BOOKWORM

Independently Publishing The Right Way

By Marsha Casper Cook

I’ve been an advocate for independently published authors for years. However, only if you take the time to do it right. There are several steps that are required, but the most important is the story has to be good. Take time to write the story you want to tell, and don’t cut corners to save time. Take as much time as you need, and promise yourself you will not rush through your writing. Some authors are faster than others in getting out their stories, but this is your story, no one else’s.

I have asked three extremely competent women to answer some of the questions that make Independent Publishing easier, Fran Lewis,Robin Surface and Melissa Smith.

Robin Surface is the

President/Owner of Fideli Publishing, Inc. She has a BA in Journalism, with a minor in creative writing. She has worked in various jobs in the printing/ publishing industry since 1985, including typographer, production manager for a national trade magazine, news reporter, weekend magazine editor, graphic artist, and book production/printing coordinator. Her specialties are book covers and text design. other place joined us.

Self-publishing, to me, means the author is doing everything to get their book published themselves. Independently publishing, my definition again, is the author keeps control of every aspect of the process, but pays professionals to help out with things like editing, cover creation, text formatting, and even setting up accounts with IngramSpark, Amazon, etc. This is what Fideli does. We provide the services, and oftentimes the guidance,

Robin has helped hundreds of writers start their career the right way. Her knowledge about publishing is an author’s greatest tool. Her thoughtfulness and caring demeanor are an author’s greatest ally.

Why did you decide to become an independent publisher? And is there a difference between the term self-publishing and independently publishing?

I originally worked for another publisher, but that turned out to be a scam business. Once I realized what was going on, one of the other women in my department and I decided we could do it better and in a legitimate way. So, we worked on a business plan, decided on a name, and created a logo, then talked her husband into renting one of his buildings to us at a reduced rate. Several of the other people we worked with at the

Before an author decides to independently publish their book, what steps should they take before they come to you to make their experience easier for both of you?

At minimum, the author has completed the manuscript and is done making changes. At that point, I recommend an editor. The author could also find their own editor and come to me once the editing process is complete. Authors should never submit files they are not finished with. This creates confusion and can result in the wrong file being used when the book is formatted. We don’t need to see the manuscript before it’s finished.

If they don’t follow your advice and try to cut corners, what might make them less successful?

Authors who use friends (non-professionals) as editors usually end up with a book that isn’t all it could be. Professional editors are just that - professionals. They do this for a living and are good at their jobs (they wouldn’t stay in business long if they weren’t). Nancy from down the street is not qualified to edit your book, even if she’s an English teacher. Yes, editing is relatively expensive - but it’s worth it!

The same goes for cover creation. Your book’s cover is its first impression. You don’t want that impression to be a bad one. Illustrators and graphic artists are also professionals, and what they can do for your book is so far above and beyond what friends, relatives, and people with no experience creating book covers can do for you. It’s the difference between your book looking like a high school English report and looking like a best-selling book.

What’s your advice on choosing a cover for their book as well as a description and tag words?

certain look, and you need to be sure you deliver. For example, I have an author who writes action/ adventure books. He insisted that a crayon drawing be the cover for his first book because it had sentimental value for him. It was a terrible idea, as far as attracting reader attention. Action/ adventure readers expect to see action hero-types, guns, planes, etc. on the covers of the books they choose. Eventually, when he saw that sales were non-existent, he relented and allowed me to make an appropriate cover for him. His sales picked up immediately - even though nothing else about the book had changed.

The description is the second thing potential readers see. That description needs to be dynamite! It needs to be the best salesperson it can be for your book. It’s a good idea to have a tagline (like you see for blockbuster movies), then a short paragraph that hits on all the high points of the story. Shoppers will most likely make through both of those things before moving on, so they need to be spot-on. Most authors I work with complain that writing these two things is harder than writing the book! Once you’ve done that, you can use additional paragraphs to expand on what you said in the first. Just remember that most people won’t read more than about 3 paragraphs, and you don’t want to retell the book - you want to tease the reader and make them want to know more.

Tag words are not just single words. (I had an author who insisted that you could only use one word.) Think of this more as key phrases containing keywords. You want to think about what phrases you would use to search for a book like yours when shopping for something new to read. You can also research the words used by other books that are similar to yours by exploring on Amazon. These are important because Amazon gives you more “points” when people reach your book’s page using a keyword/ phrase you’ve listed in your dashboard, and this helps your Amazon ranking.

Do you advise them what to do as far as marketing when their book is finally ready to publish?

Marketing is a tricky thing. There are so many companies out there offering to make your book a bestseller. The rule of thumb I follow is, if it sounds too good to be true - it almost always is! There is no one thing you can do to make your book a bestseller, unless you suddenly become a national celebrity. There is a huge amount of behind-the-scenes work required to drive people to your book’s product pages.

Marketing can be overwhelming, so I recommend starting at the local level. Make sure your local newspaper, magazine, TV and radio stations all know you’ve written a book and are available for interviews. Offer to speak at club meetings, the chamber of commerce, schools, etc. Basically, you need to get out there and create buzz regarding your book. Once you’ve mastered the local level of things, then you’ll be better prepared to enlarge the circle of know your book exists when it’s buried in those other million books published this year? That’s what marketing does, and it’s a constant thing. You can’t just do one thing and expect that momentum

influence. Just keep doing that and building on what you’ve done, and eventually you’ll have a nice network built up.

Do you think authors believe that just by publishing a book they automatically should be having sales or do they need help to get there?

There are millions of books out there and that number grows by about a million each year. The act of “publishing” your book, i.e., making it available for sale online and elsewhere, does not mean you will have sales. How would anyone even

, but you also can’t be obnoxious about it. Just screaming, “Buy my book!” isn’t effective. You have to provide people with interesting/useful information (when posting on social media, etc.) or give them a glimpse into what it’s like being an author (interviews, etc.). If you’re not willing to put in that work and keep at it, then you’re not going to have big (or possibly any) sales numbers.

Can a new author have a good career in writing if they choose to go the independent route?

There are independent authors who have made careers from their writing, but they have worked darned hard to make that happen. While it may have looked easy from the outside, most independent author success stories involve a lot of rejection, hard work, ingenuity, and even more hard work.

If you want to make a career of writing, you need to approach it like a business. Create a business and marketing plan, and make it extremely detailed so that you have a step-by-step guide for what you need to do to make your dream a reality - then change things as you go when you find out that some of the things don’t work well for you. The plan should be fluid enough to change when needed.

Research everything. Learn how the publishing industry works, learn how marketing works, gain an intimate knowledge of social media and keep up with the trends there. Don’t make assumptions about anything - you’ll just end up being frustrated when things don’t work the way you thought they did.

Writing the book is just the first step, so be prepared to work hard to achieve your dream.

Melissa Smith is an editor who is dedicated to helping new authors, especially Independently Published authors. She is also a new author who

likes to write steamy romances and strange sci-fi. Her writing interests are almost as diverse as her reading interests. She currently writes Contemporary Romance, Sci-fi Romance, and YA Sci-fi. Her YA Sci-fi series was written for her younger sister, but she’s enjoying writing those stories just as much as her others.

Melissa has recently included helping authors increase their sales with excellent suggestions to help them market more efficiently. She also understands that new authors need help, and that’s exactly what she does in a very kind, unassuming way.

As authors create their media packages, what Melissa teaches them is how to brand themselves in a very competitive marketplace. Her patience and understanding is just what new authors need. She also has clients that are established authors who also need a marketing plan.

When she’s not editing, writing, or proofreading for others, she’s reading fiction books, whether it’s romance, paranormal, suspense, or sci-fi.

When a new author comes to you for help as to where they begin, what advice do you give them? It all depends on where they’re at in their author journey. Starting out is hard, no matter how far you are, so if this is their first book and they’re trying to establish a social media presence, you can never start too early. Start advertising any teasers you can, talk about your writing process, join reader groups, start your own, and even join parties if you can. If you can make some bookmarks or even offer ebooks in giveaways to entice readers to stay and support, use it. Find other authors who write similar genres and see what sorts of things they’re doing and if you can use any of their techniques to help you grow. Don’t ever be ashamed of asking for help. This process is hard, time consuming, and costly, and if you can get some help from friends at no cost, take it! We’re all in this together and want to help each other succeed. I’ve been working closely with some authors who have multiple books published but little to no social media presence. They don’t know what to do or how to get readers. So far, Facebook Groups seem to be where people are and that’s been what works for me and my friends, so I recommend starting a group, making weekly interaction posts that you can schedule ahead of time, and if possible, try joining in on parties and hops because readers love freebies and games! Yes, it can take a lot of work to plan all that and manage it, but it’s worth it when you start to build a following and have faithful readers who can then join your beta and ARC teams to help you grow.

How important is good editing?

In this day, I’d say it’s pretty important. Now, this depends on who you ask as well. Personally, I don’t care if a book has errors, I read for the story, not the perfection. I have, however, seen readers and reviewers dock stars, complain, or even bash authors for errors in their books. And it’s not easy to find good editing when the English language constantly changes, so many things are up to the authors discretion too, and it can be hard to be 100% accurate. Should you find someone or multiple people to help you edit, if you can, yes. Definitely, because the cleaner and more professional your book seems, the better it tends to do.

You also want help editing for your flow and word choices. You want the book to flow naturally, the story to feel comfortable and not forced. If your writing is too choppy and awkward, it could deter people, so having someone to point out those issues and help you find a better way to reword things can

be extremely helpful. Writing a book is tough because you don’t want to be too smart and use too many big words and overly complicated phrasing, but you don’t want to write too simply or use small sentences and make the readers feel dumb. There’s a middle ground that you have to find and stick with, so having editors or even beta readers to help you establish your voice is incredibly helpful.

When an author is not ready to publish, what kind of help can you give them so they finish their book?

I’m always happy to help my clients with plotting, bouncing ideas, or anything else they may need to get through. Sometimes they simply need someone to message them regularly and ask how it’s going. Sometimes they need to bounce ideas and get opinions or suggestions. Sometimes they just want someone to read what they have and make sure it’s flowing because they’re feeling a little unsure. A little encouragement and cooperation can go a really long way. Having a friend or colleague to bounce ideas off of or get opinions from can be a huge help, I know it is for me. I also recommend sharing about the book. If you start sharing teasers, cover reveals, and even setting the date of release can be a huge push for some people to get that book done. If other people know that it’s in the works and are talking about it, begging for it, it can push you to keep going for them. It can also make it feel more real. Sometimes, when you’re writing a book, if you’re the only one who knows it’s in the works, it can make you feel as if you can pretend it isn’t there, so if you slack off, who cares, right? If you announce it, share it with people, then you have that push, those reminders that you’re working on something that the people want to see.

How important is a marketing plan, especially when the author is on a very tight budget? So, I’m kind of an oddball in the sense that I have no plan, I just do what I can. I have a very tight budget and will utilize any options that I can for free to get by because starting out, you make so little. Having a plan is probably very beneficial for those who like to be planners. For me, the most planning I do is a week at a time and when to post certain things. I write down when I will share what teaser, which review post, advertise for another author, and so on. I tend to watch the other authors around me to see what they are posting and how I can use their ideas for myself, if at all possible.

Being proactive and making an effort to put yourself out there makes all the difference, but with the way things change so rapidly on social media, it can be impossible to plan more than a week at a time. Even this morning on TikTok, the song I was going to use for a video left the trending list within minutes of me making my video and was no longer there. You have to be willing to be adaptable and change your plan and try new things to stay visible to your readers. If you aren’t willing to change your ways and try something new once in a while, you’ll fade to the background and never make it. It’s the awful reality of this business.

That being said, try to plan what you can, but leave wiggle room for adaptability and prepare to toss old ideas and create new ones regularly. Be willing to make new graphics, change up your image, refresh your posting

style now and then to be eye-catching. Just don’t lose yourself in the trends and forget what you’re really about.

A new author may be very sensitive to criticism. What advice do you give them to encourage them?

I struggle with this myself, so the best advice I’ve been given and continue to share is to take what you can from it. Learn what you can and grow, but don’t wallow in the negatives. Sometimes you’ll get negative reviews or a reader comes after you for something, but you have to take a second, analyze the issue, and discern what you can learn from it and do different next time. You can’t please everyone, so don’t even try.

If you aren’t willing to at least try to learn and grow, you’ll struggle, as an author, as a person. Everything changes, so must you. If someone advises you to add more dialogue, add more description, tone it down a bit, whatever, take that openly. Take some time to soak it in and think about what changes you might be able to make, then take a look at your work and try to see what they mean, see if you can adjust to fix said issues. If you really just can’t, get help from someone who is willing to teach you and work with you.

Sometimes, even ranting to a fellow author or friend who understands can help you get out the frustration over a criticism before you handle it. I’ve done it before myself, ranted to my PA and best friend about reviews and talked it through with her before deciding whether or not it’s a critique worth utilizing or ignoring. Not all criticisms are worth your time, some of them you will ignore and move on, and that’s okay too. You have to do what is best for you and your books.

In reviewing books, what is the criteria you use in your review process?

I’m a very open reader. I like most genres and writing styles, I’m not picky or overly analytical, so for me, it’s easy to rate a book 5 stars. If the book made me feel, sucked me in and made me keep reading, I genuinely enjoyed it and did not struggle to keep reading, it’s definitely worth 5 stars. If I was that into the book, the author clearly worked hard to make sure we would devour it, and that’s worth it.

If the book has an abundance of story inconsistencies, is difficult for me to read, or I struggle to follow the story, I may take a star or two off, but I will always write something positive with my critique. “This book was a little slow, difficult for me to get into, but the romance is sweet and heartwarming.” Something like that. I don’t want authors to get so beat down by reviews that they feel like failures. Just because I struggled with the book doesn’t mean others will too. Some people may absolutely love the books I struggle with.

I also prefer not to recap the book. The book has a description to tell the readers what it’s about, so I feel my review should highlight the good things about the book without recapping. I try to point out the things I loved, like how it made me feel everything, the characters are relatable and worth falling for, or the plot is unpredictable and makes you devour the story. I don’t want a recap when reading reviews, I want to know what you genuinely thought.

Fran Lewis is an avid reader and an accomplished book reviewer. She worked in the NYC Public Schools as the Reading and Writing Staff Developer for over 36 years, and has three master’s degrees, and a PD in Supervision and Administration. Currently, she is a member of Who’s Who of America’s Teachers and Who’s Who of America’s Executives from Cambridge. Her talents didn’t stop there because she also was the musical director for shows in her school, and ran the school’s newspaper.

Fran has authored 14 books and is the editor of a very successful publication, MJ Magazine. Fran named the magazine in honor of her late sister, and she also has published several books about Alzheimer’s in honor of her late mother.

Fran has her own Podcast on Blog Talk Radio, as well as a well-known

In order to create a positive review, I need to read the author’s novel with a critical eye, focusing on the characters, and if they are believable, provide substance to the general plot, and if the plot flows in a way that allows readers to easily understand the storyline. If it’s a murder mystery, the author has to have knowledge of how these cases are processed by law enforcement, and the events related have to be credible and correct. The plot has to flow, and the twists and turns have to add to an ending that will make the reader want more of the main character and the author’s work.

How does an author choose a reviewer?

I receive requests for most of my reviews from the publisher or publicist that is promoting this author’s title. At times, an author that has requested a review in the past will ask for another one for a new title. It also depends on the genres the reviewer will review. I will not charge an author for a review. I enjoy reading different types of books and helping to promote their work. I don’t feel I want to charge for my opinion.

If you feel the author isn’t up to par for a good review, what do you do to help them?

If I don’t think the book yields a positive review, I won’t review the book. I will not plan an author’s work, but I will, if asked, give them some reasons why the plot needs more action, the main character needs to be more credible, and the book might need better editing or content editing.

When all is said and done, I hope you come away with the feeling you can do it, because you can. Writing isn’t easy, but it can and should be fun. The reader wants a good story, so give them what they want and they will come back for more.

How important is a book review?

A book review that presents a positive or even at times some positive criticism can help an author understand what readers want and what they think this author offers in his/her work. Negative reviews that boast an opinion should be ignored.

If an author gets an unfavorable review from another reviewer, what is your advice to them so they don’t take it to heart and stop writing?

For the most part, reviewers tend to be fair, but an author should stand by his/work and not let a negative review tarnish your ability to keep writing.

How does an author know that the reviewer actually read their book?

When a reviewer sends you a review that includes plot points, character actions, and important elements in the novel, you know they read it. They also include the messages you are trying to convey. But if a reviewer quotes the back cover or says the book is awful, I never should have read it, or even, it’s a good book but the review has no substance, they never read it. You can also tell if they copied another person’s thoughts.

Interview by Marsha Casper Cook