Self-Publishing: How to Choose What’s Right, pt. 2

Today’s Self-Publishing post is part 2 of 3 in the “How to Choose What’s Right” posts. Today I will concentrate on editing and proofreading, as well as a few marketing tips I have learned. As always, feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer them.

Editing and Proofreading-What’s the difference?

When I first got into publishing I thought that editing and proofreading were pretty much the same. Then I heard other terms being bandied about: Line editing, copy editing, content editing, and proofreading. So, what is the difference and why are some more expensive than others?

There are many different definitions out there, but I will use the ones I found on various websites of editors I will link to soon. Here goes (I’ll add some fun pictures to make it less boring):

Content Editing

In content editing the focus is on the broad arc of the story. Do the characters stay consistent? Are there problems with the plot? What issues rise out of different parts of the writing? Is the order in which you tell your story the most effective? Is the voice of the narration consistent through the book? The editor takes the book after you’ve finished the rough draft and an initial pass and reads it carefully making notes in the margins.

The editor will not re-write your book, fix the problems they see or insist that you fix them in the manner that they suggest.

Line Editing

This is where the editor looks for things like a character’s name being spelled differently in various

places, or problems with timing or dates. They might point out that you are using one word or phrase a lot. Maybe someone acts on knowledge before the phone call that tells them. It is more focused. They may see some of these issues and comment on them, but not all. You will want to have your writing go through content editing before you look for a line editor.

Copy Editing

This is the third line of defense and is very much like proofreading. Here the editor goes through the book word by word looking for spelling and grammatical errors. They may also look at formatting oddities if you ask them to. They are unlikely to point out the higher level issues since their focus is the words and sentences.

Proofreading

This is the final edit when the editor goes through your book and checks for spelling and grammatical errors or sentences that really don’t make sense. If you can’t do all of them, I definitely recommend having at least one person proofread for you.

Should you do it yourself or pay for help?

That is up to you and how much you can afford. I am still fairly poor and can’t afford to get all these different levels of editing done for my books. Especially since many of the people who do those types of editing cost over $1,000!

I have never done my proofreading for myself. I can catch typos in other people’s books (really annoying if I’m just reading for pleasure), but in my own, it is nearly impossible. For my first two books, I had my mom and sisters do my proofreading because I couldn’t afford anyone else. Amazing Grace and all three novellas were proofread by my mom and sisters and I also paid someone else to do them because I was referred to someone (thanks, Elizabeth K.!) who offered proofreading services at a very affordable price without being “cheap.” And Kelsey has done a great job!

If you have the money and/or really need to get some extra editing help, I do know of a few people who are reasonable and who only cost hundreds of dollars rather than thousands.

Resources:

Various editing options:

• http://celticfrogediting.com
• http://penoaks.com/pages/editing
• http://oddsock.me/services-rates/
• There are lots of editors of various sorts on this Facebook group, but some of them do charge a lot. In order to see any of the websites of these people you’ll have to request to join the group and look in the Files: https://www.facebook.com/groups/436314899743379/

Proofreading only:

• http://kelseybryantauthor.weebly.com/editing.html
• http://www.faithblum.com/proofreading-services.html

Marketing Tips

Tip #1: Be willing to spend money in order to sell books. The times I have sold the most books were the times I spent money on advertising. You do have to be a little careful to make sure that you aren’t overspending, but most places have good return for the money. For some tips on how to market some, check out this blog series (I linked to the last post in the series since it had links back to the others) by the Fix My Story blog.

Resources for Writing in General

• Jordan does a great job of posting relevant, informative posts on the Fix My Story blog. A lot of them are about marketing.
• K.M Weiland posts something at least twice a week, probably even more and always about writing. Her posts are fast-paced, short, and packed with information on how to be a better author, editor of your own books, and marketer.

Advertising Sites

(Warning: The links were all working when I posted this, but I cannot guarantee they will continue to work.)

Free (or free options) for submission

• Addicted to eBooks: http://addictedtoebooks.com/content/free-advertising
• Awesome Gang: http://awesomegang.com/submit-your-book/
• Best eBooks Free: http://www.bestebooksfree.com/Authors-eBook-Promotion.shtml
• Book Goodies: http://bookgoodies.com/bargain-books/
• Book Praiser: http://bookpraiser.com/
• Books on the Knob: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DlL2gaFaDtcTbjZSTE-zsGD4HOvHRccShMyycCgqfGs/viewform
• Choosy Bookworm: http://authors.choosybookworm.com/newsletter-and-website-feature/
• Christian Book Finds: http://www.christianbookfindspromos.blogspot.com/
• Daily Free eBooks: http://www.daily-free-ebooks.com/suggest-free-ebook/
• Digital Book Today: http://digitalbooktoday.com/join-our-team/
• Digital Ink Today: http://www.digitalinktoday.com/submit/
• Ebook Korner Kafe: http://kornerkonnection.com/
• eBook Lister: http://ebooklister.net/submit.php
• eBooks Habit: http://ebookshabit.com/for-authors/
• eFiction Finds: http://www.efictionfinds.com/p/author-corner.html
• eReader IQ: http://www.ereaderiq.com/contact/
• Free Books Hub: http://www.freebookshub.com/authors/
• Free Booksy (Free books only): http://www.freebooksy.com/editorial-submissions/
• Frugal Freebies (Free books only): http://www.frugal-freebies.com/p/submit-freebie.html
• Hot Zippy: http://support.hotzippy.net/?page_id=585
• Inspired Reads (Christian only): http://www.inspiredreads.com/contact/
• Many Books: http://manybooks.net/promote.php
• Noise Trade (I think you have to sign up first): http://books.noisetrade.com/account/signin
• Read Cheaply: http://readcheaply.com/partners/
• Reading Deals: http://readingdeals.com/submit-ebook/free
• The eReader Café: http://www.theereadercafe.com/p/bargain-submissions.html

Cheap (under $50 for most categories-Also went with $0.99 or cheaper sales)

• Ask David: http://askdavid.com/book-promotion
• Author Marketing Club: http://authormarketingclub.com/members/amc-daily-feature-sponsorship/
• Bargain Booksy: http://www.bargainbooksy.com/sell-more-books/
• BKnights: https://www.fiverr.com/bknights
• Book Basset: http://www.bookbasset.com/authors/submissions/
• Book Gorilla: http://bookgorilla.com/advertise
• Book Sends: http://booksends.com/advertise.php
• Cheap Book Promos: http://www.cheapbookpromos.com/p/services.html
• Ereader News Today: http://ereadernewstoday.com/pricing/
• Ereader Utopia: http://ereaderutopia.com/authors/sign_in
• Flurries of Words: http://flurriesofwords.blogspot.com.au/p/book-advertising.html
• Free Kindle Books and Tips: http://fkbt.com/for-authors/
• Fussy Librarian: http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/for-authors/
• Kindle Nation Daily: http://indie.kindlenationdaily.com/?page_id=642
• People Reads: http://www.peoplereads.com/advertise-2
• Sweet Free Books: http://sweetfreebooks.com/advertise/
• Sweeties Picks: http://sweetiespicks.com/submit-bargain-books/
• The Kindle Book Review: http://www.thekindlebookreview.net/advertise-books-2/

More expensive, but worth it (over $50 in most categories)

• BookBub: https://partners.bookbub.com/users/sign_in

 

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Previous Topics:

June 2–Self-Publishing: My Journey

• Indie vs. Traditional
• Why I Chose the Indie Route

June 9–Self-Publishing: How to get started.

• What are the first steps?
• FAQs

June 16–Self-Publishing: How to Choose What’s Right pt. 1

• What to do for yourself and what to pay for?
  • ISBN numbers- free or paid?
  • Cover Design (with resources) – (And also, what do you suggest for book covers? Did you design yours yourself, or have someone else?)

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June 30-Self-Publishing: How to Choose What’s Right? pt. 3

• Formatting: Guest Post from Penoaks Publishing

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