Friday, December 30, 2011

Why I Sleep With My Kindle Fire

The latest figures are in and Amazon sold four million Kindles in the month of December of which the Kindle Fire was the bestselling. I was one of those blessed individuals which received one for a Christmas present. Now, my wife is having second thoughts about having bought it for me. I can't seem to put the thing down and it has become the new occupant in our bed at night.

One of the reasons has to do with a little app called MySword. This app is free and has a full complement of standard commentaries, Bible dictionaries, Bible versions, and other helpful study material. It had to be side loaded but that was easy enough just by going to the website. This allows me to do a full fledged study in bed. It also allows me to write all of my teaching notes for Sunday on it. I've used it every Sunday since I got it and it's what I teach directly from.

Another thing is the Netflix app that plays flawlessly. I often wind down at night in bed while watching a television show or listening to a podcast (with proper earbuds of course) from a Bible teacher to which I subsequently fall asleep.

Of course, it also allows me to read my books in bed. Currently I'm reading Frankenstein and the NKJV Thompson Chain Reference Bible...which I'm always reading (check out what I'm reading with the Goodreads section to the right). As a writer, it's important to always be reading. In the past, I had to be concerned about my wife telling me to turn off the light. Now, I don't need a light to be on because I always have it with the Kindle Fire which has a very bright backlight that I actually had to decrease. It doesn't disturb my wife so much any more. Of course, when I do this, I always fall asleep. 

Another convenient thing as a writer is it will allow me to test it by formatting some of my written material and seeing how it will actually look live on the Kindle. This is going to help tremendously when I begin releasing my books.

I know it's only been less than a month but I've been waking up about five out of seven days with my Kindle Fire in my face right next to me. It has increased my productivity in ministry and is a my secondary piece when I want some time away from my computer in the basement. I know they say three's a crowd but my Kindle Fire is small enough to where I don't think it's going to count. Of course, the litmus test is to see if my wife says the same thing.

Say a prayer for me.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Judging a Book By Its Cover

With the advent of eBooks and ereaders like Kindle, Nook, and iPad, the aspiring writer has an opportunity to be on par with the Big 6 publishing houses. The one thing that they had in the past that authors did not was distribution. Now, you can get that rather easily with free accounts with Amazon, Barne & Nobles, and a slew of others.

The convenience of being able to produce your own book and keep all the profits for yourself is liberating, to say the least. The savvy indie publisher/author will know when to do things themselves and when to call in a professional.

One of the instances that I am adamant about calling in a pro on is in the area of book covers. In this industry, people judge a book by its cover and rightly so. It can make or break a book as I've mentioned before. I scrutinize covers constantly and will be the first to tell you that if I dislike the book cover, as in it looks cheap and unprofessional, I will not buy the book. Hands down. No discussion. It is a reflection of how serious the author is taking their craft and when they can't take it seriously enough to present a polished product, I'll pass.


In Christian fiction, I find this to be the number one problem. In perusing the Christian sci-fi Top 100 at Amazon, it took me to about the 40s before I found a cover by an indie author that looked professional. It was called The Didymus Contingency by Jeremy Robinson. The cover is good and it actually prompted me to check out a couple of his other titles.

Even if the book is free, if the cover looks amateurish, I won't bother looking further at an unknown author. There has to be a perception of value that I'm getting from the beginning. Apparently, I'm not the only one that thinks this way. Over half the readers will agree with me when they shop for a book. Of course, this is fiction only, not non-fiction which is a different story.

Since the cover is so important, it would behoove you to make sure yours looks the best that it can. I suggest saving up the money, budgeting between $400 and $600 dollars. You can get a very nice looking cover for that price.

Below is a short list of book cover designers/artists that I recommend (remember, this is for fiction only):


The book cover above is a part of Carl Grave's portfolio. Guy is good if you're going for the thriller novel look. Christopher Steininger is just a good artist. The two companies listed make pretty good covers and Howard David Johnson does some top notch work for romance and fantasy.

The long and the short of it is that you don't want to cut corners here for the sake of a lack of funds. Everything that we do we should do for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). This is an area where you need to bite the bullet and get someone to do it for you. It's the first step in getting folks to take notice of your book. And that's the point, right?

Monday, August 08, 2011

ChristianWriters.com: The Un-Christian Christian Forum

I've been thinking long about whether to write this post and needed to make sure that it was going to be a post that didn't end up being the opposite of what I wanted it to be. Some time has passed and I feel compelled to write this and let the chips fall where they may.

I recently was a member of the Christian Writers.com forum. At first, I thought it would be the place for me because...well...I love the Lord. Seems reasonable to seek out others that were supposedly like minded and writers. Writing is a lonely endeavor and we need that kind of support.

I posted on there for a while but it began to occur to me that something was amiss. Some of the moderators were acting in ways that were not only questionable but simply wrong. Quite frankly, sinful.

I also noticed that no one could be challenged on the forum if they had bad doctrine or theology and wanted to use that to justify it in their writing. I personally was being accused of doing things I hadn't done. Moderators were sticking their noses into conversations that had nothing to do with them and began wrongly interpreting what was beings said putting words in mine and others' mouths.

It wasn't all bad. I actually made some good connections with people in the short time I was there and I still am in contact with them. But because of these actions, I announced that I was no longer going to post on the forums. I did that not to bring attention to myself, but to let people know that there were elements on that forum that were not attracting Christians but driving them away. However, I did say I was going to pop in every once in a while to the separate social groups I was a part of to check in on those people I had  relationships.

It was a week after that post that I decided to check in and found that I no longer had an account. I wrote to find out if I was banned and for what reason. Still waiting for an answer on that.

Apparently I wasn't the only one. The moderators went on a rampage I suppose. I don't know the details but it was apparent that they didn't like me and my direct approach with a stance on strong doctrine. They also didn't like the "tone" of my posts.

Now, in all my years on the Internet, I have never been banned from a forum or treated in that manner to where I can't even get an explanation. In short, this was the rudest, most unloving, immature forum I've ever been on. Hands down.

That all being said, I don't have any hard feelings. But I can't, in good conscious, recommend any Christian writer to join that forum, especially if you disagree with the moderators or have strong opinions. I will continue to strongly dissuade people from joining the forum if asked. Apparently, the same grace by which Christians are saved is not extended there and we don't need that. They're part of the problem, not the solution for Christian writers. It's sad really but no surprise in the day and age we live.

What I'm hoping is that someone will contact me from the site and there can be some kind of reconciliation as brothers and sisters in the Lord. However, I'm not going to hold my breath. That's grievous and sad but the reality.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Christian Fiction: Reality and Necessity

If you're wondering, yes, I am still working on this blog. However, I had to write a post in relation to something I read recently.

There was a post over at the blog Novel Rocket titled The "Myth" of Secular Fiction. Though it was a play on words, the basic argument laid out by Mike Duran, the author, was that the line between the sacred and secular is unclear and should not be implemented when it comes to art, specifically fiction writing. One particular quote that caught my attention was the following:

By dividing the "spiritual" and the "secular," not only do we create potential animosity or suspicion between camps (the same animosity that forced Lewis towards unbelief), we simply miss God's larger work in the world.

There is much that can be said on Mr. Duran's assessment but I'm only addressing this particular statement since it's the culmination of the article's overall point. I'll address other points in upcoming posts.

Let me say succinctly from the onset that this kind of view is unbiblical.

Secular simply means worldly: of the world, by the world, in support of a worldly worldview. The term is often misused among both Christians and non-Christians and therefore it only creates more confusion. The problem when it comes to fiction writing or other art is actually getting the definition of the terms correct from the beginning.

The Bible is clear about separating  godly and ungodly. Good and evil. Holy and unholy. Spiritual and flesh. There is a fear in our culture today and it is sweeping through churches where to hold fast to this kind of antithetical view is unwise. Some even say un-Christian or unloving. Yet God has clearly laid this out in his word (Psalm 34:14, Proverbs 4:27, Isaiah 33:15, 2 Corinthians 6:17, 1 Thessolonians 5:21, 1 Peter 1:16).

When we separate Christian from non-Christian writing, we are actually fulfilling a biblical mandate not to make a brother stumble (Romans 14:13). While we still have the freedom to do so, we should make a distinction for those who may be weaker in the faith as well as to edify others in the faith (Romans 14:19). Art does not trump the well being of another Christian for the sake of liberty.

Writers who are Christian should not, in any way, support a secular worldview which can be extrapolated from the overall theme of a written piece. Whether we want to admit it or not, when we write something, fiction or nonfiction, we are writing from a presuppositional worldview. This can be deliberate or indeliberate but rest assured, it will come through. If that worldview is not biblically and doctrinally sound, we run the risk of muddying the waters for a lost world, adding more to the problem. In addition, there's also the risk of missing the overall point of our mission on earth as Christians which is to glorify God, standing and representing the truth at all times in all things.

The assumption that Lewis's unbelief was somehow fueled by the antithetical is erroneous. It is clear that if a man doesn't choose God, it has absolutely nothing to do with antithesis but with his own evil heart (Jeremiah 17:9, Psalm 14:1-3, John 3:20, James 1:14-16). He simply blamed it on the antithetical which was the same thing that happened in the garden of Eden (by the way, I love me some C.S. Lewis so don't interpret this as some kind of negative referendum towards him).

Animosity between the secular and the Christian should be expected (John 15:19). We are not called to be friends with the world (James 4:4). We're not even called to change the world. We're called to be faithful and represent the truth, reproving the works of darkness that's in it (Luke 16:10, Ephesians 5:11). That means in everything that we do incuding writing (1 Corinthians 10:31).

In short, any writing that supports and promotes a secular worldview we have a duty to:
  1. Reprove as false.
  2. Warn other believers not to partake in it.
  3. Shun it.
There should be a clear and unmitigated distinction in Christian versus secular writing, fiction or not.

All that being said, it does not mean that everything that's not in a Christian bookstore is secular. I'll cover this in my next post.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Search for a Book Cover Designer - Part I

I recently finished the first draft of my book, Stop Bringing Them to Church. I was elated over the fact that I actually finished it. Grant it, we still have a long way to go but a milestone has been reached with its completion.

Now that I'm in the editing phase, I'm in the market for a book cover designer. One of the things that I tend to see more of in the self-publishing arena is a plethora of bad book covers which is a no, no. Anyone that reads books knows that the cover can make or break a book. Granted, a good cover won't make bad writing good, but it will draw people in to take a closer look at your book. A bad cover will guarantee you won't get the time of day from a prospective reader.

Since my offering is non-fiction, it may have saved me a bit of money to do it myself. But because of its importance, I'd rather pay to have it done because the learning curve for me would just take away too much time from my writing and other endeavors.

Some of the bids and samples I've gotten so far have been...uh...blah. This is from people that do it exclusively. I don't care about years of experience. I care about what the final product is going to look like. If the final product looks like "Ugh!" then it means nothing if you've been doing it for 20 years. You're a 20 year designer that puts out "Ugh!"

All is not lost. I do have at least one promising candidate who actually did a mock up from the details I provided in the listing (it's the graphic up top). This isn't the final one but he's definitely in the ball park. But the bidding is still going on.

As I get these in, I'll be posting them asking for my potential readers' input. We'll start with the one in this post. What do you think? Be happy to get your input.

Monday, June 06, 2011

The Christian Writer's Ten Commandments

While part of a discussion on a forum recently, it occurred to me that a Christian writer has a very different approach and outlook to writing then non-Christians. Our whole motive is different. Knowing that the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 are tenets by which we live, I sat down and put together a list of ten commandments that every Christian writer should live by when writing. In so doing, we can be sure that whatever we write will be pleasing to God and then others.

So, without further adieu, here they are. The Christian Writer's Ten Commandments:

1. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.(1 Corinthians 10:31)

If this isn't the ultimate motivation in our writing (and life), then we've just missed the boat entirely.

2. Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessolonians 5:17)

Think that's self-explanatory.

3. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22b)

This is actually the hard part because what if God is saying, "Don't write" or, "I'm calling you to do something else. Drop this." Let it be the Lord that's compelling you to write. If the desire is there, it's strong, and God has made a way for you to do it, run with it.

4. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? (Luke 14:28)

Do your research no matter which route you decide to go (legacy or self-publishing). Know what you're getting into and plan how you're going to get there. This is the is just wise. Write it out and stick it somewhere where you can look at it regularly. Like the old adage says, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.

5. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5)

Lay these plans before the Lord and be willing to change them as He leads. Nothing is written in stone.

6. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. (Ecclesiates 9:10)

No half steppin folks. If you're going to do it, then do it well. Don't put out a low grade rag. Endeavor to put out a good, professional product and work it. As J Oswald Sanders says, Mediocrity is the result of never getting tired.

7. He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. (Proverbs 10:4)

Being lazy is one way to fail at reaching any kind of goals for your writing, monetary or otherwise (there's nothing wrong with making money with your writing. However, see commandments three and four). Work regularly and diligently writing. Saying you're waiting on the muse is another way of saying you're lazy. As the mantra says, writers write. So, as another mantra states, just do it.

8. Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established. (Proverbs 15:22)

Work with people you trust that give wise counsel about writing and the industry. Read blogs and join forums like this to glean as much information that you can. Ask questions. No one is above learning.

9. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)

Learn to be discerning in what advice you take. If it runs counter to biblical principles and ethics, chuck it and move on. It all goes back to the first commandment.

10. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. (Ecclesiastes 4:10)

Be willing to help others with whatever knowledge and wisdom God has given you and even to go beyond that. Guest blog for others or tweet helpful links. Suggest books that have helped you. Give and it shall be given to you because you'll reap what you sow. So sow helpfulness.

Friday, June 03, 2011

Christian Writer or Writer That's a Christian?

When I was a DJ over at a Christian radio station, I often met many music artists who identified themselves not as Christian music artists but music artists who are Christian. You may look at that and think that they're one in the same but actually that's not true. Each one distinguishes a different audience and also, to a lesser extent, what identity takes precedence.

I was thinking about this recently in my capacity as a writer. I'm a part of a forum at Christian Writers.com. The title of the site itself prompted me to think about how I was going to identify myself. Am I a Christian writer or writer that's a Christian? Then it hit me: I wouldn't use neither of these designations. I would simply say I'm a Christian that's a writer. The differences are subtle but there are differences.

The Christian Writer

The Christian writer is one who writes for a Christian audience exclusively. They may aspire to have their writing in Christian bookstores and publications. They are Christians writing for Christians.

The Writer That's a Christian

The writer that's a Christian puts their emphasis on writing. They think of themselves primarily as a writer and therefore may take on topics and assignments are questionable to some.

In my personal experience, out of the three, these are the most prone to compromise their faith for the sake of their craft because it's how they identify themselves chiefly. I saw this firsthand time and time again in the music industry and it never failed.

The Christian Who Is a Writer

This person identifies themselves as a Christian first. That is what taints everything that they do which includes their writing. Therefore, there are assignments they will not pursue and their writing may be Christian in how it is written and in content yet not necessarily be exclusively for Christians.

I sometimes crossover from a Christian writer to a Christian who is a writer, depending on the subject matter. But I'm never a writer that's a Christian. You may call it splitting hairs or being overly semantic but I beg to differ (obviously). The devil is in the details.

So...who are you (for those who this applies)? Inquiring minds want to know.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

The Importance of Book Covers

I want to start this post off with a small reality check: I'm pretty much a nobody.

When I say that, it's in reference to my being an author. Yes, I've been published in national magazines, newspapers, trade journals, and the like. But I don't have any books published and this first offering, Stop Bringing Them to Church is probably going to ruffle some feathers for the people that read it. In the very least it's going to challenge them to take a closer look at the Bible and what it actually says. However, that is currently en route to publication.

I had to think about the reason why I was writing this blog and what I wanted to accomplish with it. I like helping people (the reason why I'm writing my book) but like I said, I'm a nobody so why would people listen to me in the area of book publishing? Well, they really don't have to. However, I've decided that's not going to deter me from trying to help others as I research and educate myself in this Wild West of publishing.I view it as a journey of what I'm learning in the process of writing a book from start to finish, giving real time experiences during the process. Of course, I'll be plowing my wares here for those who are interested in what I'm writing. As a matter of fact, I'll talk a little about the aforementioned book in an upcoming post.

Much of what you'll find here is self-explanatory and should be common sense (the operative word being "should"). I'll be referencing many good blogs and sites that provide sage information and tips from seasoned vets and as well as others in the industry.

That being said, today I want to turn our attention to the importance of book covers, especially in self-publishing.

How important is the book cover for the book you want to write? Very important. Extremely important. In short, it can potentially make or break the success of a book.

In the world of book publishing, the cover is what will draw people to a book. It's a representation of how seriously an author takes their work at a glance. It's the author showing up for an interview to the reader. Did they come dressed professionally and appropriately for the job or did they slap on a pair of oily jeans and a T-shirt? The book cover conveys this and it happens quickly. Though it's not hard and fast data, I tend to agree that reader's spend an average of about 5 to 8 seconds looking at the front cover of a book...if it's good. That's seconds folks. If it's a bad cover, try 1 to 3 seconds and they don't even consider buying. Ouch.

Patrick Janson Smith, literary agent and a former publishing director at Transworld, was quoted saying:

I can't think of a jacket that has transformed the fortunes of a book, but I have seen books absolutely die on the back of a jacket.

This seems to mirror the results of a Random House Zogby International poll completed in 2008. One promising stat is that 77% are buying their books online and 43% of those people buy it there most often. This is really good news for the self-publisher because it allows them to compete head to head with other authors they would never have gotten a chance to in a retail chain who only has limited shelf space.

But the kicker was that over 52% surveyed admitted that they are influenced in their buying by the cover art.

Bam.

Now, what supersedes this is the subject matter they are looking for. No one is going to buy a book simply on cover art. However, it will influence their buying decision once they find the particular subject matter they are looking for.

Apparently, not even endorsements by Oprah is enough to overcome bad cover art .

Take a look at Robert Gregory Browne's cover on the left (no, I'm not endorsing the book. Just using his book cover as an example). This is a good cover for a thriller writer. The thing about it is that he's set himself up as being recognizable with three covers which are similar creating a brand for his series.

But the front cover is not all you have to be concerned with. The back cover is important as well. Readers spend more time looking at the back cover once the front cover has caught their attention. It can be anywhere from 10 to 15 seconds. However, before they'll do that, they have to be drawn in by the front cover.

This topic is so intriguing to me and so important that I'm going to break it up into separate parts. Today was simply a primer and a wake up call to the importance of book covers to the success of a book. It shouldn't be taken lightly and a good amount of deliberation should go into it because of the impact it can have on the success of a book.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

6 Tips for Writing Non-Fiction: I Do Like It

When I first decided to become a writer I did so on the premise that I was going to be a novelist. Yes, I had the same visions in my head as every writer on the planet: writing for only a few hours a day while being free to go on book tours and sell millions of books to my adoring fans.

Ahhh! There's something magical about being naive and stupid.

Back then I always had an aversion to write nonfiction books. Don't ask me why. I suppose I was too steeped the romanticism of being a novelist. 

Well now, here I am. A little older and a tad wiser and though I don't know if I'm going to have millions of fans who read my books (a man can still dream here), I do know that in growing as a writer over the years, I have taken a turn in the opposite direction. I must confess...I do love writing nonfiction.

My first book, Stop Bringing Them to Church, is a nonfiction offering that since I've started, I'm amazed at how much I can get accomplished in writing in one sitting. When I attempted to write my novels, sometimes it was like pulling teeth with a pair of rusty pliers. There's so much to consider in the construction of a novel that you just don't have to think about with a non-fiction offering. There are no characters for you to be concerned with, no antagonists or protagonists that need to be created, no plot to flesh out. It's one of the few endeavors where I can just write and I'm finding that I write FAST. The topic, however, is one I'm well versed in so that has quite a bit to do with it.

Don't get me wrong. A nonfiction book still has to be interesting and grab the attention of the reader. It has to hold them from start to finish. Just because the rules are a little different doesn't mean that I can put out junk. At all times, no matter what is written, I attempt to put out the best material I can muster.

The experience that I'm having in writing Stop Bringing Them to Church book has been QUITE enjoyable. Hey...I'm the kind of guy who loves research and study and this has plenty of it. You have to do that for novels also but it's very straightforward with a nonfiction offering.

The experience so far has taught me a couple things which I'd like to share with other aspiring writers:

1. The mantra "Write what you know" is SO true. You only live once and it just makes writing a WHOLE lot easier.

2. Another mantra is equally as important. Writers write. Stop thinking about it and do it. Don't be overly concerned so much with it being perfect at this juncture. Just write. You can edit later and half the time you'll look back at what you wrote and what you thought was horrible turns out not to be so bad after all.

3. Have a minimum writing goal per day. I take it upon myself to write in the very least, three pages a day. Sometimes it's more. The other night it was seven (a brotha was on a roll).

4. Figure out your best time to write. I used to try to write in the morning but I always felt pressed because I do bread and butter writing during the day and felt it was cutting into my time. So I switched it to mid-evening and I'm never going to look back. I've heard that some people write better VERY early in the morning. Whatever floats your boat. You'll know when that time is because you'll be more productive.

5. Take your writing seriously. People who don't write think it's a hobby and have no clue. Treat it as a job. No text messages, phone calls, or television. Sit down, kill all distractions, write your minimum. If you're feeling it, go further.

6. Stop at a place where's it's easy to pick up again where your train of thought can just flow the next time you sit down. The middle of a sentence is a no, no. The end of a paragraph is better and probably the best place.

Well...I should probably stop rambling and get to work. You know, us writers have to write.

Monday, January 17, 2011

6 Reasons Why I'm Self-Publishing

Beginning of the End?
If you do a search on the internet today, you will see that self-publishing is all over the place. If you're an author and have an idea for a book, you don't have to scrounge around for an agent or publisher and watch the profits go mostly to them as they give you some paltry advance for all of your hard work. You can take that idea and sell it yourself with some savvy marketing and keep the vast majority of the royalties yourself.

My upcoming book, Stop Bringing Them to Church (I changed the title to give a little mystery to it as far as who "them" was) is Christian non-fiction. It talks about an issue today that really gets overlooked, mostly by the church itself. I'm currently in the middle of writing it and after a few days of trying to catch up with some other work, I'm back in the saddle again and going at a pretty decent clip. I'm not real sure that I'll reach my goal of being finished with the rough draft by the end of January but I should be relatively close.

As I've been writing, I've been bandying about the idea of which route I was going to take in terms of publishing. I'm not a newbie and I know enough about publishing houses and the like that I'm not real keen on going that route. There used to be a time where that was the only way to go. Now...well...we have options.

After praying about it and doing some research, I decided that I was going to self-publish the book. There are a couple reasons for that:

1. I don't have to wait a year or so before my book will be published which is an average wait time for many publishers. You have to jump through a million hoops just to get the book published.

Seth Godin, marketing guru and author of 12 best-selling books including Survival Is Not Enough and Permission Marketing stated on his blog in reference to contributing factors about his decision recent decision to self-publish:

I honestly can't think of a single traditional book publisher who has led the development of a successful marketplace/marketing innovation in the last decade.
Uhh...doesn't sound like the most promising news in the world.

Common With Traditional Publishing
2. I won't have to give away half of my money. A standard publisher/writer agreement is 50/50 but it really is less (considerably in some cases) than that once you start adding in advancement recoupment (if you're blessed enough to have gotten one). That's why most writers don't make money.

3. I can experiment with what works. Publishers are not known to take too many risks so it's a one size fits all plan and see which one will stick. They won't try different price points, different covers, and marketing strategies and with the way the market is today, they really can't afford to.

4. I know my book will get full attention and support. No one is going to try and sell this book as hard as and as fervent as...ohhh...me.

5. More than likely, I'll probably end up making more money. Novelists don't make that much money (makes you want to cry) and non-fiction writers are pretty much in the same boat. That's with a traditional publisher. I'm pretty confident I can do much better than that. The book will not only be available in paperback format but will also be offered on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords among others. These different outlets allows me to reach more of my potential audience wherever they may be as well as keep the majority of money from sales.


6. I have total control over my book. From the cover design to the marketing to the back cover blurb. I'll have the freedom to change things mid-stream if need be. It will be my decision ultimately. A brotha ain't gon lie....I dig that.

I've Been Called Worse
Some people may say I'm crazy. There are naysayers all over the place who are saying that self-publishing is a mine field fraught with perils and it is. Not everyone can self-publish successfully. I'd say most authors are not cut out for it. However, many are or are forced into it and learn how to make it work. Many have the right personality mix to make it work.

Looks like I'm about to find out if I'm one of 'em.

 
Design by Free WordPress Themes | Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premium Blogger Themes | Macys Printable Coupons