Monday, September 9, 2013

Famous

Most of you know I LOVE to read.

I will read anything.

I like all different kinds of authors, but I've NEVER met one before.  I've never known one PERSONALLY before.

That has all changed.

My cousin Natalie, has written a book, and has had it published!

She's FAMOUS, and I'd like you to know more about her.

So today, she is answering some of the questions you have posed to her.

Read her book.  Help support her.

Thank you.




What was your biggest obstacle in this whole process?
       I really want to say everything, but there are two that stand out the most.
#1 ~ Finding time to write and being able to be creative on a limited about of time. I totally get it now when I heard authors talk about having a writer’s block. Been there, many times! And there was nothing more frustrating when I finally had a couple of quiet hours to write, I sit down…and my creative juices dry up like the desert and I couldn’t make a sentence work if my life depended on it.
#2 ~ Contacting agents and preparing all the material they wanted. Every agent wanted something different, so it would take hours preparing the specified letters, sample chapters, synopsis, proposal, etc. and researching to make sure I got all the information they wanted perfect.

Is your book dedicated to someone? If so, who?
       Yes. My book is dedicated to my children. It reads…
                                      
To my children,
Jarrett, Brayden and Kyla
May you always dream big dreams and pursue them with all your heart.
As my husband and I talk about my book being published we always end up discussing how we hope this book is a great example to our kids to not be afraid to make big goals for their lives. We hope that my experience would show them that our dreams really can come true…but not without hard work, desire, commitment and refusing to give up.

Do you start writing knowing the whole story? Or did you have the beginning, end and middle figured out before you started?
       Before I begin writing I have an entire outline of the book by each chapter and write in order. It helps me to have a good foundation. As I write, new ideas will pop up, so I will go back and change things as well as add chapters along the way.


I have a book that I am trying to get published. I have sent it to Writersedgeservice.com. I received an offer to publish with Deep River Books. It seems to be a combination of regular publishing and self-publishing. They will market and sell 500 books. My question is how would I go about selling at least 1000 books myself? What is a fair price for self-publishing?
                I asked my publisher this question because I really didn’t know how to answer.  This is how he replied. “I checked out the Deep River Books website and they appear to be a Subsidy publisher. That just means that the cost of publication is shared between publisher and author. Personally I wouldn't do this. For someone on a budget I recommend www.createspace.com. They will publish your book in Kindle or print but the catch is you have to prepare and provide print-ready files to them. It's a lot of work, but a better alternative than paying thousands of dollars to have your book published. Keep in mind that print books are now selling less than ebooks. Start with ebooks and then go from there. (www.kdp.com) Keep the initial investment low and watch out for people who want your money.”
                To answer how you would go about selling at least 1000 books, I can only say what I have done. Market and promote your book like crazy. This is totally out of my comfort zone, but very much needed. Work on getting book signings, followers on Facebook and Twitter. Get people to write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. For a fair price, I can only say again from my experience. The price on the back of my book is $15.95, but the price will fluctuate (usually lower) on Amazon.

Here is a link for you to follow if you want to know more about the book, or to place an order:

1 comment:

  1. Wowie zowie I'm impressed! Congratulations Natalie and thank you for the honest answers! I think they can inspire anyone to pursue their dreams. Best wishes on the book sales,
    Leslie

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting...I love reading what you all have to say!