The illiterate’s guide to writing eBooks By Jestin Lightne pot

The illiterate’s guide to writing eBooks By Jestin Lightner Did you know that ebook sales have been out pacing hardcover book sales for the past two Christmas seasons as far as growth rate is concerned? As a matter of fact the CEO of Barnes N Noble has recently gone on record as saying that he will no longer be expanding the brick and mortar division of his conglomerate. That should give you an idea of what basket he is putting his eggs in. Remember the days when you went to the local mall and there was not only an FYE but also a Camelot music store? Nowadays maybe only every other mall even has a Walden books or something similar let alone a music store. Now we have apple stores right? We have seen this before so we should know how to take advantage of it right? Well, that’s why I decided to write this short nifty little ebook. I get asked this question more than any other lately in regards to my career as a writer. You would think that most questions aimed towards me would be in reference to the storyline of The Red Gates or EVN but they are not. Everyone is more interested in career advice. In todays economic climate I can sorta see why. Smashwords and other companies that copy Mark’s business plan have developed a miracle in the literary world which enables everyday people like you and me a chance to step into a door that was once solely for people that knew how to get through via the big publishing houses in NYC. LOL, I’m sure they are all rolling over in their boardrooms even to this day and trying like hell to adapt. It’s evolution really. And now, anyone can type something up and be on their way with an ISBN and a small, do it yourself, run from the home legit internet business. Why listen to my advice? Well, I’ve only had two gold records influenced by my writing so I must be doing something right. Now I have read a number of writers help books along the way and have received a multitude of conflicting info and misinfo and so my goal here is to shed some light on the matter the way I see fit without having to pilfer through several 300 page books. For instance: I was once privy to a writers tip that mentioned that you shouldn’t even attempt to submit a book to a publisher unless you have already written one million words. Though I am sure your first submission would be of higher quality as far as the mechanics of writing are concerned it doesn’t really mean that your creative plot lines are going to be any better or worse, right? Hey, the Outsiders was written by a sixteen year old not to mention that dragon rider movie that was released a couple years back. Do you see what I mean? They didn’t write one million words before they released their first so why should you? The best advice I could offer an aspiring writer is to not make creative writing a hobby, make it a lifestyle. Of course, as you sacrifice nights out with your friends, your favorite sitcoms etc, it’ll be tough but the truth is that being a writer can be a lonely world where anything is possible and you need to limit your distractions. People say that writers don’t really work because all they see us doing is sitting around crunching keys like numbers. Well, the truth is they are all jealous that they are stuck in a nine to five rat race and you have got your own little unique startup. At this point in time, if you are thinking about working on your first book I see no reason to solicit an agent until your book has been completely finished (to your standard that is). Even then, if it is your first effort you are far better off self publishing on Smashwords or with the similar service that Barnes N’ Noble has to offer first in order to get your feet wet. Truth is that this method is the wave of the future and self publishing no longer has the same stigma as it once did. It’s just a fact. For instance, once upon a time you couldn’t self publish and move 500 copies of your book easily. For your information, I self published my first book, The Shadowbelt on Smashwords and moved well over two thousand copies the first year of it’s release. It was once said that only 10% of all books ever reach the 1,000 copies mark. Well, that just may not be true anymore. First off you gotta get into the habit of writing everyday if you don’t already. If you are not writing every day then you should be at least doing a little bit of editing on your days off. Schedule yourself a routine and stick with it. I’m not saying you should go homeless, sit on a park bench in order to write the next Harry Potter but I actually wouldn’t necessarily advise against that extreme either (I’ve actually done that). Live in the library. Read the authors you wish to write like because you will find that you actually write the way you read in a sense. Whats the point of reading a Clancy novel when you are in the middle of writing an epic romance novel set in ancient greece? You have gotta write at least 1,500 words per day as a minimum or edit 5 – 10k. That actually isn’t too much and can easily be done. At that rate your novel’s first draft will be done in three months if you punch in five days a week. Not too shabby. I like the 100,000 word mark which relates to about 300 pages but in todays environment shorter may be better and 50,000 words may be just as good. Keep in mind that people are reading these things on there cell phones and shit so they are not looking to download an unabridged copy of The Stand. They want to read something that is manageable, cheap, and effective no matter what the genre. Forget showing off your material to friends and family members. All they are going to say is that it’s good or that it has a real chance of being published (no shit). They will feel bad criticizing your work when that is what you really need… They feel that criticism for the most part is negative and they love you and don’t want to get you down. Or maybe they are just jealous of your endeavor. If you feel you really gotta get someone else’s opinion, join a local writers group filled with people that won’t give you a black and white review. Problem is with writers groups are that they are filled with critics and not enough real writers in my opinion so your gonna have to find a balance. For instance, I simply posted excerpts to my blog and on the wizards of the coast message boards and received good reviews. Heck, before I released it I already had international and local success just with the Shadowbelt excerpts alone. Now I know that not everyone in the world has worked for a record label and that may seem impossible to mom and pop publishing but believe it or not it isn’t. You can do whatever you set your mind to…….Even that hot chick over there giving you the naked eye. Better check her ID first though cause she looks kinda young. Now that you have got your rough draft done it’s time to solicit to agents, right? No way! What is the point of getting an agent if you don’t even have a career to be agented? I would only suggest getting an agent for your first novel if you have one in the family. Make sense? If not, it will soon enough. Now it’s your turn to take that rough draft and really flesh it out some. Reread the entire thing and really fill in some detail. Flesh out the character’s histories a little more, paint in some more action, or whatever. Just get the thing flowing like a river. Find parts that seem sorta choppy and take a roller to it so to speak. At this point it is even possible to add in entire subplots and all new characters. What about that idead you had about a deranged woman who thought she was a vampire even though she wasn’t that you just couldn’t seem to find a place for. Well, nows the time. Eddie Veddor once said “Do you see the way that tree bends? Does it inspire?” then write about it damn it. Now I would like to take the time to address writers block. Actually, I would but I can’t think of anything to say about it. It sucks. Yes it does happen and no I am not an expert at shaking it but I beliee that it comes with becoming exhausted by your work. The way I look at writers block is like baseball. You can learn everything you need to know about life from baseball right guys? Think of yourself as the Bambino in a batters slump. Well, the coach could just bench the fat bastard until he shapes up in the batters cage or you can just let him swing his way through it. What would you do if you were the coach? If you said bench the babe then I suggest you put this book down immediately and jump off a cliff. You just gotta write your way through it without referring to an outline because outlines are for wimps and as Stephen King also said: “If you need a thesaurus you aren’t using the right word in the first place. So now the book is written, revised, and well tuned (hopefully). Stevie Ray Vaughn said something to the effect of: “A song is like a child, your never finished working on it, you just gotta let it go when it’s good enough.” It’s the same with your book. Now it’s time to get that cover together if you haven’t already. Whoever said that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover fuckin lied to you. The cover is what sells the thing. That’s all there is to it. I suggest finding someone in the neighborhood, or an old friend to with skills in photoshop to punch something up for you. The more 3D the better in my opinion since 3D is the new in thing. The Shadowbelt’s cover was actually done on canvas with water colors by an old friend of my sisters. Turned out fantastic. I was a real nag to cause I was all like, change this, do that, change this and change that, over and over again but you know what? Who cares, it turned out great in the end! Now get your ass over to smashwords.com and setup a free account and get an ISBN # on that thing before a cat burglar steals it. I’m not kidding man. The original draft of the Shadowbelt was 24 chapters and do to physical theft I only published the first nine chapters and then rewrote the second half and released it as another ebook called “Divided Wings” (rules). Anyway, security and a back up plan are always important. Nuff said. Now let’s tap into some marketing ideas. Since I had some rock bands help out with the release of my first book I managed to develop a unique marketing plan that may work for your book as well. I went onto the social network scene for two hours a day and just marketed away. I would befriend every person that commented on the bands page and send them a link to my book. Simple and effective as well as a great way to stay in touch with fans. “Hey this is Hollow, check out my new ebook and let me know what you think. Karnivool and Nonpoint based their new albums off of it so I know you’ll love it.” Obviously you may have to come up with a different pitch but you get the idea. The leads are out there waiting for you to take there money. Are you savy enough to take it? I bet you’ll move five hundred copies within six months if you stay on top of your marketing daily. Make sure you release your first book for free though and then charge up the ass for the rest. You can cruise around online for cheap ways to do banner adds and stuff to get more word out there but it really is best that you manually market your work that way you can keep in touch with your fans  Pricing is an interesting area that needs to be addressed. It’s true that the majority of the Smashwords top 100 eBooks (most downloads) are either free, .99 or 1.99. Just a plain old fact. I suggest you do the same. Release your first book as a free download and then release your second book at a discount. The Shadowbelt is a free download, this ebook is a free download and Divided Wings will cost you 1.50. So there you go. I’d like to rambl on more but I’ve grown bored. I think I’ve pretty much summed up a years worth of research in less than five Microsoft word pages. I hope it helps and remember, if you do well, feel free to drop me a line sometime and maybe we can market off each other some time. I urge you to go ahead and check out The Shadowbelt and Divided Wings. You will find excellent examples of companion videos with each release. I lucked out and got Sony and Warner Brothers to fund the videos for the Battle for the Red Gates series and MCA hooked up the EVN video. I don’t expect you to be able to pull that feat off however just a handy little camcorder that is easily borrowed from a friend or neighbor should work just fine if not one of those little intel webcams. All you gotta do is fake an interview or just run your mouth about the book on camera and your done. Battle For the Red Gates vol. 1 : The Shadowbelt http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/11495 -Awesome read and Karnivool and Ekotren did the videos Battle For the Red Gates vol. 2 : Divided Wings http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34923 -Great sequel and the singer of Eyes Set (warped tour goddess) did the video Ekotren Vs. Nonpoint http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12893 -Badass cyberpunk read and Nonpoint did the video for it. . The illiterate’s guide to writing eBooks By Jestin Lightner Did you know that ebook sales have been out pacing hardcover book sales for the past two Christmas seasons. what sells the thing. That’s all there is to it. I suggest finding someone in the neighborhood, or an old friend to with skills in photoshop to punch something up for you. The more 3D the better. than any other lately in regards to my career as a writer. You would think that most questions aimed towards me would be in reference to the storyline of The Red Gates or EVN but they are not.