step; however, Barnes & Noble recommends it to increase book sales. Double-click the desired image file, and then click "Upload" to upload the image and you are done with it.

Self-publishing is easy with PubIt! PubIt works by accepting your book as a digital upload in Microsoft Word, RTF, HTML, or TXT. When you upload files in any one of above mentioned formats, it will be converted into a ePub formatted file. Within a week your book will appear and go on sale in the Barnes and Noble eBookstore.

PubIt supports e-book publishing only. Besides automatic conversion and different file types, PubIt also offers a very decent and straightforward royalty schedule.

It is very easy to upload your book on Barnes& Noble. You have to keep few points in mind including editing process, cover design, etc. If necessary consult an expert and get ready to step into bright future now. 

©2012-2013 Claretta Taylor Pam, Innovative Publishers Media Group & Innovative Publishers. All Rights Reserved

Why self publishing?

Are you planning to get your idea into a printed book? Do you think that it is one of the greatest achievements in your lifetime? Certainly, in this endeavor to publish a book, a publishing company can be an astonishing partner. The publisher contributes important role in targeting the perfect work and markets with the writer on writing the best book possible.

Today, more writers are turning to self-publishing. Due to its multiple benefits people now prefer to self-publish. Many times, self-publishers do not wish to give up control of their book at all. Publishers are interested in a say in the final draft of the book, from a book’s cover to an editorial standpoint. When thought of a business approach, publishers also wish to put forth control over the pricing, sales plan, marketing and distribution of book for maximizing their profit. Majority writers select to control their work themselves, on both the business and artistic sides of publishing a book.

Besides the control issue, a writer prefers to self-publish a book for the benefits listed below:

•        To maintain direct control of the customer list.

•        To make the most of the earnings the book brings in. Authors who are contracted to publishers can get 10 to 15 %, whereas an author who publishes books on his own can make up to 70percent of sales of books

•        To Lower publishing cost.

•        To market to a particular, small demographic of readers.

•        Every writer is interested in every aspect associated with his or her book. That is why many writers want to try the publishing business and get their book into the market.

•        Many writers prefer to publish work on their own.

Self-publishing is getting popularity, as it has gotten easier, and the success stories clearly speak about its benefits. It is essential to understand the concept clearly. Do invest time in any research and learn the pros and cons of self-publishing.

Why Self-Publishing?

Many writers prefer self publishing as it is fast and easy to do. Further, it is within your budget. If you try to publish your book with the help of a big publishing company, then definitely it is a time consuming process for getting a deal up, you need to spend a lot. You need to have more than fundamental knowledge of the business along with all its rules and regulations.

Rather than taking the step into the shadows of real publishing, many writers select the option of self-publish their masterpieces. As a self publisher, you will have a total control of what happens along with its pricing, distribution, marketing, etc. Of course, you can hire an expert with anything involved in the self-publishing deal; however, you have to pay additional costs for it.

How to become a Self-publishing Bestseller?

If you dream big to become the next bestselling author around the world, then it is essential to understand the process clearly. Many writers jump in this endeavor without having any knowledge about self publishing and they simply end up in the sales stats showing no sales of the book.

Keep in mind that the real world is much harder than you think. You can publish your book easily making it available to every soul on the internet. However, it does not mean that you will be the best seller. Bear this in mind clearly. This will make your publishing endeavor comparatively easy and less painful.

Self-Publishing- what it can Do for You?

If you want to self publish a book, you can string your texts together with the help of a program available. Will this type of self published book get the success? Unfortunately, it will not. On the other hand, your name and reputation will be related to low quality work. Rather think about it carefully. Do the research. Plan the book and collect the needed material. Write well and present it in an appropriate format. While doing all this work, quality should be your main focus.

You will find numerous sites online that specialize in self-publishing. Different reputed self publishing sites like Createspace, iUniverse, etc. offer you all the services essential to succeed in your self-publishing endeavor.

©2012-2013 Claretta Taylor Pam, Innovative Publishers Media Group & Innovative Publishers. All Rights Reserved

Become a published author with iUniverse

  

So, finally you have decided to self publish. Obviously, your next focus will be self publishing services. There are many self publishing companies offering such services. However, it is essential to choose the company wisely. Here, we will discuss ‘iUniverse’ self publishing company that will make your venture easy.

iUniverse offers a wide array of DIY self publishing services. That is why; they call it as a "guided self-publishing". The company features a staff of publishing industry experts that help writers through the entire self publishing process from the editorial processes to design, printing, production, marketing, distribution, and publicity like a traditional publisher. At every stage, the attention on your book greatly depends upon your budget. It is suggested that before writing your check, please understand what you are getting exactly. However, if you are interested to have your book available both in e-book and print formats, you may need to spend for the privilege. You should therefore understand the features of the iUniverse self-publishing services including 

• Design Services - iUniverse team outlines the books and then custom designs covers for each. The package includes printing of up to 25 black and white images.
• Editorial Services – This is the least expensive package that avails editorial evaluation of titles to be self-published. iUniverse then recommends editorial work needed by your book. For instance, the additional or optional services, line editing, developmental editing, copyediting, etc. add costs. You can also select ‘cover copy polish’ package that is slightly more expensive with additional features.
• Formats – The Company prints perfect-bound books in both softcover and hardcover format in a wide array of sizes. You can choose from a cream or white colored paper. They never comb bound or print spiral-bound books. Like a traditional publisher, iUniverse makes your book available in e-book formats for a wide range of e-book readers along with the print versions.
• Pricing/Cost – For publishing a book, you may need to pay initial up-front costs ranging from $599 to $4200. You can invest less for the stripped-down "Select" package. Whereas you can spend $4200 for "Book Launch Premier Pro" that covers email marketing campaign, author website set-up, etc. if you want express publishing, then services are available at additional expenses.
• Publicity and Marketing – You can avail book marketing and publicity services in the iUniverse higher-priced self-publishing packages. However, by paying some additional charges, you can add up one or more of a set of services.
• Proprietary Benefits- iUniverse registers all books with ISBN numbers that are essential for bookstores and sets its books up for retail sale. With the editorial evaluation process in the higher tier packages assign powerfully written titles having sales potential. For star program, these titles are important. This allows a more robust level of sales representation along with promotion to booksellers.

Being a hardworking writer, you must be wishing to see your book in print and you do have the right to a positive publishing experience. Self publishing your book with the support of iUniverse is certainly a smart decision. It is a fast, easy, professional and affordable way to publish your book. As compared to publishing it on your own, you can enjoy a hassle free and inexpensive process. Off course you may need to give up control of some aspects of the publishing process. iUniverse experts with book-publishing skills will guide and help you through the complete process for a reasonable price. With a supported self publishing, you can check your marketing capabilities. You will get an opportunity to learn about the publicity process devoid of emptying your bank account. You also need not to invest lots of time for it. Further, you can control the rights to your book.

Self publishing a book on your own needs you to take on all the responsibilities, generally managed by the team at a publishing house. Various jobs including acquiring an ISBN , designing the book's cover and interior, editing the manuscript, finding a printer, warehousing, hiring a distributor, etc. need to be handled carefully. For your self- publishing venture, you need to invest time, money and efforts. When you choose a reliable company like iUniverse, you can make this task simple while succeeding in your venture.

©2012-2013 Claretta Taylor Pam, Innovative Publishers Media Group & Innovative Publishers. All Rights Reserved

Writing Tips For New Writers

Rules govern everything we do in life. It is true that these rules are of the unwritten kind but we abide by them. We also expect other people to follow the same and writing is not at all exception for it. Rules are the basis for good writing. If you want to explore your best, here are some tips that will help you out.

Things you need to know before you begin.

·         Have your own style-

Yes, be yourself. Do not imitate someone else’s style. You might admire some writers and their styles, but never copy them. Write from the head, heart or the gut. It may depend upon the sort of writing. Try to come up with your own unique style.

·         Know Your Interest-

Write on topics you know about. Some people publish articles even when they have very little idea about the subject matter. This sort of writing clearly appears unconvincing, thin and limp. Aim for writing something good which has substance. Write after doing a thorough research. Internet, library, etc. can be good source to explore lots of information. There is no point in foisting a thin, poorly researched article on your readers. Know your interest and write keenly after researching over that topic. Writing about things which interest you may help you come up with something that will influence all. If you are not interested in the chosen subject matter, you might not come up with your best and your efforts will fail to catch reader’s interest. In some cases you might need to write on such topics. In this case, try to find an original angle and think from different perspective. This could not only stimulate you but your readers too. Spark an interest in your subject. This will avoid flat and boring write ups.

·         Grammar and punctuation- core of your writing-

Just having good matter to write of your interest even though with thorough research is not at all sufficient if you do not know grammar rules and punctuation. Punctuation matters a lot. Can you read something without commas and full stops? The answer is obviously not. You have to put in dots and commas in the right places. Without punctuation, your writing will be difficult to read and it will not make any sense. One good thing about the grammar rules is that they don’t keep changing. Once you get command over the rules, they will definitely stand you in good state for your entire writing career. Grammar and punctuation makes your writing readable, interesting and sensible.

·         Spell well

Grammar and punctuation is important but spelling is like the brick, which will build your house. It is true that today’s software applications help you check spellings. However, it is only a program trying to guess what word you have scrambled. Use dictionary and always keep reading to increase your vocabulary and spell power. Find out the correct meaning of words and place them correctly.

·         Stick to the point-

Do not add unnecessary or irrelevant details in your writing. Stick to the subject and your title. Remember, the reader first reads the topic/title and then decides to read complete write-up/novel.  If the body of your work is not relevant to the title, then the reader will feel tricked. Surely, he or she will move on to read somebody else he or she can trust.

·         Read and revise-

Sounds boring? It is essential. Writers enjoy the writing process; however most of them do not like to read the end product over and over and revise it. You may have numerous ideas blubbing up in your mind for your next work. However, you have to read, make drafts and revise again. While writing over a long period, you are more likely to make mistakes. So, it is better if you revise it again. Always give your readers a polished piece of writing.

So, always write well. Believe in your strengths. Get ready to create adventures with your words with all above tips.

 

©2012-2013 Claretta Taylor Pam, Innovative Publishers Media Group & Innovative Publishers. All Rights Reserved