It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

Update On My Books and Publishing Experience With Amazon

page: 2
21
<< 1   >>

log in

join
share:

posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 05:23 AM
link   
a reply to: westcoast

So what should you do if you have a great book idea that has never been done before but your not into trying to sell your own book. The words are written, it's read by many, it just needs pictures for a children's book (which I do not want to do). I initially wanted to do it for my children since no one even makes a book about it but then realized that many of my people would love it also.



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 05:29 AM
link   
So great to hear someone made it in the so difficult area of self publishing. You definitely deserved it, and very nice of you to come and encourage those who also follow this road.
I love books, I can almost say that I live to read, and as I often tell my kids the books are the wisdom of humanity. Too bad they don't share the same love for books.
A lot of luck to all of you, known and unknown writers; you really make this world a better place.



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 06:39 AM
link   
a reply to: westcoast
Hi Tara! I've replied to your post over on my own book's “announcement” thread, but just wanted to repeat the sentiments here: it's great to see you back posting again after your little time “away” (even though you were still browsing, as you said).

I've watched you adding title after title to your list of published books with a mixture of awe and quiet wonder. As I said in this post where I mentioned you as one of the ATS authors I know, you are quite prolific! You've taken a negative in life and turned it around to make a much bigger positive, and that's great to see.

I'm trying to do the same, but I'm not so prolific. It's partly that my stories tend to be longer, together with the difficulties in finding the opportunities to write undisturbed. At least half of my new book was originally written late at night, along with virtually all the rewrites and post-proofing work. But like you, just getting it done and out there was a motivator in itself.

What you said about professional-standard editing is very true. Even though I teach English and also do line-editing/proofing work for a living, I still had a proof reader/editor go through the first printed proof. He suggested hundreds of changes and I accepted the vast majority of them. And yes, his advice helped to make the book far better than it would otherwise have been.

Having the pages in actual print format is incredibly important. Being able to write on a computer is fantastic, but when the words are there on paper, they give another dimension to it all.

Also, research has shown that almost everyone reads text faster on a printed page than they do on a screen. And the faster the reader is, the greater that difference in reading speed is as well. So just from the perspective of re-reading pages to pick up errors, print is far more efficient.

The cover: tell me about it!
I have quite a few years' experience with image-manipulation software, but I enlisted the help of an ATS friend to create the main images for the front and back covers. He did them beautifully. Then I was able to work with those and put them all together to make something close to what I had pictured in my mind.

You compiled a great list of things that an Indie author should do to promote their work. I have to admit that I'm seriously lagging behind on some aspects. Yes, I have my book on Amazon in print and Kindle, but I still need to set up the various social media accounts and do a good author page and so on. Again, it's a problem of time and then being able to maintain them all. I even own a domain (Finding the Goddess .me) that I bought almost a year ago, but having no idea how to set up a website, let alone make it look half decent, I still don't have one!

The obvious solution is to hire a pro to build the website for me. Ditto with running advertising campaigns. It's only money, after all. Well, at least money is not an issue for me: I don't have any!


I guess many authors face this problem when they decide that going to Indie route to publish is better than never getting published at all. If the budget is small, the options are limited.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to finish the planning for book 2 in the series so I can then get on with the chapter outlines. You emphasized that writing series is a good idea and I totally agree. So, I have to decide exactly which direction the story should go. And that ain't as easy as some might think!
But as I'm already getting people asking me for more, I have to get on with it!

About BookBub. It's fantastic that you have managed to get some of your work featured with them! That's quite an achievement in itself. Maybe in the future, when my book meets all their criteria and I can afford it, I might give them them a try.

By the way, I've sent you a PM.



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 01:22 PM
link   
a reply to: ckhk3

It is very common for an author to pen a picture book, and hire a separate artist for the pictures. The trick, is finding a good one you can afford and are happy with.

I would suggest browsing deviantart.com. There are a ton of very talented artists there, who would probably be willing to work with you. You may even be able to get someone who is willing to partner with you, and take on the publishing aspect of it, in exchange for a sharing of the profit, vs straight pay for the art.

Good luck!



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 01:23 PM
link   
a reply to: WhiteHat

Thank you! It's good to hear there are still people who feel this way. I, too, am a bit concerned that this is an aspect of our society that is being minimized or replaced with electronics. When we look at what are the most precious, historical artifacts that reflect on ancient cultures, a whole lot of it is the written word!



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 01:25 PM
link   
a reply to: JustMike

Thanks, Mike!

I'm heading over to see your response, and to check out your PM.

I hope you find success with your writing! I'm REALLY looking forward to reading your first book! You encourage me a great deal when I first started out writing Bloodline, and for that I am forever thankful.



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 03:51 PM
link   
a reply to: westcoast

How did you start the process of getting amazon to feature and sell your book, contact them and pitch it..?

Also, if one if going to either self publish or send their book to publishers in hopes of getting published, do they have to have to get a copyright on their book before hand so you own the rights? Or do you hand over your rights to it when you let them publish it?



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 04:40 PM
link   
a reply to: DimensionalChange03

This all depends on how you go about it. You can either chose to self publish (like me), or solicit first an agent with a story idea (or completed manuscript), who will then try to find you a publisher. Most publishers won't look at work that is unsolicited (meaning, that you don't have an agent representing you)

Okay. So, as far as the copyright. Copyright is actually implied, as soon as you write it. it is your intellectual property. Doesn't mean that someone else can't try to take it, but if they do, you have rights to it. For example, as soon as I published one of my short stories on the contest thread, it was a form of copyrighting it. You can go further and pay the library of congress to make it more official, but it is unnecessary. I simply write a copyright statement in the front of all of my books, dating it. You can see these by looking at the sample of my book on the Amazon author page for me. When I publish a book through Amazon, they assign both an ISBN # and also and ASSIN #. (their own tracking number)

I am self published, and I have used the self publishing option through Amazon. There are other sites that do this, too, (Smashwords, Booktango, Ibooks), but Amazon is the monopoly. It is totally free. Here is the Link to the site That is for the Ebook. Now, for the paperback, I use CreateSpace, also a subsidiary of Amazon. Here is the Link to createspace

That should be enough to get you started. They have tons of info on their sites, to explain the process!

edit on 28-3-2016 by westcoast because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 04:49 PM
link   
Thanks for these posts you've been writing on your publishing experience. I intend to begin writing novels soon, and this info is very helpful. I plan on reading your sci-fi series, though I haven't worked it into my reading just yet.



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 04:50 PM
link   

originally posted by: westcoast
This all depends on how you go about it. You can either chose to self publish (like me), or solicit first an agent with a story idea (or completed manuscript), who will then try to find you a publisher. Most publishers won't look at work that is unsolicited (meaning, that you don't have an agent representing you)


When I finally deem my words good enough, I was thinking of using this website:
www.wednesdaypost.com.au...
The page updates on Wednesdays to allow authors to send forth their work and it looked like a good start
Thinking that if I was unlucky to not hear back then I would begin the process of working out the self publishing process.

They're the only publishers I've found so far that seem happy to read unsolicited material, so, I've had their page pinned for some time now, always keeping it high in my mind.



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 05:58 PM
link   
a reply to: kaelci

Yes, that would be an excellent start! Are you in Australia?

It's tricky finding big publishers that will look at unsolicited work, so that's a good page to bookmark!



posted on Mar, 28 2016 @ 06:34 PM
link   
a reply to: westcoast

I am!
Hoping to one day move to New Zealand, but Australia it is for the moment.



posted on Mar, 29 2016 @ 12:13 AM
link   
a reply to: westcoast

Thank you so much. And not to bother, but just to be clear, when you say your self published but got published through amazon, you mean you self published and got copies of your book made and then you contacted amazon to have them put your book on their site?



posted on Mar, 29 2016 @ 01:32 PM
link   
a reply to: DimensionalChange03

No, that isn't how it works.

I am self published, meaning I do not have an agent, or a publishing company. I do it all myself. (Tara Ellis Publications)

The way it works with Amazon, is that you just go to the KDP link I provided, and upload all your info. There is a detail page for the book, (title/author/editor/cover image/document file).

Once you set your price and accept your terms and hit enter, so long as the formatting is good it will go live in a matter of hours on their site. If you set a price over 2.99, you get 70% of the profit. (about 2.00 on a 2.99 ebook) Below 2.99 is 35% profit. (about 35 cents on a .99 ebook)

You get paid once a month. Oh, and they sell your ebooks all over the world. You have to set up your banking and tax info and they will direct deposit it, AND send you your tax statement at the end of the year.

I all works the same way for the paperbacks. It is a print-on-demand. So no cost to sell the books through Amazon. If you want physical copies for yourself to sell, you simply buy them direct from CreateSpace (about 5/each for my books, plus shipping) I sell mine at 7-8/ea and make around 2/book profit.

Hope that helps!



posted on Apr, 1 2016 @ 07:32 PM
link   
I just noticed

Tara Ellis Photography; Nature's Tapestry

Great. Can't wait for the audio book edition!

P



posted on May, 16 2016 @ 01:39 PM
link   
I just wanted to let any interested readers know that the 4th book in my kids mystery series, The Heiress of Covington Ranch, is FREE until tomorrow!





Blurb:

Middle school presents a new kind of challenge for Sam and Ally, but also a chance to make a unique friend. When one of their teachers needs help, the three of them come together to lend her support.
Nestled in the woods that surround their homes is Covington Ranch. An abandoned estate once used to raise famous horses, a family tragedy has left it forgotten and neglected. But someone has come back.
What does their teacher, a rich stockbroker, and a stolen ruby called The Eye of Orion all have in common? Sam and Ally vow to find out, and in doing so, start a chain reaction. It could either have dire consequences for those involved, or bring a broken family back together again.

Amazon Link

edit on 16-5-2016 by westcoast because: (no reason given)



new topics

top topics



 
21
<< 1   >>

log in

join