The woes of Self Publishing

@lilkolo91 I have avast on the old PC in our office and it's a really good virus software. I honestly can't tell you why I never put it on the laptop. I should. I don't really care for Norton and I really can't stand McAfee

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@Blayde I have security essentials on my laptop, but not the other two you mentioned. I still got slammed. I think no matter what you run they find a way around it eventually.

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@Ctyolene never said I was, I was just pointing out that I don't believe that's exactly a hard and fast rule and I don't buy that all teens are so lazy that they won't read a paragraph that's longer than 3 sentences. I am not saying all paragraphs should be miles long, I just don't see why they all need to be 3 sentences if the paragraph works as is then leave it.

And I said I changed the synopsis. It's much shorter now.

I honestly don't know what to do. I can't convert the PDF file, the other version of the manuscript I have is over a year old, probably 10 or so versions back. (at the very least) If I had known they were going to send back a PDF I would have made a dup of the file before I sent it. The free versions of PDF converters I tried, one gave me a lovely virus, luckily I got rid of that one on my own, and the other messed up the formatting. And the Adobe upgrade software costs something like $149, all I have is the free one. Since it's and Adobe file I thought the Adobe software might convert it without messing it up, but I do not want to spend even more money. (at the time I looked at the software I wanted to put the book up for sale on the Nook because I found out you could do it for free through Barnes and Noble, they don't accept PDF files however)

So I'm not sure what to do. If I try and use the old file it would basically be like writing an entirely new book, which would be really annoying. I love the story I have already completed.

(by the way my husband is tossing around the .99 cent idea. He liked that one as much as I didn't like it and he doesn't even like to read!!)

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@VictoriaKaer

I looked at the first few pages of your story. You need some serious editing if you want the book to sell better.

"Come on." I muttered under my breath.

Should be: "Come on," I muttered under my breath.

You need to stop using the words "just" and "even" in every sentence. Also, why do 99% of your sentences start with the words "I"

I know you keep saying you can't spend any more money, but fortunately, thanks to google, learning how to write is free.

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@VictoriaKaer 99 cent books sell. People will take a chance on an unknown author if it only costs 99 cent. You may not like it, but it's obvious selling it at the price you set isn't working.

I said an average of three sentences per paragraph, not exactly three. Certainly teens can read a longer paragraph, but they don't want to. If you want to get teens to buy your book, you have to format it in a way that's appealing to them. Otherwise you'll have a book that no-one will buy. In fact, you already have that.

Look, you need to rewrite. It won't be fun, and it will be hard work but you'll end up with a better book. So forget about the PDFs, they are not useful to you. You have a lot of rewriting to do before you can realistically expect people to buy it.

Forget about what you've spend, work on getting the book right, take advantage of the people who have offered you help with your cover, and upload a free book to Amazon.

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@VictoriaKaer

Really you need to find some fans or write such topics that will attract people to your book.

If writing was that easy most of us on Watty would be making money already. It's not. I do suggest you to troll here on Watty for at least 6 months. The first month is the hardest, you need to tell people about your book and pick up readers. If your book is interesting it wont be long to hit 10,000 within 30 days. Sometimes its faster but most of the time it's not. I seen people posting stories here before I came and still have not hit 500 reads!

I suggest you to start here:

http://www.wattpad.com/club/38-share-your-story

Good luck...

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@RichardStaschy It's not a wattpad book. She's not looking for wattpad reads.

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@Parogar She paid handsomely for an editor.

@VictoriaKaer Was there a service level agreement from Lulu for their editing service? If there was, you can sue if they didn't live up to their contract's service level.

You can also threaten to go public if they don't make things right. You may not have found anyone to review your book, but the same people will be eager to write about a company that did what Lulu did.

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@Blayde

Whether she paid for an editor or not is irrelevant to the fact that the book still needs to be edited.

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@Blayde

It depends on how you look at it... People that do read your book ~and love it ~ will give you a reputation. And then you can sell your book.... If nobody knows who you are then your going to have a hard time to sell your book...

I dont see this as wattpad books but a way to show my talents to other readers.

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@Blayde I had a friend of mine who's not a lawyer but deals with business law try and contact them, he sent them a letter or an email explaining how they had breached their contract with me, I can't remember which or if it was both. They totally ignored it. They honestly don't care and I don't have money to hire a lawyer and sue so I had to let it go.

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@VictoriaKaer I'm sorry to hear that. That's the problem with suing. It costs money to sue.

You can go the other route. Spread the word whereever you can about how they cheated you. But you better make sure they did cheat you otherwise they'll be suing you for libel or slander or whatever it's called.

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@VictoriaKaer You could have a hard time proving it. I didn't notice any spelling issues or obvious grammar errors in the book, the problems were structural rather than line edits.

Seriously, I think your best bet is to rewrite your book, and republish it yourself for free on Amazon and Smashwords.

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@Ctyolene thats because i fixed what i found before it went out through createspace. But since the manuscript obvioisly still has issues you guys are seeing then it is also obvious the editor was of no use and a waste of money. I mean what exactly did he do for 1800 bucks? All i got was a repot that said this is how you do a page break this is how you make this blah blah blah. And while some of it was good information, the rest was like um ok but you didnt DO anything, what did you edit?

So yeah, yup kinda past frustrated into stressed and depressed now and kinda done. I have nothin to work with now. Totally tapped out, with unworkable files and no desire to start from scratch when i have a complete file sitting in my computer.

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Dumb nook wont let me work with the other post, it just cut me off. Anyway, i looked at the older file i have in my compter of the manuscript and i cant use it, it is just way too old, it isnt even a completed one. I had thought it was but it wasnt. The only other one i have is the one lulu formatted which is also a pdf. So nothing usable.

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@VictoriaKaer You can use Calibre http://calibre-ebook.com/ to convert your whatever format the book is in into a txt. document that you can edit. No viruses. I have it. And it's completely free.

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@VictoriaKaer Okay... So as a published author., Have you thought of offering a review exchange with fellow authors? I have exchanged reviews with many of the other authors in my publishing group. The result makes both me and the other author happy. Make an offering to another published author... email them a free pdf of your story, and let them do the same for you.

I am published under two pen names This one, and Shiloh Darke, which is my adult fantasy novels..... But, AWARENESS, my first YA novel, is under this name and basically an UNKNOWN... first story... ANYWAY.... i did what I am suggesting to you and it has worked quite well for me.

The trick is to KEEP writing. and Do everything you can for exposure.There are LOTS of free options! Get on facebook. Make an Author page,(fan page) Pimp it! fan the review groups on FB... join every damn site you can find to get your name and your work out there. Set up a website (you can do this free) put a blog on it.... visit other blogs.... Some authors also interview others.... Put yourself out there as interested...

Unfortunately, the chances of making a million super fast (or at all) is slim. I've been published as Shiloh Darke since 2007 and my checks, which only come quarterly, are just now getting into the higher range. But don't quit. and don't stop... The more you get out there, the more people will take a chance on you... then come back.

If you've done all these things, then do them again.... and again.... It's almost harder to promote than it is to write the books! But it CAN be done.

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@VictoriaKaer Free/cheap things that can help: 1. Keep writing! The best marketing you can have, is more books. The more books you have, the more visibility you get, so keep writing. Worry less about active marketing and more about writing quality and quantity. 2. Get a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style and learn how to do your own editing. It's not as good as having a real editor of course, and it'll take time from writing your next book, but it'll be much better and cheaper than what you've already done. I've also found it very helpful to my own writing as my rough drafts are now a million times better than they used to be, and need much less editing. 3. Cover is very important. There are some great cover artists here on Wattpad who are generally wiling to do free cover art. The cover is the first chance you have of gaining or LOSING a customer. If the cover is crappy, they won't even look at the description/reviews. If the cover is awesome, they will, even if they weren't looking for anything like your book. 4. Don't limit your exposure. Use every distribution method you can. Do NOT limit yourself to anything like Amazon Select. Amazon only has 40% of the market share. Sure, they are the largest out there, but 40% is NOT 100%. There is no reason to not make your book available to everyone. So, at the very least distribute through Amazon and Smashwords. 5. Price. There are a ton of studies out there about e-book pricing. Almost all will tell you to keep your price at $4.99 or lower. As a first time author, and with what is apparently(to this group) questionable cover art and editing, your price should be at $2.99 or more likely $0.99.

I hope this helps. -SJF

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@ClariiY I'll give it a try but I have tried twice to convert the PDF already with no luck. Maybe this one will work (i sent an email to createspace the other day to ask them if they would send me back a non PDF version of the final manuscript, they totally misunderstood the email and sent me some random thing on how to read the kindle version if i dont have a kindle, so i had to email them again)

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@RowanShannigan I don't know any other published authors. I have, facebook, twitter and three websites. Plus i am on here, i was on figmemt too but i found out most of the people on there treat the place like it is the high school hallways and they go all clique-ish and if you don't do things their way they hate on you and gang up on you and basically force you out. And the mods dont care. I dont know feels like no matter what i do it goes no where.

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I am doing a little happy dance currently, i just got an email from one of my coordinators at createspace. They are going to convert the PDF file for me at no charge :) but it is going to take 3-5 days. But for free i am not gonna complain! At least i now will have a text file i can work with, whoo hoo! Glad i thought to email and ask them! It is a start.

I am still trembling at the thought of making the kindle .99 cents. It seems like a huge step. I wanna smash my head on something (course that also could be from the migraine i have had for the last week, who knows) i just dont know what to do there. It seems like a major cop out, you know? Like youre just giving up.

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@VictoriaKaer Before you get too happy, remember that you still need to do a lot of structural editing.

And there are published authors here on Wattpad.

I swear, you will sell books at 99c.

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@VictoriaKaer To back up @Ctyolene You will sell more books, but you still have to make sure the book is the best it can be. This book is your introduction or 'first date', if you will, with your potential customers for your entire writing career. Everyone who reads this book is a high-potential customer for every other book you write. If this book is good and high-quality, many of them won't think twice about spending $2.99 or even $4.99 on your next book. Conversely, if this one is bad, many who read it won't even spend $0.99 on your next one.

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@VictoriaKaer I am a Published Author. There are MANY of them here! And if you introduce yourself to some, ON FACEBOOK as well as HERE and other places, and maybe offer to do a review swap, like I suggested, many of them will most likely be willing. It is exposure, NOT just for you, but for them too. None of them are gonna bite you.

But you do need to make your story shine. Edit, re-edit... But WHILE you do that, you could also get to know some authors, and then, when it's ready, you can rack up some reviews.... Just a suggestion.

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@Ctyolene I got the manuscript back already, wow those createspace people are fast. Whoo hoo. Ok now down to editing.

And also I seriously googled the hell out of the whole "removal of tab and paragraph" thing and the only thing I found was how to turn off the little symbols, which I already know how to do. Sometimes google is so lame.

And does anyone know how to center text all the way around on a page? Like not just left and right but top and bottom too? Can't figure it out for the life of me....

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