Posts Tagged ‘self publishing’

Jun

Crossing the Streams

Posted by: Michell in Irreverent Muse, Promoting Your Book

I’ve blogged and podcast and Tweeted many times about networking and the importance of reaching out to meet new people. It is always very rewarding to meet new people and build those online relationships.

It is even more cool (for me, anyway) when someone reaches out to me. For example, a few weeks back, K_A_Dewberry contacted me and told me she had found my podcast (Get Published) recently and had downloaded all the episodes and listened to them. She said she loved the show.

Hearing that someone likes my podcast is very gratifying. Learning that they downloaded all fifty-four (at the time, I think) episodes and had done a marathon listen to them was outright stunning. I mean, the episodes average something in excess of fifty minutes each. That is a HUGE commitment to the show and an amazing display of stamina.

When she asked me if I’d like to do a blog interview, I jumped at the chance. I am a strong believer in cross-promotion, after all.

The questions arrived in my email inbox and I was delighted with them. They made me think and really look back at why I do many of the things I do. It reminded me that writing isn’t a competition to see who can outdo whom and get the biggest, best and most book contracts.

It is, as I’ve said many times before, about community and helping your fellow writers to succeed. After all, readers are always looking for new stuff to read. If you happen to have some affiliation with a writer someone enjoys, they might just try your work out too. Helping others doesn’t have to be totally selfless.

Now, before you start to think I only agreed to do the blog interview out of ego and self-interest, let me say this: it was extremely flattering to be asked and I always do my best to help out wherever I can. I don’t know if anyone will read the post except Ms. Dewberry. If she gets something out of it, the effort was worthwhile.

I know, I got a great deal out of answering the questions. As I said before, it reminded me of why I do many of the things I’m doing today. To move forward, you must know where you’ve been. To improve, you must remember the mistakes. To help others in their writing journeys, you need to shine the light on what worked and what didn’t.

I hope I can be a light through my answers.

You can see K.A.Dewberry’s site at: http://kadewberry-author.blogspot.com/. Drop by and say ‘hello’ if you get the chance.

Tags: blog, blog interview, cross-promotion, interview, irreverent muse, k.a.dewberry, k_a_dewberry, Michell Plested, promotion, self publishing, writing

1 Comment

May

Get Published Episode 58 – Scott Roche, Editor & Self-Published Author

Posted by: Michell in Get Published (Podcast)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Hello, my friends.

As you may know I’m self publishing a book in the coming weeks. I’ve heard from some of you looking for more information on self publishing so I’ve made a point to have more guests who have self publishing experience. This episode I will continue in that vein with a great interview with Scott Roche. Scott is one of the editors with Flying Island Press and has come out with a self published version of his book Ginny Dare, Crimson Sand in both paper and eBook formats.

I’ve also had a question come up on both Twitter and my blog from two difference people. That makes it too timely to ignore, so in today’s tips and typos section I try to answer the question, “when do you know it’s time to stop revising your story?”

One last note; I’ve dropped the bit rate of the podcast from 128 Kb to 64 Kb to make the mp3 smaller and faster to download. Please let me know if you notice any real difference. I’ve been wondering for a while if the file size of the show was too big for you listeners and I wanted to do a little experiment here.

Enjoy the show.

Show Notes

00:00 — Opening – Get Published Episode 58 – Scott Roche, Editor & Self-Published Author

Everything has to start somewhere and this is the start of “Get Published”

00:14 — Introduction – Get Published Episode 58 – Scott Roche, Editor & Self-Published Author

Welcome to the show.

01:07 — Promo – TRReed Bitstrips

02:25— Tips and Typos – Get Published Episode 58 – Scott Roche, Editor & Self-Published Author (continued)

Mike answers question Tweeted to him and left on his blog “How do you know when to stop revising your story?”
Email feedback at getpublishedpodcast dot com with your comments

07:10 - Promo – View from Valhalla

07:23 — Get Published Episode 58 – Scott Roche, Editor & Self-Published Author (continued)

Scott Roche is a military brat, fan of horror and occult fiction and a seeker of the true reality beyond that which we see every day. Every story he writes combines these elements and his life experiences to something readers will not only enjoy, but tell your friends about.

Scott is active in the podcast fiction sphere and is a contributing editor at Flying Island Press.

1:00:05 — Promo – Explorers Anthology

1:01:28 — Closing

Thank you for listening.

Websites mentioned in this episode:

Scott Roche – http://www.scottroche.com

TRReed Bitstrips - http://www.bitstrips.com/user/0KL/

View from Valhalla - http://www.viewfromvalhalla.com/

Explorers Anthology - http://deadrobotssociety.com/anthology/

Flying Island Press - http://flyingislandpress.com/

Tags: alex white, baen, balticon, ben bova, brand gamblin, ca marshall, createspace, cross-promotion, dave sobkowiak, ed delaney, flying island press, formatting, ginnie dare, interview, ja hite, jake bible, jared axelrod, jl losier, jr murdock, kindleboard, laura nicole, lightning source, lulu, manna punk, nathan lowell, novels, paranormal romance, paul e cooley, pecular comics, pendragon express, podcast, podcaster, rights, scottroche.com, sekrit project podcast, self publishing, social media, urban fantasy, zack ricks

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Mar

Splitting My Focus

Posted by: Michell in About Writing, Irreverent Muse

I am starting to realize how difficult it must be for professional writers to keep everything going all the time. We amateurs may think all they do all day long is sit and write, but really there is so much more going on than that.

Take my current list of projects and the associated activities.

I have a book under contract. That means I will soon be doing revisions, marketing and promotion. The revisions seem straightforward enough, but the promotional and marketing elements could be huge. Interviews, blog tours, talking to book stores, getting all the various social media outlets setup.
I am self-publishing a book. That means revisions, layout, getting cover art and, as above, all the promotional elements.
I am revising GalaxyBillies for submission. I believe GB will find an audience even if I end up going the self-publishing route. At the moment I have to do the revisions and get it into a more presentable state to send out.
I am still writing new stuff. I’ve got three other stories on the go and several that I want to write including a Novella/Novellette for podcasting (in the GalaxyBillies universe).

All this and I’m not even making a living at it. I’ve got to wonder how much the professionals have to do. I’m sure they do much the same as above, only MORE. It feels a little daunting.

When I split my attentions even further with family and work (both of which take priority, in case you are wondering), it feels like an even bigger challenge. I’m not complaining, mind you. Not EXACTLY complaining. I did chose this path for myself after all.

I’m curious to know what mechanisms you use to cope with the challenges? Chime in, I’d love to hear from you.

Tags: focus, irreverent muse, marketing, Michell Plested, promotion, Publishing, self publishing, writing

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