Part of my day job involves working with writers to help them strengthen their writing skills. Because these are most often new writers, I tend to see the same issues cropping up across the board. A couple of years ago, I wrote a post discussing a few of those issues, and now I’m back with more. Continue reading “More Newbie Writing Mistakes”
Tag: newbie authors
The Definitive Guide to (Some) Newbie Author Questions
Recently, I was invited to join a Facebook group whose membership includes a lot of new authors. I’d forgotten about some of these newbie concerns. I’d also forgotten how everybody asks the same questions over and over, to the point where those of us who have been at this for a while get kind of tired of answering them. So I thought I’d pull together some of these typical questions and answer them here. Feel free to bookmark this post and refer to it as needed.
Q: I have my plot, but I need interesting characters. / I have my characters, but I need a great plot. Can you help me? Continue reading “The Definitive Guide to (Some) Newbie Author Questions”
So You Wanna Write a Book but You Dunno How to Start?
He
re at Indies Unlimited, we get this question all the time:
“I want to write a novel based on …(something I love)… but I have no clue how to write one. How do get this idea off the ground?”
There is only one answer: start. Far too many people have a story inside them, but they spend years hemming and hawing about it and never get it done. So you aren’t Margaret Atwood. So what? I know. It looks like a huge, unassailable task, and you have no idea what to do first. Read on. Continue reading “So You Wanna Write a Book but You Dunno How to Start?”
Indie Author 101: How to Get Started with KDP, Smashwords, and CreateSpace
To be an indie author, you have to publish a book. Right? But how do you sign up for that?
This will seem pretty basic to a lot of folks, but those who have never done it may be worried about the process. You know what? It’s really easy. Here’s what you do.
A note before we begin: All of the sites request some of the same information, so you will need to have it handy. They will ask for your name, your address, your email address, the password(s) you want to use, and some very basic financial information: your Social Security number for US residents, and the routing number and account number for the bank where you want them to deposit your royalties. And okay, another note – each will have different requirements for book covers, so make sure to read those on the respective sites.
With that said, here we go. Continue reading “Indie Author 101: How to Get Started with KDP, Smashwords, and CreateSpace”