My Advice for Budding Authors!
By Lee-Anne Peters
Ten years ago I never
dreamed I would be sitting here sharing my advice with you. English in school
was one of my worst subjects… and I had a real issue with words for many years.
Although this issue was more in the speaking out loud capacity – it was still
something that I never thought I would be doing.
Then in late 2010 I
was hosting a Shamanic Healing Day in Sydney when I was encouraged by one of my
Power Animals during meditation to GET WRITING! I was urged to stop my events
for now and write. Usually I am a little rebellious to persuasions from spirit
as I like to be in charge… but this time I thought I would give it a try, I
thought that I really didn’t have much to lose.
So being an action
oriented Goddess I got focused immediately – mainly with the enticement of
getting back into my events again (as I LOVE to share in this way). So for the
following months and into early 2011 my first book – Temple of Balance the book – was born. I found it quite easy to write as it was based around things
I noticed people asking me about often – this way I could now point them to a
resource and not have to keep repeating this information.
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| My first book finished its print run - sitting at the printer ready to be shipped out! So happy to see my book there in form!! |
I sourced out printers
that could give me the best deal (as it was essential I keep the retail price
as cost effective as possible), and then my book started production. The
prospect of holding my own book was extremely exciting and in May 2011 my first
book was in my hands.
Now – less than three
years later I have recently released my 7th paperback and my 3rd
deck of oracle cards are currently at the printers.
At the beginning I was
not interested at all in finding a publisher – I wanted my books to be genuine
from my heart and not tampered with to fit the market and publishers needs.
It’s only been about 6 months now that I have been actively open to being
published, but really I can, have been and am doing it all on my own… My only
reason for seeking a publisher is for the backing, support and helping my
products reach more internationally. However, I have successfully published,
distributed and retailed my books and card decks myself, and have twice sold
out of a deck of cards that have only been available through my website and at
my events. Now we have access to social media and other avenues to release our
own products – Independent Artists Rock!
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| Me in Oct 2013 with 7x of my current publications at the time! |
So what tips do I have
for you and your book idea…
IDEA PHASE – no matter
how crazy, wild or strange your ideas are, write them down, pen them because
you never know when you might run with some of those ideas. Do your best not to
get fixated on them, but hear them, express them and then take action on them
if they call for it!
ACTION PHASE – Your
ideas are HOT!! The words are flowing, or, you have made your mind up that you
would like to write a book. Try not to get caught up in how it will get
published or printed, but enjoy the creative process. Every book has an energy
of its own. Some are written fast (my 2nd book of 40,000 words was
written in 3 short weeks), and some are longer (my Ascension Mastery Series
books take about 1.5yrs to get together). Some books flow easily, others take
more concentration. Whatever your action phase is, be sure to KEEP AT IT.
Writing 1,000 words a week (which is not that many really) will see a 40,000
worded book written in about 40 weeks. That may seem long, but before you know
it you will be finished your first draft! And that feeling is fantastic!
*cheers*
MANIFESTATION PHASE –
Your draft is complete, and you re-read and tidy the manuscript up. Now it is
important to consider your cover design, editing, typesetting and printing.
Your cover design
needs to be neat, and if you aren’t brilliant at designing, you may have a
friend or family member who is, or keep it SIMPLE. Make your title catchy and
clear – it needs to accurately reflect the content of your book. *hint, create
a facebook page with the same title as your book to start generating interest
When it comes to
editing, you can source out an editor, or, ask a few friends who are pretty
good with grammar etc to help you out. Do you know a school teacher? They make
great editors.
With typesetting, I
have always done this myself, as well as everything above. I usually just use a
Microsoft word document – look at
other book sizes I like and set my page size to that. Remember keep a generous
border (so no words get cut off) and a font I usually use is Bookman Old Style.
When it comes to
printing your book I have now found that there is only one brilliant option,
and that is through Create Space (Amazon).
Their price is competitive compared to bulk printing offshore, they print on
demand – so no upfront costs, and you will have your book sitting in the
biggest bookstore in the world! Pretty enticing right?
Then you can order
copies of your own book pretty much at cost price and share your link to Amazon
with your family, friends and customers for sales.
One of the best things
I have ever done was to listen to the guidance I received from my Power Animal
that day in Sydney, for now I am officially ‘addicted’ to book writing. I
currently have three books on the go and I know there are many, many more in me
yet!!
If you would like to
check out my range so far, please visit: http://publishing.templeofbalance.com
Get your message out
to the world – it has NEVER BEEN EASIER to be a self-published Independent
Author!! All the best and I trust this is helpful!
Lee-Anne Peters is a multiple self-published
author, artist, mentor, speaker and radio host. The founder of the
award-winning Temple of Balance -which is full of amazing resources, tools,
services, products and events to help you love who you are and to follow your
passions in life! Have your Temple of Balance experience by visiting www.templeofbalance.com
Everything shared within this blog is a guide only and should not replace your own intuition.
Let's connect on:
Website: www.templeofbalance.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tobhealers
Community: www.templeofbalance.ning.com
Community: www.templeofbalance.ning.com
You Tube: www.youtube.com/user/templeofbalance
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| http://www.templeofbalance.com |
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