Small
Press Publishing
by
H.K. Sterling
So let's talk brass tacks. First, I consider myself
lucky. Damn lucky. I am one of the in-house authors for a publisher who is
willing to review and publish [most of] my work. Of course if I turn something
in that doesn’t fit their needs, or is not of the quality they are looking for,
my work is rejected like anyone else's. But in general, I have a publisher who
sends me contracts for books I write that they want and I consider myself
blessed. * On a side note, make sure you research your publisher before signing
contracts. There are many horror stories, one very recent where a certain to
remain unnamed publisher allegedly stole the authors' money and is now out of
business, leaving the authors both unpaid and without rights to their own work.
Make sure your publisher has a good accounting system and that you understand
it. Also, beware of scams. There are a number of operations that prey on a new
writer's desire to be published. A general rule of thumb is, if you are asked
to *pay* something as part of the process of having your book published, you
are most likely not dealing with a legitimate publishing company.
The above doesn't include marketing your book. Small
publishers especially expect the author to market all they can. At minimum they
expect you to have a social media platform on which you advertise your book,
present excerpts, post teasers, etc. Many small publisher authors also choose
to pay for cover reveals, release day parties, blog tours, etc. However, using
and paying for these services is always up to the author, not demanded by the
publisher. Beware of any "publisher" that tries to sell you their
"marketing services."
It wasn't always this way for me. I started out
self-publishing. I didn’t even bother to send anything in to a publisher. I
wanted full control from the cover down to the last dotted "i". I never even considered sending my work anywhere.
I published three books that way, under another name, the majority of them
poetry. Good poetry too, (5* reviews, award, etc.), but in general poetry is
not what the mainstream public wants to read. So I set about writing other
genres. The New Adult age range sounded good to me, although I was to find out
later that everyone and their brother had a different definition of what 'New Adult'
means, exactly what ages it contains, and how much romance/sex should be
present. But to begin with I was happy. I planned a series (under my other
publishing name). Then suddenly I had a publisher.
This publisher not only published Young Adult and
New Adult, but they also published different genres and heat levels. A heat
level, by the way, is basically how sexually graphic your novel is. Suddenly I
was writing mysteries under this name, H.K. Sterling. The book you are seeing with
this post, A Taste For Killing, is
one of those romantic/suspense mysteries. I loved the characters so much I
immediately wrote a sequel called A Taste
For Danger which will be released this June. I also published two shorts
for my publisher's anthology, My Bloody
Valentine. I published a shorty called Eyes
Only as well. At the same time I
still worked on my New Adult Series under my other pen name and somewhere in
there I (still under my other pen name)helped to start a new online magazine
called INNOVATE with five other dewy-eyed writers.
The point is, now I have a publisher. There are
different expectations when one has a publisher than when self-publishing.
Having driven down both sides of the road, I wanted to explain some of them.
First, you need to know that small publishers often work by contract. If they
like what you submit, you get a contract offer. With the small presses, up
front monies, book tours, and national promotion do not exist. What exists is a
streamlined way to publish your books and if you write well enough, make money
at it. Now, the differences:
- As a
self-publisher I created and bought my own covers. Expressing the book in
pictorial form, as a way to draw in readers, was one of the most enjoyable
parts to me. As an in-house author, the publisher has artists who design
the covers. At first I was wary. Then I saw the quality of the covers they
made. I basically did a spit-take at my computer and thought, "wow,
you know, I don't really miss paying my own money for covers that much."
- As a
self-publisher I chose to use Amazon KDP and Createspace (other choices
are Lulu, Smashwords, etc.) and received the percentage of profits Amazon
specified. I didn’t bother to buy ISBNs or do anything that made the
process more complicated. As an in-house publisher I don’t have to worry
about ISBNs or ASINs either, but I receive a larger percentage of sales
*and* they have a larger number of distribution channels than were
available to me as a self-publisher with Amazon.
- Next—editing. With the help of family, I edited my
first three books. It was mostly poetry after all and not many editors
even edit that type of work. It varies too much. Additionally, I figured I
could do it all myself. Amazingly enough, I did not have errors in books
two and three, although I did have a few in book one, which I had to
quickly fix and re-upload. Can you say, 'not professional?' Editing from scratch is also a pain in
the ass. There is always another error to find. Editing a book yourself is
not only a bad idea; it’s a one-way ticket to amateur city. I was lucky.
By my fourth book, I knew I was licked. There was no way in heck I wanted
to edit that thing and even if I did, I knew I wouldn't be able to do a
good job on it, and I wanted my books to be perfect. If you self-publish I
cannot give you any more important advice than 'hire an editor'. (As with
publishing companies, research and investigate. Ask for suggestions from
friends. Don't fall for a scam.)
So suddenly I had a publisher and with a publisher
multiple editors arrive. It was a steep learning curve. First, my book (under
my other pen name) was written in a point of view that is no longer used. Who
knew? I didn't! When did they make that announcement? I apparently missed it.
Omniscient is a no-no. Back to rewrites. Boom. My book was now in third person.
It still head-hopped often but fantasy sometimes does that. My editor is a
wonderful person. She never pointed out how stupid some of the things in there
were. She simply, professionally said that "I might want to take another
look at x." Again, I was lucky. My editor never tried to rewrite the book
for me, foist her ideas instead of mine or push me to do anything I wasn't
comfortable with. If you have an editor that does those things, you do not have
a good editor. The job of the editor is to work with you, to guide you; changes should always be the author's
decision. The book transformed. That is a great editor and a great
collaboration. If you are getting pushed and feel uncomfortable with changes
then you might want to take a look at who is editing your book. You aren’t tied
to them. On the other hand, I am also a flexible author. I accept changes and
play nice. I am not stuck in a one-dimensional stream of thought about the way
something has to be. I do stand up
for some things but only when I feel it is important or necessary to the
storyline. Don't be the horrible author that no one wants to work with; you may
find publishing becomes more difficult.
Next is the Line Editor. I have a great respect for
Line Editors just as I do with Draft Editors. Line Editors mention things like:
"Did you know your characters ages don’t match up and character A would
have had to marry character B at age 9 for your book to work out?" Think of a Line Editor as that hard drinker
in the bar who's seen it all. It's just
a matter of fact to them. Of course as an author, you are free to hit your head
on the desk multiple times, but that's just one of the side effects of being an
author. I recommend a chocolate prescription.
The Line Editor may also come back with comments
such as, "the word 'just' was used 434 times, the word 'now' was used 299
times, and you used 'said' 567 times." The implication is that you use
crutch words. All authors have them. We may not know what they are until
someone points them out. That’s why authors need someone objective like the
Line Editor who is merely looking at the manuscript like a piece of meat. Is it
juicy? Is there too much fat? Was it cut well? Line Editors also look for
passive voice. Sometimes passive voice is unavoidable, especially when writing
in certain points of view, but often passive verbs can be removed. Search and
destroy.
'Said' has its own problems and you will find people
that argue both sides of using 'said'. What I found is the use of 'said',
though invisible and recommended, is also an art. If all you ever use is 'he
said', at some point in the reader's mind it will take them out of the story.
And that is the biggest no-no of all. Anything that takes the reader out of the
wonder of your story must go. Sometimes it’s the use of too many non-'saids':
he blurted, he bellowed, he ejaculated.... another amateurish sign of not
letting the wonderfully invisible 'said' just do its work. But for the artist,
too much of a good thing can also be problematic.
After your book is as perfect as it is going to be,
the formatter comes in. Bless the poor formatter, for he or she must make your
book accessible in combination with so many formats I can't keep them straight.
It's like naming the states in the U.S. You know they're there, but for the
life of you, only 46 come to mind. The formatter knows all the states and the
capitals of each one too.
Finally, through the benevolence of a publisher,
promotion walks through the door. There is actually someone else who wishes
your book well. We don't only live and die by the quality of our writing;
promotion plays a large part in the process. It works better when the author is
also promoting, but with a publisher, you get another person who is on your side
and hopefully some additional exposure besides your own.
Once promotion lifts its head, you are out the door
with your book, just like the one you see here, and its sequel that arrives in
June. A quick note on reviews: at some point you will become a member of the
lone star club. You will feel heartbreak. You may feel heartbreak at three
stars. Nevertheless, do not respond to reviews. Sometimes there are even
trolls. Nevertheless, do not respond to reviews. Have I emphasized that enough?
No matter how negative, how unfair, how ridiculous because they didn't even
read your book, do not respond to
reviews. A response from you only hurts one person- you.
Last, to be an author, you must multi-task. Some
days you will be overwhelmed with promo and edits and the next new novel and
reviews and blog tours and your family who wonders why there is no dinner. But
the process will be enjoyable and you will learn more with every new book
publish.
For example, who knew I could write an article on the
publishing process?
I was the last to know.
A Taste For Killing
Chasing the Taste
Book 1
H.K. Sterling
Genre: Mystery Suspense Romance Thriller
Publisher: Breathless Press
Date of Publication: February 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-77101-225-6
ASIN: B00IKVVKL4
Number of pages: 48
Word Count: 14936
Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde
Book Description:
Mystery and Romance blend together when competing detectives Carolyn Woods and Jack Heart are both hired to solve the murder of Pete Wallace, only to realize they are working the same case.
To complicate things, Carolyn and Jack have an on again-off again relationship. Then there is Evan Jones, a handsome architect— but he's also a suspect.
Can Carolyn manage to solve the case as more and more murders pile up? Will her relationship with Jack hinder their investigations? And what about Evan Jones? He seems like the perfect man, but could he actually be the murderer?
One thing is for sure: someone close to both Carolyn and Jack has A Taste For Killing.
H.K. Sterling is an author with Breathless Press known for stories with imagination, intelligence, a kick, and twist endings. H.K. likes to focus her writing on suspense, science-fiction, shorts, and anything that is spicy and unexpected. Sometimes her books may even go dark. H.K. lives in Virginia with her husband who graciously puts up with her passion for writing.
H.K. currently has a Mystery/Thriller out: A Taste For Killing; and two short stories in the Breathless Press Anthology, My Bloody Valentine. Her new book, A Taste For Danger has just been accepted for publication and Breathless Press also just published H.K.'s short-short titled Eyes Only. H.K.'s books are suitable for 18+.
Catch up with H.K. Sterling on the following social media:
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/hksterling
Twitter: @HKSterling
HK Sterling "Undercover Blog": http://hksterling1.blogspot.com/
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