Writing and distributing your own self-published novel can be an extremely rewarding experience when successful. There is no better accomplishment for a writer than see their hard work in print. However, getting your story published is no easy task, which is why many new writers nowadays are self-publishing their novels in order to attract attention. There are many advantages to self-publishing a novel, although it is not a good option for anyone who does not want to spend the time, money and effort it takes to get the book to market. The most important thing to ensure before trying to sell a single copy of your book is that you are completely happy with the finished product, and it has been thoroughly checked over and read by at least five different people to ensure the quality of the writing.

Publishing

It is very important that a self-published novel looks professional and is produced in a cost effective, yet high quality manner. It is worth spending a little extra money ensuring that you are completely happy with the final product, as you do not want to sell something that you feel could be better. It may be worth paying a professional artist or designer to complete the artwork and help with the layout of the covers, as this can be important to getting sales. The look of the book and the blurb on the back can be instrumental in attracting people. It turns out that people do, in fact, judge a book by its cover so spending a little extra money getting this right is important.

Marketing

For the best results in trying to successfully sell a self-published novel, it is important to have a well-developed marketing strategy that involves online and offline sales. Online distribution can be set up through a number of different avenues including online bookstores such as Amazon. It is also a good idea to set up a website and blog to allow for direct sales. Social networking sites can be very useful for this as well. These will enable you to direct any potential sales straight to your target audience. Other important things you can do to help distribute a self-published novel include sending copies to review sites and magazines in order to get high profile book reviews, having stalls at book fairs and exhibitions, and having a well-publicized book launch and public book readings.

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If you are an author and want to advertise a self-published novel, you have to be prepared to do a little bit of self-promotion work and to spend a bit of money. Advertising your self-published novel requires both time and effort. There are many websites that allow you to add book(s) to their market place, while there is an array of online PR Companies who will help you advertise to your chosen market.

How to Publish and Advertise a Book

The two leading online portals for authors looking to publish their novels are CreateSpace and Lulu. Lulu is far pricier to order in bulk, but the sizing options vary from A6 to A4, and you can choose from hardback, casewrap, or paperback. Amazon’s CreateSpace offers an option where you can earn more royalties by purchasing the Expanded Distribution at only $25.00, but they offer only a paperback version. Lulu’s Expanded Distribution costs $75.00. It can be time consuming to add a book to every online bookstore, but Expanded Distribution ensures to do this within 6 to 8 weeks, and the book will be on Amazon.com within 7-days. Any published author should have a personal website and various social network pages so once the book is on Amazon, you can then advertise it on your website and promote it through Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter etc.

How to Publish and Advertise an eBook

Amazon’s Kindle offers an easy way to advertise and distribute a self-published novel, and even offers the chance for your novel to earn monthly royalties depending on downloads. eBooks are proving to be big sellers in the market at the moment. Kindle reading devices and Smartphones make it easy for readers to download books effortlessly. If your book is non-fiction, perhaps you could write a short synopsis of each chapter to engage your audience then add a link to your website.

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Choose the right parts

The manufacturer will recommend certain components and to use anything other than what the manufacturer recommends will cause a noticeable decrease in the effectiveness of your printer. A very simplistic analogy would be that of using Ford car parts in an Audi. You might get away with it, but it will certainly not be working to its optimum. HP manufacture a large selection of printers. Your HP printer will have specific recommendations for the different brands such as Officejet Pro, Officejet, Laserjet, Deskjet. These are just some of the options available, so it makes since that there would be an equally large selection of ink and HP toner for your HP printer.

What is the difference between HP printer ink and toner?

The idea behind the use of printer ink is basically the same as writing with a pen. Ink is applied to paper through the pen and then pressure is applied to the ink via the point of the pen. Similarly with a printer, ink is applied to paper and pressure is applied to the ink to make it stick to the paper. Printer toner is a fine powder that is used with laser printers. No pressure is applied but instead a laser is used to burn the toner on to the printing paper.

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Creating engaging articles or enchanting tales can be difficult when outside influences seem to conspire against you. That is why it is important to create a well-suited writing sanctuary in order to provide a working space that is free from any troublesome distractions.

Kitting out Your Writing Corner

Decent lighting is an important aspect to creating the perfect writing sanctuary. If natural light does not reach the room adequately, diffused lamp or main light would suffice. Harsh direct light could be distracting and even cause headaches when spending extended periods of time writing. Comfortable furniture is another meaningful consideration. What is and what is not comfortable greatly varies from person to person, but generally you should ensure that you have a good writing desk, reliable stationary and a comfy chair or couch either for writing on or simply for reading and contemplating. Painting the walls with a warm color can further create a warm and relaxing atmosphere. Inspiration comes in many forms, but if you happen to have some object, poster or photo that ignites insight, keeping it within sight is a good idea. Appealing to your senses is the main idea when kitting out your writing sanctuary.

Creating Effective Habits

Thomas Jefferson once said, “For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.” This could easily be applied to a well-organized working space, which would be your greatest weapon against the evil forces of “writer’s block”. Creating and sticking to a schedule is another writer’s trick. The brain is a creature of habit and if it is conditioned to follow some sort of set agenda day after day, it will happily fall into a painless routine.

Eliminating distractions altogether is nigh impossible. Doing everything within your power to minimize them, however, will help greatly to create a congenial writing sanctuary. The rest of the time will require some patience and faith.

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“We all have a book inside us” or so the saying goes, but many writers are daunted by the task of putting their work out there for fear of rejection. A lot of excellent writers never see their work published, not because it is lacking in quality, but because they are put off by the daunting task of finding a publisher. However, there is another option available for writers who would like to put their book out there for others to read. Self-publishing is an option for those who don’t necessarily want a bestseller, but who wish for others to read and to enjoy their work.

Decide Which Genre

Before writing a novel or any book, it is very important to have an idea who will be reading it. If the writer can imagine the reader and write specifically for them, the story or text will flow much more naturally. Your readership will be dependent on the genre, as this, more than anything will determine what kind of person will enjoy your book.

Be Prepared to Market Your Product

Once the book has been written, proofread, edited, re-drafted and finally completed, you can then send it to print. There are numerous printing companies, many of which can be found online, that specialize in printing novels for authors. However, this isn’t where your self-publishing journey ends as there is a lot of self-publicity and marketing to be done. A good starting place to advertise your book is to make use of your social network profiles. Facebook, Twitter and any personal blogs should be used to attract your friends, family and readers to the fact that your book is available. This will give you the platform to sell the book directly to your readers.

Have an Attractive cover

This may sound obvious, but people do judge books by their covers. When designing your cover, you need to consider what will be appealing to your target audience. Also, you have to consider what your cover will look like in “thumbnail” size as many self-published books will be sold online from sites that show their pictures in “thumbnail sizes.”

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Like most things you spend time searching for in life, inspiration usually hits when you least expect it. Albert Einstein is quoted to have said, “Why is it I always get my best ideas while shaving?” and is believed to have received so many of his ideas while showering that he installed waterproof materials for recording his sparks of insight. But while inspiration may strike at any time, there are times when you need to nudge it along a bit.

Finding Inspiration for Your Next Novel

The axiom “Write what you know” is frequently put to novice writers for a good reason. Writing on what you have experience and knowledge about makes the act of writing much easier as your mind is free to focus on the novel or short story. Writing a novel just seems so much more daunting if it involves tons of research into areas you know nothing about – enter writer’s block, stage left. Ideas and inspiration are easily found in everyday life. Stephen King gets an idea for a novel by combining two seemingly ordinary everything things and posing the question “What if?” A way to allow ideas to incubate and grow is to perform monotonous activities such as washing dishes, running, chopping onions and such.

Activating the Creative Brain

A well-oiled brain is not only important to notice inspiration when it rears its head, but also to know what to do with it. “A healthy body houses a healthy mind” goes the famous saying. Exercise is important as it increases blood flow to the brain, which in turn releases endorphins into the bloodstream and creates new neural pathways. Music has also been known to forge new connections between neurons and stimulate creativity. Ensuring that you are getting the correct amount of vitamins and minerals while maintaining a balanced diet is essential to a healthy brain. Remember, vitamin B is for Brain Power.

Follow a healthy physical and mental regime to keep your mind clear and operating at its peak. Be open to new and different ideas as well as everyday happenings in and around your own life and allow them to intertwine and take on a life of their own. Then put them into a novel.

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