Things I Wish I Knew

Writing really is the easy bit. A notepad, a pen, a bit of free time, and imagination. It doesn't matter if the scrawl makes no sense, if the writing suddenly goes off on a tangent because a random thought has popped into my head and if I don't write it down, I'll forget it.

Finishing the book is where the hard work REALLY begins. Editing? Sure, I can do that. Three drafts later, it's out to literary agents and the rejections start coming in (however, I did get some nice feedback!)

Turns out, editing is about much more than spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and minor corrections. With a qualified, experienced editor working on Horizon Skies, I received critique, advice, and she encouraged me to think about what I had written and why parts of it needed a little extra work.

It's not all about word count. I found a phrase throughout the book that I had used so many times, that along with the chapters I'd cut, reduced the number of words from 108k to 104k.

Invest in decent writing software. Word is great, but it is limiting, and when it comes to formatting, it's rage inducing!

Allow plenty of time between having the book publish ready to actually publishing. It's much less stressful, and when self-publishing means that any eventualities don't come as a surprise.

Marketing is a minefield. I haven't prepared for this as much as I should have, but this is the learning curve, and I will be much better prepared when book two is ready. I'm hoping to get a bit more marketing savvy, and will make better use of the resources available. Miblart, who created the stunning cover also provide marketing materials, swag, and formatting services.

This all costs money though, and without the backing of a literary agent or publishing house the expense is 100% on me. There'll be a later post on the money side of things, as I will need to sell a lot of copies to start making money back.