This guest post, by Kris Tualla, originally appeared on Beth Barany’s Writer’s Fun Zone on 2/22/11.
I’m rearranging the order of things and having a guest columnist talk about her adventure into becoming an award winning bestselling indie author! Please meet the talented and savvy Kris Tualla. She’s stopping by during her blog tour during the release of her first trilogy. Please give her a warm Writer’s Fun Zone welcome!
*^*
I have an agent. I have full manuscripts requested by major publishing houses. So people ask me all the time, “What made you decide to pursue independent publishing?”
Well… The traditional publishers did. “We don’t do American historicals… no one can sell Scandinavia… publishers LIKE their boxes…” I’ve heard it all.
And this is one of the rejections I received: “I think LOVING THE NORSEMAN has a lovely cast of characters, and a nice, cinematic quality to it. I also liked the balance Ms. Tualla creates in Ryder’s character, allowing him to be vulnerable yet strong. That said, medieval Scotland is a very crowded market…” Blah blah blah.
Looked like it was time to take my “lovely cast” to the people myself.
But there was a huge risk: self-published authors usually produce books which are severely sub-standard. From the writing to the editing to the formatting to the covers, these ignorant hopefuls have worked in a vacuum and have no idea how awful their books are.
So with my agent’s blessing, I took my American-Norwegian historical romance trilogy to e-publishing and print on demand (POD). And I did all the work myself.
Be warned. This is not a path for the faint of heart. The key is adequate editing – because it is IMPOSSIBLE for any author to edit themselves. Even traditionally published print books go through 3-4 rounds of editing before they are released – and many still have typos!
So for anyone reading this post who is considering this path, here is my process:
Read the rest of the post on Beth Barany‘s Writer’s Fun Zone.