Hello everyone! My name is Kenadee or otherwise known as OutOfMyLimit17. I write mostly romance here on Wattpad such as; Something Inside, A Year Agreement and Silent Love. But I have recently dabbled in action with my mafia book The Hidden Shadow, and I am loving it!
I am so honored to be back here for the third time! Thank you Kelly for letting me back and for doing such an amazing job!!
Make sure to enter my giveaway! I am giving away to ARC's (advanced reader copy) of my published book "Silent Love". So make sure to enter as well as everyone else's, you can get some cool stuff! :)
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy my post and always feel free to leave a comment, I'm always looking for new people to talk too.
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For my post I decided to give you guys some tips on publishing. The past year and a half I got my books picked up by the publishing company Limitless Publishing, and it is has been an adventure to say the least.
So I thought why not tell you guys some things I've learned through the whole thing and some advice for new writers or writers that are thinking of publishing their stuff!
But keep in mind I am not a professional. These are just things I've learned, seen, read, experienced, and my own opinion.
These are no order but I will put a (*) near one tip/advice that I think is KEY!
Hope you enjoy!!
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To start off I thought I'd tell you guys how I got published in the first place then continue on with process/tips.
So I actually got my book "A Year Agreement" picked up from the Block Party. Yep, that is right. I think it was the Winter Block Party that Kelly Anne Blount had Limitless come on here and host a 'contest' , it was basically where you comment the link to your story, a brief description, and they would look at it. Whoever they liked would get a publishing deal.
Out of luck they liked my book and in a few months time I was signing a contract for "A Year Agreement" to be published.
The way I was picked up was kind of different then some who send in their manuscripts to publishers. I did send my manuscript for my book "Something Inside" to some publishers. I waited the 4-5 months for a response and got rejected by a few, and picked by a couple but none felt right to me. So in the end it worked perfectly for me!
Now on to the tips and advice....
**1.) IF IT IS A REAL PUBLISHING COMPANY THEY WILL NOT MAKE YOU PAY THEM ANYTHING TO PUBLISH YOUR BOOK!! This is a HUGE one. When I first started sending my book in to get published I found places that told me that they will publish my book if I pay them. I was a bit on the fence about them so I said no. Well when I asked questions to Limitless they told me no publishers should make you pay them to publish your stuff. Stay away from those.
2.) Research publishing companies. Researching the companies is key because you don't want to send your manuscript to some weird company that will make you pay, or not give you your royalties. Of course the bigger the Publishing house the more likely you will need a agent to submit your manuscript but most allow you to send in through email. But always research the company, check out the books they have published, see if any bigger authors are there and if those books are on amazon or barnes and noble. Don't go in blind!
3.) Before sending in your manuscript make sure it is more then slightly edited and that you have a good plot. This way the people who do read it won't immediately put it aside. If you have too much grammar issues it takes focus away from the story and the characters. If there are a few problems with spelling and what not no worries, because everyone has it and those can be fixed in the editing process. Having a good plot helps whoever is reading it want to continue and see potential. (This is just my opinion)
**4.) Don't give up after one rejection! Getting a rejection letter from a publishing company hurts, not gonna lie. All your hard work just throw away, but don't get too upset about it. Instead use that to make your story even better! Sometimes they will tell you what they don't like and that way you can fix it and make the story even better. You can always try again with another publisher as well. Harry Potter got rejected 12 times before it was published and now look at it! So don't ever give up because of one no.
5.) When it comes to the publishing/editing steps YOU are in control. If your editor wants to take out a certain scene but you don't then keep it. It is your story. Editors are there to help you with grammar issues, plot holes, and to make sure that your vision is coming out the way you want. So if they try to change something you don't want changed put your foot down. Although don't make a big deal of just one tiny sentence being cut or changed, now that is a little overboard :D
6.) Everyone is there to help you. This is one thing I have learned since getting published. If you ever have a question ask it. There is no stupid question and someone is bound to know the answer. My agency has a Facebook group where all the writers can post questions, have discussions, etc. Everyone in the company is there too so if any of us have a question or concern they immediately reply and help. I have found everyone is nice and willing to help. If you can use that to your advantage!
7.) When you do get published brace yourself for the reviews. This is a pretty big one that I have come to learn. When my book was finally released I was so excited to get on amazon and read the reviews, see if everyone liked it. Well when I clicked the reviews I was a little heartbroken reading some of the bad reviews. While they weren't too bad I felt like all my hard work and time went down the drain. It took me a bit to get back on and see the reviews I didn't want to see it. But someone told me 'There will always be one person that hates your stuff, that hates what you do. You can't please everyone and if you try to you will wear yourself down.' And they are right. As long as someone likes your stories, your family is supportive and friends, it shouldn't matter what one picky reader has to say.
8.) Now onto Royalties, I get this question a lot. Royalties is what you get for each copy sold. Because the publisher doesn't ask for money they will take out a certain amount every time a copy is sold. It depends on the publisher how much percent you get. You have to remember that they have to pay the editor who took hours to edit it, the cover designer, the paper/equipment it takes to print paperback, and the whole process of putting it on amazon/barnes and noble and kindle versions.
9.) Marketing is key. Some companies will go all out marketing your book, it really depends on who you are with. Mine isn't the greatest at marketing which I kind of hate. With me it is up to myself to always post about my books being out and if I want it to be apart of blogs/newsletters I have to pay to do it. Sometimes they will do it but only if the book is doing so well. But sadly if I don't promote my stuff then people won't see it. I do wish my agency did a better job because I've seen books such as "Chasing Red" be promoted everywhere! But again it is up to whoever you are with. Just wanted to put this on in here. (again my opinion.)
10.) Self Publishing. Now this I don't know much about since I am not self published. Just because I am with an agency I am not saying you shouldn't self published because it is honestly up to you! With self publishing you do everything basically. You have to pay for the printing, covers, marketing, etc BUT you get to keep all the money, you don't have an agency that takes a percentage. It is a lot more work but from friends they like that they have self published. If you have the time/money and drive to self publish then go ahead!! (I'm just a lazy person :D )
11.) One thing I want to add here, even though it isn't really a publishing tip, is LEAVE A REVIEW. If you buy a book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble leave a review! This really, really helps the author. Even if you write "good book" it could do wonders to that author. I have learned (Fairly recently) that is by leaving a review or a rate it helps the author get more seen. Amazon had a ranking system and the more reviews it has the better ranking which means more people can see and find the book. It never hurts to help out an author you like! (just adding that in as my opinion :) )
**12.) Now this one isn't a tip. I wanted to tell you guys what the process of publishing was/is like for me at Limitless. Of course this differs from companies but this is kind of how it all works.
* After you send your manuscript in and sign the contract, you are assigned an editor. This editor is with you from start to end with your book/series. They will read the story over and do a rough edit.
* When they are done with the rough edit they sent it to you to read, accept the small grammar edits.
* You then send it back to them again and this time you do a real edit. This is where if you want to add a scene you can, if you want to delete something that doesn't fit you do, etc. Your editor will edit it, then send it back to you to go over.
*Once again you send it back where they will add/delete anything you may have added or not. Anything you may have missed will be checked over. THEN they will send it to the 'head editor' where that person will read through it, check for mistakes.
* The 'head editor' will send it back to you for you to read over. This is your last edit so have to be sure everything is there you want. You send it back and she will then send it over to printing to get ready.
*During the editing process (Which takes months by the way!) you will fill out a cover sheet questionnaire. My company does this so they can send it to a designer that works on the cover and can get a bit of what the book looks like. You answer questions like- Where is it book set?, What do the characters look like, brief description, a two page full of detail about the story, and anything you want to add if you want a certain quote or symbol on the cover.
*Months will pass as the cover designer does their thing. You will then get a couple of options to look at and choose from. If you like it they will then make teasers and the official cover, if not they will change it.
*While that is going on you will another editor send you a description for the back cover. You will read it over, edit it, send it back. This happens at least twice to make sure it sounds good and things are correct.
*And finally, after months of editing and getting covers done, your pre-order day comes and your release day! By the way you get your release day after the second edit usually.
But yeah that is basically the process. As you can see there is so much editing that happens it is insane! I will sometimes spend hours staring at my laptop screen to do edits. So when you hear authors complaining about edits you know why :D
Of course all of that differs from companies! This is just the way Limitless does it!!
Anyways, that is the end of my tips/advice. If you have more questions or advice leave a comment or message me! I always reply so feel free to do so!!
I hope this helped a bit for those that are thinking of publishing their stories. Everyone has a different experience so keep that in mind. I have a good one but others haven't. If you are planning on publishing that is incredible and I have my fingers crossed for you! It is always amazing to see Wattpad authors getting published or books made into movies.
Thank you guys so much for taking the time to read my post! Make sure to check out everyone else's posts and to check the giveaways!! And don't forget to follow me if you'd like to read my stuff or talk to me :)
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
-Ken
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