I Answer My Own Publishing Questions from Eight Years Ago

I’ve been going through things so I can sell my house, and I recently found a list of questions I made when I met with an author as I was preparing to publish my debut novel back in 2017. I thought it would be fun to go through those questions with you all and see how much I’ve learned since then. Here we go!

Q: How do you edit? Does someone else do it for you?
A: Depends on the edit. My biggest concern in my editing process that I like to hire someone for is my developmental editing. I want to make sure I have someone else go through my story looking for plot holes, inconsistencies, pacing issues, etc. My final edits are typically self-done, because I’ve been doing it for a long time. How I do this edit? I get a paper copy of the manuscript and mark it up with a colored pen, then go in and make the changes to my document. I’ve written other posts on my editing process, which I WILL LINK HERE. 

Q: What is your process? 
A: Gosh, past Brey. This is a really vague question. My process for writing? My process for editing? For publishing? Since I wrote this question write beneath the editing question on my original hand-written question list, I’m going to say this is for editing. And my process (the short version) goes like this:
1. Write the book.
2. Re-write or at least address notes for quick changes. 
3. Developmental editing.
4. Beta reading. 
5. Input developmental edits.
6. Proof reading/line editing.
7. Input line edits. 
8. Formatting.
9. Quick final check, then submit. 

Q: How do you format your books? For print? For electronics (ebooks)? 
A: For print books, I start getting graphics ready pretty early in my drafting phase, because I like to create my own graphics. I make chapter headers, maps, etc. to put into the book long before I’m ready to publish. When the draft has been edited and everything is good to go, then I start by creating a new file (BOOK TITLE - FORMATTING). I have found that clearly naming my file types helps save confusion and hassle down the line. 

I choose the page sizes that I want, choose the margin and bleed sizes I want (I’ll do another post one day to cover these more deeply), then start putting my stuff on the page. I personally use Microsoft Word for my formatting, because this is what I started with and I’ve gotten really good at it with this program. I know many other authors use things like Vellum, and perhaps one day I’ll switch, but for now, I stick with Word. 

For Ebooks, I have to be a little more careful, because places like Amazon adjust the file automatically to accommodate people reading on different sized devices, so I’ve learned to be really intentional with how I put my images (if applicable) in, and where I break for different sections. 

Q: Copyrighting - Do you send your works in?
A: For copyrighting, I personally file with LegalZoom and send electronic files rather than waiting until I have a physical copy of the book. This saves time, money, and hassle. 

Q: How do you get the barcode on the back cover?
A: I get my barcodes from Bowker, the official ISBN distributor for the United States. I also get my ISBN’s from them, now, though I didn’t for my first few books. I like to purchase my own barcodes, because then I can get them with my purchase price on the back, which is very helpful for bookstores to have!

Q: How do you do your cover art? 
A: My cover design has gone through its own evolution over the course of my publishing journey. Now, though, I start my cover design very similarly to my graphics: As soon as I have a really good idea of the overall theme of the story. I use Procreate to draw, design, and format my cover. 

Q: How do you decide your pricing?
A: I research what the market prices are for my genres. When I decided on the price for my newest romance, I researched what the general prices were for paperback, hardback, and ebooks in the genre (and boy, I’m grateful for the consistency of the other genres. Romance genre prices are all over the place! I also consider how much content the readers are getting. For longer works, I often price a little higher, and with shorter works (aside from children’s books), I price a little lower. Children’s books - because I want to deliver high quality, colorful illustrations, I don’t drop my children’s book prices super low. 
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Q: How do you market your books?
A: Jeesh, this is another really open ended question. These days, I market in multiple ways. I have an email list, I post regularly on my social media (though I will say that doesn’t get me many regular book sales), I host giveaways, I have business cards and bookmarks with my information on them, and I consistently publish a book every few months. The avenue that gets me the most sales is doing book signing events.

Q: What do you think about the Hero’s Journey? 
A: I’m not going to answer this question in depth here. I’d rather cover it more in a post of its own, but I’m a big fan and have done a good deal of studying about it!

Q: How do you decide what to put on your About the Author page? 
A: Depends on the book. For most of my books, I have the general, “Who is she, what does she write, where is she from, and what does she like to do?” 

Q: How do you print your books?
A: I have all of my books enrolled in print on demand sites like IngramSpark and Amazon KDP. Because I also run my own publishing imprint, I’m also in the process of branching out to other printers, but I’m currently on the hunt for quality printing and binding services that aren’t going to break the bank.