This is what I've decided to call my little series to help my friend Rachael. So get used to seeing this title. ;D Rachael has already, or is almost done, with the first step of becoming a successfully published author. She's considered what being a published author means to her and she's asked someone whose achieved the published status how they got where they are. She also sees that where I am, though not monetarily the nicest place to be, is in fact ahead of many others in the "game." Sadly, it is quite the game.
For the type of published author she wants to be she has made a very good first step as well. She's ignored those who said, "save money and join a writer's group to help critique your work and help you edit your work." Bravo Rachael because editing is a profession and very few will succeed at the level you want to be published without the kind of an edit a professional editor can give you. And be fore-warned that if you throw J. K. Rowling in my face, I will throw her right back in yours. Everyone is capable of winning the lottery and that's all I'll say about that.
The reason it's so important for a new author to get a professional edit is because it will drastically increase the chances of being picked up by a small press who can SOMETIMES offer you a better line of distribution than you can get yourself as a self-publisher. More on that later.
Also your work will "shine" superior over ALL the other self-published authors out there who either a) think they can scrimp and forego a professional edit and do just fine or b) think a small press will love their work as it is soooooo much that they'll edit it for them which is of course bullhockey but let them figure that out for themselves.
Larger houses are the only houses that have in-house editors and you won't be seeing them anytime soon if ever and that's even if you get the all-powerful-agent which is another big waste of time to pursue.
Egads! So what do you do. Okay. Here's your next step. It's professionally edited with a 2% error rate. Go out straight away and buyth up a block of ten ISBN's from the Bowker-god-of-publishing and assign one of them puppies to your book. I know another expense but well worth it. It's quite simple to get a block of ISBN's from Bowker. Go here and apply for an EIN number and create yourself a little publishing company. Mine is S D Enterprises. It's just that simple. Then go to Bowker.org I think it is (google it. It's simple to find) and get your block. Sure, LuLu and Create Space offer you a free ISBN should you choose to use their services but their ISBN will always tie YOUR book back with them as the publisher. NOT GOOD!!!! Buying your own block of ten is a small price to pay and the book is your forever more.
Once you've done that you can price shop around to see what printer offers you the best price on printing your book. I used Fidler Doubleday for my first book Never Ceese before I was picked up by a publisher (more on that later.) It was easy to submit the doc file and cover file which I designed myself. If you don't want to or don't know how to design your own cover they'll even do one for you but I'd suggest hiring someone to do you a cover and someone who is familiar with the submitting process. But honestly, it's not that difficult. And no, those who do book covers aren't hard to find.
Once you have a submittable book cover and your ISBN you can go to places like Lightning Source and check them out. Or even Create Space or Iuniverse B&N's POD (please no!!!! LOL) But yes, you're good to go. And you can even start submitting to small presses too with the absolute certainty that they can't take your work.
Next blog will be about the pros and cons of seeking a small press over just sticking with a POD and doing it all on your own.
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