Tag Archives: Research

Are you a New Author?

February 14, 2022authors, Important, InformationAuthor Brand Marketing, Author Consultant, Barnes and Noble, Book Covers, book marketing, Deposit photo, Draft to Digital, Editing, Fiverr, Formatting, Independent Publishing, Ingram Spark, Interior Book Design, KDP, Kobo, Lulu, Nook, Publisher Rocket, Research, SEO, Smashwords, Technology, vanity press, writers beware, wwebsitesclaire

DID YOU KNOW?

Writers Beware is one of the first websites all new authors need to read before they look for a publisher or at self-publishing. Along with this you should read ‘The Ultimate Author Checklist.’ an great PDF full of information from an excellent Marketing website.

Both websites are excellent resources for authors. Writers Beware informs and keeps us updated of things we need to be aware of. It lists Vanity Press and all the ongoing scams which are ripping us off due to writers not doing their research correctly. It is also continually updated. What a lot of writers do is Google publishing or ask in writing groups we belong to. The problem is Vanity Press know how to use SEO’s to their advantage and Writing Groups get a lot of Scammers in them or people who say they know what they’re doing when they don’t.

The Checklist is more about setting yourself up as an Author, getting social media working for you, making or paying for a website and so much more. We give this PDF out to our clients no matter how far along they are in their journey.

SEO’s (just in case you don’t know what they are.)

Search Engine Optimization. Part of this is keywords businesses use to get their sites and adverts in the top spots on Google and other types of search engines. Because it is at the top, you are more than likely to go and click on them, and they have you… unless you know the ropes of what they are offering, which is why research is important part of life.

Many of you will use your own keywords during your publishing and marketing days to help readers find and buy your books. Publisher Rocket is great for finding good Keywords for your genre. (It was formerly known as KDP Rocket.)

Costs

The first thing you need to be aware of is the cost of publishing. Many say it is FREE! It isn’t. Uploading a manuscript and book cover to KDP and other distribution websites is generally FREE, though some do charge fees. (Ingram Spark and Lulu). All Vanity Press businesses will charge you large amounts of money. Not only that, they also charge BEFORE they do any work on your manuscript. You will also be asked to sign a contract which you need to read and understand. A lot of these contracts give them copyright of your manuscript in all types of publishing, be it eBook, paperback or hardback. Each one will cost you more money to produce. If you wish to get out of the contract, they can take ninety days or more to hand back copyright. You will need the associated paperwork to prove to distributors like KDP that the copyright has reverted back to you.

Vanity Press

The main worry about Vanity Press is they don’t do the work they promise. They don’t pay out the royalty; they charge you for storage of books they print, some expect you to buy copies in their hundreds and of course you pay for freight, which they charge more for than they should. I know of one person who did their own freight, and it came out $400 cheaper… This is why WRITERS BEWARE is a must read.

Another thing you all need to remember… When you have work done in your home, building a deck, car maintenance etc… You don’t pay them until they have finished the work. You pay AFTER the work is finished. NEVER pay a contractor in the writing world until you have approved the work they’ve done for you, unless it is a deposit, which many businesses use these days, so they don’t get scammed by clients. Sadly, this does happen and has happened to my business.

Research

Research every contractor you work with. Seek out the details you need by asking the right questions. Get to know what those questions are by reading blogs. Ask for sample edits from various editors and find which one you feel more comfortable working with. Do the same with graphic designers and illustrators for book covers and images you may wish to use. There are certain things contractors need to know to do their job correctly.

This is a post I wrote a while back about Fiverr and Graphic Designers...after all you get what you pay for!

Editing

Do they edit in the English Language you use—British, American, Canadian, Australian, etc?

Do they edit in your genre?

What type of editing do they offer?

Line Editing, Copy Editing, Beta Reading, Proofreading?

How much experience do they have?

Do they have qualifications, or have they learnt on the job?

Do they have good reviews (ten or more good ones)

Graphic Design

Do they buy stock photos?

What DPI do they work with?

What type of file do they save too?

Are the fonts they use for commercial usage?

Proof of purchase of any fonts and stock photos?

You can use photos you have taken as long as you can prove they are yours.

Reverse check any sample images they give you. (some lie or steal other peoples work)

Ask other Authors and check out their covers.

Check reviews (ten or more good ones)

The last thing you want is to be sued by a photographer or font designer for copyright infringement.

Formatting or Interior Book Designer

As well as being an Author Consultant, bringing contractors together to build books, I also work as a formatter, and turn manuscripts into a professional files to upload on KDP and other distribution websites. There are many formatting apps around now, though many are not as professional as people seem to think. Pick up a paperback printed by a traditional publisher, and you will see what I mean. Look at how it is set out, how tidy it is. If you are contracting out for formatting, you will be paying more than $10 to get a professional finish. Note the differences between eBooks and print books. There are quite a few, including page numbers- which don’t start on the first page of the manuscript, header and footers, endnotes/footnotes, images and in eBooks Alt Text for images so people who are sight impaired can read the image.

Technology Growth

Technology is advancing in leaps and bounds, changes and updates happening all the time. If you’re not a techy person, then you do need to research every detail about producing a book. It is hard work if you want a professional outcome.

Always remember paperbacks and hardbacks need to be justified with a line spacing of 1.15 cm at the most. Indents shouldn’t be more than 0.5 cm. Learn how to use STYLES in WORD if you write in WORD. If you use an app, you still need to make sure these things are correct. This means you need to learn to use the app correctly, watch the videos, or talk to someone who knows what they’re doing. Keep yourself updated with the changes.

Websites and Social Media

Most authors have websites, though these only work if you use them, share the posts, and have a marketing plan. You need to know about SEO’s and keep your website relevant. Post at least once a week. Talk about your books and yourself, about your writing, how your muse helps or hinders you. There are plenty of ideas out there which you can write about.

Social media also seems to be slipping to the wayside, especially Facebook with all their rules and regulations, people getting banned for weeks or months. I’ve noted a lot now use Instagram and TikTok, if you’re not camera shy like I am. You can get Book Trailers made for YouTube or you could read one of your books on video and share the links.

Marketing

An excellent resource for Marketing is ‘The Ultimate Author Check List.’ It is brilliant, and even I still need to finish reading the document and put things into place. Marketing will cost more money and this should be the only one going cost with your books. If you are a techy person, you maybe able to make Teasers and Adverts to use, remembering each social media website has criteria your advert needs to fit.

Once again, be careful of scammers, especially from those who approach you! Most are dubious. I like to work with people who have reached out to me or have read a review. Word of mouth is a wonderful thing. Don’t forget to leave your contractor a review, especially if they fulfilled all the criteria of the contract.

We welcome questions in the comments area. We are happy to help new authors find the right way to go for their needs. Meanwhile, be careful out there.

How to UPLOAD to KDP Publishing

January 31, 2022How To, Images, Important, InformationAmazon Account, authors, banking information, Book Cover, book lending, Book Titles, Bookshelf, Contributors, Copyright, edited, Errors, Genre, indie authors, ISBN, KDP, Keywords, Language, Manuscript, market place, Marketing Skills, passwords, pre-order, previewer, Pricing, Publisher, Publisher Rocket, Publishing, Research, Royalty, Self-Publishing, Series, spellcheck, tax form, terms and conditions, Trigger Warnings, Uploading, user name, Wrap Coverclaire

USING KDP FOR EBOOKS

THIS BLOG POST IS FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW HOW TO USE KDP. THE IMAGES I WILL EXPLAIN WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. IT IS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND HOPE IT WILL ASSIST THOSE WITH LOW TECH SKILLS.

THESE IMAGES BELONG TO KDP WEBSITE AND ARE USED TO ASSIST YOU IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS.

THE FIRST THING YOU NEED IS AN AMAZON ACCOUNT. A LOT OF US BUY THINGS OFF AMAZON. IF YOU DO IT MEANS YOU CAN GOOGLE KDP PUBLISHING AND SIGN IN WITH THE SAME USER NAME AND PASSWORD. IN THE IMAGE BELOW IS SHOWS YOU SOME TABS IN BLUE WHICH YOU CAN CLICK ON. YOU WILL NEED KINDLE EBOOK.

WHEN YOU CLICK THE KINDLE EBOOK TAB AND SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE YOU WILL SEE WHERE YOU CAN START A KINDLE EBOOK. THERE ARE THREE PAGES TO FILL IN.

IT WILL TAKE YOU TO A NEW PAGE (SHOWN ABOVE) WHERE YOU CAN START FILLING IN THE DETAILS OF YOUR BOOK. THE FIRST FOUR ARE: LANGUAGE, BOOK TITLE, SUBTITLE. PLEASE NOTE WHAT LANGUAGES KDP/AMAZON SUPPORT.

KEEP SCROLLING DOWN AND FILLING IN THE INFORMATION: SERIES (IF YOU HAVE ONE) EDITION NUMBER AND YOUR AUTHOR NAME.

ADD CONTRIBUTORS YOU WISH TO ADD.

IF YOU ARE PART OF A MULTI AUTHORED BOOK THEN YOU CAN ADD UP TO TEN AUTHOR NAMES, THE REST WILL NEED ADDING VIA REQUEST ON AUTHOR CENTRAL.

NEXT PART OF THE ABOVE IMAGE IS TO HELP YOU MARKET YOU BOOK TO YOUR FUTURE READERS. FIRST IS THE DESCRIPTION, WHICH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT TELLS YOUR READERS A BIT ABOUT YOUR STORY. THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN ENTINCE THEM IN. YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE IT’S INFORMATIVE, EDITED AND NO ERRORS, USE SOME OF YOUR KEYWORDS. IT’S ALSO A GOOD IDEA TO LET READERS KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY TRIGGERS AND WHAT ENGLISH (IF THIS IS YOUR LANGUAGE OF CHOICE) IT’S WRITTEN IN. REMEMBER THERE IS DIFFERENT SPELLINGS AND WORD USAGE IN THE VARIOUS ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES.

MAKE SURE YOU OWN THE COPYRIGHT FOR YOUR BOOK. KDP SOMETIMES ASK FOR PROOF.

KEYWORDS!

ANOTHER IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR MARKETING. YOU NEED TO FIND WORDS THAT REPRESENT YOUR BOOK. THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN CHECK WHAT WORDS OTHER AUTHORS IN YOUR GENRE... THIS RESEARCH IS ESSENTIAL IF YOU WANT READERS TO FIND YOUR WORK. CHOOSE CAREFULLY. ASK OTHER AUTHORS IN THE GROUPS YOU BELONG TO, IF YOU ARE UNSURE. ALSO THERE IS AN APP CALLED PUBLISHER ROCKET WHICH YOU CAN BUY WHICH IS GREAT FOR FINDING KEYWORDS. THE LAST PART OF THE IMAGE SHOWS HOW TO PICK YOUR CATEGORIES.

THIS IMAGE ASKS YOU TO TELL THEM THE AGE BRACKET FOR READERS AND ALSO IF YOU WISH TO RELEASE YOUR BOOK STRAIGHT AWAY OR HAVE IT ON PRE-ORDER. AFTER YOU HAVE CHOSEN YOU CAN HIT SAVE AND CONTINUE AND IT WILL TAKE UP TO PAGE TWO.

THE ABOVE IMAGE IS WHERE YOU CHOOSE DRM (IT IS MEANT TO PROTECT YOUR BOOK THOUGH CAN BE EASILY BROKEN) AND UPLOAD YOUR EBOOK MANUSCRIPT. AS YOU CAN SEE, ONCE MY MANUSCRIPT IS LOADED, AMAZON WILL TELL YOU IS THERE IS ANYTHING MISSING OR ANY SPELLING TO CHECK. ON THIS ONE I HAVEN’T PUT IN THE LINKED CONTENTS PAGE WHICH IS SOMETHING ALL EBOOKS NEED. I WILL ALSO CHECK THE SPELLING, HOWEVER THESE TEND TO BE FOREGIN WORDS OR DIALECT ISSUES. AFTER YOU’VE AMENDED THE MANUSCRIPT, RE-UPLOAD IT AND THEY WILL PROCESS THE FILE WITHOUT FURTHER ISSUE, WELL UNLESS KDP ARE HAVING A BUGGY DAY OR YOUR MANUSCRIPT IS STILL INCORRECT.

IN THE IMAGE ABOVE IS SHOWS THE AREA FOR UPLOADING THE EBOOK. YOU ONLY NEED THE FRONT COVER TO UPLOAD. IT NEEDS TO BE A JPEG OR TIFF AND FIT THE CRITERIA SIZING KDP REQUESTS. I ALWAYS USE A JPEG FILE. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE DOING A PAPERBACK OR HARDBACK BOOK THEN YOU WILL NEED A COVER TEMPLATE TO GET THE CORRECT SIZING, WE CALL THE FINISHED COVER A WRAP COVER AND THEY ARE USUALLY UPLOADED AS A PDF.

AFTER YOU HAVE UPLOADED THE BOOK COVER YOU CAN CLICK ON SAVE AND CHECK YOUR EBOOK OUT ON THE KINDLE PREVIEWER. YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD FROM THE LINK SHOWN IN THE IMAGE. IT IS ALWAYS WISE TO ALSO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE HTML FOR ARC READERS.

YOU CAN ALSO PUT IN AN ISBN NUMBER (IF YOU OWN ONE) OR LEAVE IT WITH AN ASIN NUMBER PROVIDED BY KDP. YOU MAY ALSO ADD A PUBLISHER, BE THIS YOUR OWN BUSINESS OR ONE YOU’VE USED TO ASSIST YOU. SAVE AND CONTINUE TO PAGE THREE

THE LAST FEW IMAGES WILL BE ABOUT PRICING AND HOW THE ROYALTY WORKS AND HOW YOU GET PAID FOR ANY SALES YOU MAKE.

THE FIRST IMAGE SHOWN BELOW IS ABOUT KDP SELECT, THE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS YOU HOLD AND WHICH AMAZON STORE YOU’LL SELL MOST OF YOUR BOOKS FROM. READ THE INFORMATION ON THE LINKS IF NEED BE OR ASK IN A GROUP. MOST GO FOR ALL TERRITORIES AND AMAZON.COM, THOUGH IF YOU LIVE IN ONE OF THE OTHER COUNTRIES LIKE UK, EUROPE, THEN YOU CAN PICK THEM AS YOUR STORE OF CHOICE.

NEXT…

AS SHOWN BELOW IS YOUR CHOICE OF ROYALTY. YOU CAN DO 35% OR 70% THOUGH THERE ARE CRITERIA TO ADHEAR TO DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU PICK. IF YOU PICK 70% YOUR BOOK HAS TO BE PRICED AT $2.99 OR ABOVE. ONCE YOU PUT YOUR PRICE IN IT WILL SHOW YOU YOUR ROYALTY FOR EACH SALE AS WELL AS LISTING ALL THE OTHER COUNTRIES.

ONE THING I HAVE LEARNT IS THAT IF YOU DON’T LIVE IN ONE OF THE COUNTRIES WHERE THERE IS AN AMAZON STORE, THEN YOU WON’T GET PAID MONTHLY. INSTEAD YOU GET PAID WHEN YOU REACH 100 IN THE CURRENCY OF THAT COUNTRY. THE REASON I KNOW IS DUE TO LIVING IN NEW ZEALAND AND HAVING TO WAIT FOR PAYMENTS.

I HAVE ADDED IN THE WHOLE LIST OF COUNTRIES SO YOU CAN SEE WHICH ONES ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU.

THE LAST PHOTO IS ABOUT BOOK LENDING WHICH IS LOCKED SO WHY THEY ASK I HAVE NO REAL IDEA. JUST BELOW THAT IS THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS YOU ARE AGREEING TO. IT ALSO STATES HERE THAT IT CAN TAKE UP TO 72 HOURS TO MAKE YOUR BOOK AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. PLEASE REMEMBER IT TAKES A WHILE TO GET THROUGH THEIR SYSTEM AND INTO THE OTHER STORES AROUND THE WORLD.

IF YOU ARE HAPPY WITH HOW EVERYTHING LOOKS YOU CAN NOW HIT PUBLISH. IT WILL EITHER GO TO PRE-ORDER (IF THAT IS WHAT YOU CHOOSE) OR IT WILL SUBMIT THE MANUSCRIPT TO GO LIVE ONCE KDP ARE HAPPY YOU’VE FOLLOWED THEIR PROCEDURES CORRECTLY.

THERE IS SO MUCH TO LEARN, UPLOADING IS ONLY ONE OF MANY AREAS. IF YOU ARE UPLOADING FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH A NEW ACCOUNT, YOU’LL NEED TO FILL IN THE BANKING INFORMATION AND THE TAX INFORMATION.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, YOU WILL FIND THAT KDP HAS FILLED IN THE AREAS FOR PAPERBACK AND HARDBACK IF YOU GO BACK AND WISH TO PUBLISH THOSE TYPES OF BOOKS AS WELL.

I WISH YOU ALL GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR WORK AND PUBLISHING.

Publishing Confusion – Part Four – Social Media

January 13, 2022Important, Information, New Realese, Rambles, readers, Showcasing Author ClientsAlt Text, Amazon, authors, Book Blurb, Book Link, Branding, Canva, Facebook, Fonts, Gimp, indie authors, Introducing, Marketing, Paid Adverts, Pubishing, QR Codes, Research, Social Mediaclaire

Social Media.

Most of you know how to use the basics…or do you? I thought I was good with Facebook, when one day a course in our local region we found a tutorial on how to use Facebook for business. It blew what we thought we knew right open. OUCH. Luckily there was no re-learning, there was extra learning.

In the last twelve months, many of our Social Media websites have updated. Things have moved, changed or disappeared. Even we’ve had issues finding various items. Sometimes the frustration creeps in and takes over. The better you can use Social Media, the better you can MARKET your business and grow your AUTHOR BRAND. With saying that, we need to give you a few ways to make more out of a post and images.

We’ve always been taught that images get more people looking at your posts. However, what sort of image do you need to use? Have you ever looked on Facebook to see which type of images get the most likes and shares? Why do they get so much attention. Why do people stop scrolling and read?

Next time you find something you like and read, think about what you notice first. Is it the writing? Which part? A title? A font? Large fonts? The mission into marketing is endless trying to find out what will work for us and our books. RESEARCH…yep that word again. Weird how it keeps cropping up.

Advert for Shattered Badge, Shattered Trust by Sandra Brewster.

We’re going to make a Facebook Post. It was a new release for one of our clients. The novel is called ‘SHATTERED BADGE SHATTERED TRUST’ by Sandra Brewster. It is available on AMAZON. To the left of the screen is the book cover. For those who are sight impaired the image shows a police badge which has been broke into pieces the the book title across the middle. At the top of the cover is the Authors name. The background is a greenish blur of a crime scene.

First things first is to make a 3D cover so it looks like a book rather than a flat image. This will make it stand out better and hopefully grab a readers interest. It is obviously a story which involves a character who is a cop. Though what is the relevance about the Shattered Trust? Who’s Trust was destroyed and why? Maybe a bit of the synopsis will tell us what’s going on. Can we add it to the Facebook Post?

This depends on what type of Marketing you are looking at doing. Who are you aiming your ADVERT at? Are you doing a PAID ADVERT or a post in a group? Will you make a TEASER for the story or a POSTER. On that note…if you can’t use photoshop, GIMP, Krita or similar graphic apps then please use CANVA. It’s FREE and easy to use, even for those who think they aren’t good with technology.

CANVA – AUTHOR INTRODUCTION IDEA

In the first PNG image you have all the different areas, all giving you different information. Obviously this is a small image of what the poster would be if it were printed out. Looking at it digitally and asking a few friends, I see what they like and don’t like. The BOOK BLURB is to pale and needs to be BOLD FONT. The eBook app in the image above the authors profile image needs to be put in (can’t do this on CANVA FREE). I don’t like is the BOOK LINK.. it looks to big and untidy. We may make it smaller or use a QR Code.

We have made some adjustments on this second image. The book cover has been placed into the eBook app on the image. In the next image we have put the BOOK BLURB in bold to show what it looks like.

The main issue with the poster is having to use two different apps to make the poster. We started in CANVA and played around, asking for opinions… Now we need to put all of this together. This same poster only needs the book cover adding to the eBook reader along with the QR Code and then it is finished. For now we’ve left the book link in though made it smaller and bold.

My next question is: What do you think? Is it good? Are there any changes? What do you get from reading the poster? Would it make you look up the author and read her books?

Please let me know in comments.

NOTE: The image is to complex to put in ALT TEXT.

KDP Hardbacks – Easy or Difficult?

September 29, 2021Children's Stories, Important, Information300 dpi, Amazon, authors, BETA, Binding, Book Cover Artists, Files, Graphic Designers, Hardback Books, How To, indie authors, Interior, KDP, Measurements, Page Count, Research, Templatesclaire

After hearing that KDP had Hardbacks in BETA, I thought I’d take a look at the setup and see how things worked, what was different.

The first page where you type in your information is the same as for the ebook and paperback, so if you’ve already done them, then page one will automatically be filled in for you. Still, it is best to check for errors or changes you may need. Save as a draft and go to page two. This is where the changes start.

You will need to have a different ISBN number for your hardback book. You can either use the KDP Free ISBN, which can only be used on Amazon, or you can buy your own. Next, you scroll down, picking your book size, page colour, ink colour etc until you get to where you upload your interior. Is it the same as for paperback?

NOT COMPLETELY

Though the pages are exactly the same sizes, the margins on the most popular size (6 x 9 or 15.24 x 22.86) are bigger, probably due to the extra width needed in the spine for a hardback. You will also need a manuscript of 75 pages or more to make a HARDBACK BOOK, which, of course, doesn’t bode well for young children’s picture books.

Once you’ve uploaded the correct manuscript, you get to do your HARDBACK COVER and yes, this is different. Unless you know the ins and outs of hardback books, you will need the TEMPLATE or you can use the KDP COVER CREATOR. Personally, we will use the templates until we’ve learnt how to size the covers correctly. Like many of those who may read this, we are learning to.

Click on the DOWNLOAD A TEMPLATE link just above the box where you upload the cover and it will open this page shown below.

In the Image it asks you for your book details. For those who are sight impaired or blind, the list consists of:-
BINDING, INTERIOR TYPE, PAPER TYPE, PAGE-TURN DIRECTION, MEASUREMENT UNITS, INTERIOR TRIM SIZE and PAGE COUNT. Once this is filled in, as shown below, you can Calculate Dimensions.

This opens a new page! As shown below.

This image gives you all the information you need and what everything means. Don’t worry about what this image shows too much because now that the dimensions have been calculated, you can DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE to your computer and open the ZIP file. Inside, you will find three files. A PDF and PNG version of the TEMPLATE with instructions on what is what in the image. The THIRD file shows you HOW TO USE YOUR TEMPLATE. The instructions are shown below.

*HOW TO USE YOUR TEMPLATE*

1. Open the PDF or PNG file for the Paperback Book Cover Template in your image editing software.
2. Create a new layer in your image editing software. This layer will serve as the design layer.
3. Design your cover in the design layer, using the template PDF or PNG file as the guide layer. The artwork should extend to the outside edge of the template’s pink zone to ensure a white border will not exist within the printed work. Do not move the guide layer, as it is properly aligned for our printing specifications.
4. Ensure text and/or images that are intended to be read do not appear in the pink zones of the template.
5. The barcode area is indicated in yellow on the template. Do not place important images or text intended to be read in the barcode location. We suggest filling in this area with your background color or design. KDP will automatically generate a barcode representing your title’s ISBN when printing copies of your book.
6. Once your design is complete, you will need to turn off the guide layer so that it is not printed on your final product or rejected during the review process. If you are unable to turn off the guide layer, then you will need to format the artwork so that it completely covers the guide layer.
7. Flatten all layers, save the file as a press quality PDF with CMYK color profile, and upload the file via KDP.

Message from my Illustrator

My advice is that when you are creating ANY image for any template, always use the template as a guide, I will make an image for you to use, that includes your cover, and the faded template. You need to keep everything inside the red walls 🙂 and remember to set your DPI @ 300+ when working with printed covers as opposed to digital (e-book) covers. The below image shows you the cover and template and how everything sits.

On the last page for KDP the pricing is done the same way as will paperbacks and ebooks. Choose a price and approve to publish. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to buy some Author Copies to check over. Sadly, with living in New Zealand during Covid, it isn’t possible for me to do so.

PLEASE ALSO REMEMBER KDP HARDBACK IS IN BETA AT THIS TIME AND CHANGES AND UPDATES MAY OCCUR AS WE ALL START TO LEARN TO USE HARDBACK INFORMATION

Emails and Files

January 15, 2021authors, Important, Information, readersAttachments, Author Consultant, contractors, Emails, Files, Plaisted Publishing, Research, Saving Files, Time is Moneyclaire

A short blog post about emails and files!!

It seems many people either don’t realise, forget or just don’t think about files they’ve attached to emails and sent to contractors, publishers, editors etc., etc.

Why do I say this?

If you send a file to someone… anyone, then you should still have a copy of that email and file YOU sent to them in your email account unless YOU deleted the OUTGOING FILE!!

Don’t ask the person you sent it to for a COPY back (if no changes have been made) GO AND LOOK IN YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT! This not only saves YOU time, it also SAVES your CONTRACTOR TIME – TIME YOU PAY FOR…

Claire
Author Consultant
Plaisted Publishing

Publishing Confusion – Part Three. Building a Website

November 22, 2020authors, How To, Important, InformationAppearance, Assistance, Author Brand, contents, Creating, Customize, Educational, Free Website, Get Started, Home Page, Launch, Learn by Play, Marketing, Menu of Pages, Proofreading, Publishing Confusion, Research, share, Social Media, Tagline, Templates, Training, Tutoring, Website Building, Website Name, Widgets, Wix, Wordpress, WP Adminclaire

There was a bit of confusion on my first post. I’d like to say, this series of posts is aimed at writers who wish to be Authors and make an income of some kind or another. As an Author, you run a business. In business, NOTHING is FREE, most certainly not your TIME.

You’ve made your choice. You’ve written a few short stories and sent it out to friends and maybe family. The replies you get back are positive. ‘We Want More’ (Yes I know this doesn’t happen to all of us). Strangely enough, this is what happened to me, however, I also had a lot to learn about writing in the English of today. There are many changes since I was at school. A lot of stuff I didn’t understand, though with examples (like Cathy who write Word Wars) a lot was instantly understandable.

“You should write a book.” and this is when you start your research. Most writers don’t have a clue where to look, how to research, who to trust. However, it had improved in recent year with Facebook Groups, with saying this, there are still plenty of Scammers and Spammers in those groups. Many get removed and blocked when they are found. The first question I asked myself was “how do I connect to agents and publishers?’ I had no clue and I’d never heard of Independent Publishing back in 2012. It was a bit of a nightmare. Once I found an Agent, I found out they didn’t understand my genre. I still laugh about it. As for publishers…or editors, well they wanted things set out in a certain way or your email would go straight into a bin never to be seen by anyone.

What’s this got to do with Websites and Social Media you ask. Well as you learn how technology works, your start to realise there is more to writing a book than you thought. I’d never heard of AUTHOR BRAND back then, it wasn’t something I was even aware of. SALES and MARKETING can be done via your WEBSITE and SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS, though you need to have the knowledge to do this. You need to learn or find a tutor. A traditional publisher won’t touch you if you can’t format a document how they wish you to. They also prefer you .to have a following which helps to add up to SALES.

Where and how do I find or make a website?

A great question. We started our first one way back in about 2012/13 and it was a complete disaster. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing, though we were pretty good with technology, even with continual frustration. Where was our first website? WORDPRESS.

In 2014, we tried WIX, it was easier to use with a few learning curves to find out how to design and use templates. It was enjoyable to use. In fact, we still have an Author Website there, which needs updating. The thing with WIX we didn’t like was not been able to download our website content to take elsewhere if we found a better deal. By this stage we had a few author friends on Facebook and they suggested trying WORDPRESS again. One friend, Markie, helped us through the process until we knew what we was doing. It was great. WORDPRESS had lots of tutorial if you needed them. These days we’re happy helping others with WORDPRESS, however this year they’ve updated and though the basics are the same, the editing isn’t. It’s still annoying and post take a lot longer to produce.

Your Website on WORDPRESS

Due to knowing how to use WordPress better than any other I’m going to show you the ropes. Some simple steps. I’ve included images for those who have a hard time with technology. I know we all learn differently. The will also be a description for those with sight impairments or who are blind.

Below is a view of the page which opens up to create the first step of your website.

The first thing you need to do for you WEBSITE is pick a name for your Business or Author website. In the image below it will show you what is available. My advice…is to start with the FREE WEBSITE as indicated by the tabs circled in the image. You can always buy later if and when you can afford.

This next image looks a bit scary, though it really isn’t. It shows the pricing for the different types of websites you can have. However, right above those panels it says ‘Start with a FREE Site’ You need to click on this. I have drawn a circle around it so you can find it.

Now it’s time to build your website. You have a name and if you look at the image below…

As you can see it is straight forward. There is a bright pink tab saying GET STARTED in the middle of the page and on the RIGHT there is a list of things you need to do. As each one is done, they will get a GREEN TICK.

Also note you can go back and change your website at any stage if you find you don’t like something. It’s a good learning curve to be able to do this because you get to find your way around.

You’ve hit the GET STARTED tab and it takes you to a page to NAME YOUR SITE! Something you seriously need to think about. Remember this is part of your marketing and AUTHOR BRAND.

Is this site for a BOOK SERIES or for you as a writer? Is it for an anthology of multi-authors? The ideas for your website are endless though it is worth playing with different names until you find what is right for you, be it your actual name, pen name or book series name. Remember once you know what you’re doing you don’t have to stop at one website, however you do need to publish posts to each one at least once a week.

This image shows you where you fill in the blanks…Again…with your business name. As you can see on this sample, I am building a website for Jenny Raven Gifts, who has recently started an online business with recycled items and upcycled then into new items. Under her business name it asks for a TAGLINE. (something under discussion still for Jenny). This is another important part of your marketing. My own TAGLINE is – Building Books One Step at a Time. This shows that the Author Services we offer will help our client turn their manuscript into an professional book file for online distribution websites or local printers to where the client lives.

You have your website name and tagline, so what’s next? Continue to follow the list until you are ready to launch your website to the world. Play around and learn how it works. There is still plenty of work to do. MENUS, CUSTOMIZING, WEBSITE TEMPLATES…

The list includes, Updating your HOME PAGE, CONFIRM YOUR EMAIL FOR THE SITE AND CREATING A MENU (this is where your pages show and in what order). After you are happy with your website set up you can LAUNCH your website. This is great, you’ve done it. One last thing to remember BEFORE SHARING YOUR LINK…ASK A FEW TRUSTED FRIENDS TO HELP YOU PROOFREAD THE CONTENTS AND MAKE SURE ALL THE PAGES WORK.

The last few images are to help guide you around your website to make changes. You need to know about WP ADMIN. This takes you do a new page where all the things you need are listed in a black panel down the left-hand side of the website. Have a look through the list to see what you can do. The following two images are to help you customize and choose a theme. Once you open customize as shown on the image to the right of your screen, you will be able to change COLOURS, FONTS, BACKGROUNDS. You can add WIDGETS, SOCIAL MEDIA, PAGES and sort out your MENU and what order you’d like your PAGES in.

First you need to look for APPEARANCE, which opens a new list and you then click on CUSTOMIZE. The best way to learn is through PLAY, just don’t play for to long or you’ll get totally frustrated and none of us want that. If you still need ASSISTANCE, then ASK!!!

We know we haven’t shown you the CUSTOMIZE PAGE, we thought it would be fun for any of you making a website to have a look around on your own. LEARN BY PLAYING.

This image shows you how to find THEMES. It will take you to a page of TEMPLATES you can use for your website. There are a lot to try out. You can choose to PREVIEW them before you pick the one you wish to use. Take your time and find something that suits you, your genre and or book series.

Below is a screen shot of the TEMPLATES. You can do a SEARCH for what you want. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT NOT ALL THE TEMPLATES ARE FREE. MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE FREE TAB ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THE IMAGE.

Once again, choose wisely. We have updated my websites a few times of the years and we always use a template which shows WIDGETS down the right hand side of the screen. We also prefer the smaller Header Photos. This is of course a preference for YOU TO THINK ABOUT.

HOPING THIS HELPS YOU WITH YOUR WEBSITE AND BUILDING YOUR AUTHOR BRAND. PLEASE SHARE WITH THOSE WHO NEED A HAND WITH RESEARCH. THERE IS SO MUCH MIS-INFORMATION OUT THERE ALONG WITH SCAMMERS AND SO MANY STILL GET CAUGHT OUT.

PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH IF YOU WISH TO BE AN AUTHOR, AFTER ALL YOU CAN’T BE A CERTIFIED PLUMBER WITHOUT THE CORRECT TRAINING!!

Our next post will be about SOCIAL MEDIA SITES and how they work

Publishing Confusion – Part Two. Author Brand

November 19, 2020authors, Guest Bloggers, Important, InformationApple iBooks, Author Assist, Author Brand, Author Brand Marketing, Author Pages, Author Services, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Book Launch, Budgets, Experience, Facebook, Google Play, Independent Authors, Independent Publishing, Ingram Spark, Instagram, Kindle, Kobo, Learning, LinkedIn, LULU :), Marketing, Marketing Machine, Plaisted Publishing House, Podcasts, Professional Editing, Professional Graphic Artist, Research, Skills, Social Media, Student Graphic Artist, Twitter, Websites, Wix, Wordpressclaire

Author Brand! What is it?

Who likes Nike, Adidas? Who’s your favourite Movie Star, Poet, Author? The first two are BRANDS which people love. The Second are people who can be turned into BRANDS and generally are. So, how do they do this? What does it mean to have a BRAND?

If you get a big enough BRAND you can sponsor others, the same way Nike and Adidas do. They are MARKETING MACHINES, but how did they do it? How did they get so big and noticeable? It’s a bit of give and take. The big businesses sponsor the big names in sports and movies. If a movie star loves the shoes, clothes, drink…whatever the business sell, then the public will buy and support the person being sponsored which in itself supports the MARKETING MACHINE. It continually circles around, making money.

As authors and publishers we need to do something similar. The trouble is getting your foot in the door. How is this achieved. Well it’s time to ask some of the Independent Authors who’ve made a success of their books. There is one lady I know you’d all love to chat with. Sadly she is busy heading for a deadline right now though Jami Albright has given me permission to share how she went about her first book launch, which also shows how she used her BRAND to her advantage.

Find Jami’s Podcast HERE. Other details are below. This Podcast is mainly about a Book Launch, though it shows the process she went through to get SALES and REVIEWS, both an important part of how we use our AUTHOR BRAND.

This article was written by Jami Albright in 2017. Jami has since released another three books in her series.

The minute you decide to sell your book it stops being your baby and becomes a product. A product that needs to be launched into the world. Which, frankly, is a dubious task when you consider that there are millions of books on Amazon alone, not to mention the other platforms such as, Kobo, Apple iBooks, Google Play, and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

Did you hear me, people? Millions!

So how do you launch your book so it will sell, but also stay sticky in the Amazon rankings and therefore, continue to sell? We have to have a plan. A launch plan.

On April 11, 2017, I released the first book in my Brides on the Run series into the top 3000 in the Amazon paid store and had 50 reviews within the first three days. Eleven weeks later (as of this writing) my book is still ranked in the top 5000 and has over 200 reviews. It’s sold 1100 copies, and has 700K pages read in Kindle Select/Kindle Unlimited.

My little book has made over $5000, y’all! (I’m a Texan. We’re excitable.)

When I was asked to write this article about my book launch, my first thought was, Surely, there’s someone more qualified than me to talk about this subject? Because, while I’ve done well, other indie authors are knocking it out of the park with their numbers. But like most of you, I’m a part-time writer with family responsibilities, and a day job, who’s doing everything I can to figure out this indie publishing thing. What I’m trying to say: If I can do it, you can do it.

My launch plan began months before I put my book on Amazon. I started by understanding my genre and making sure my book met the expectations and conventions of that category. How did I do that? I read books like the ones I wanted to write. I familiarized myself with the tried and true tropes that readers want, and then worked very hard to make sure I delivered on those expectations. You can choose to write outside of the parameters of a genre, but know that you are going out on a limb to do it. And you might find yourself alone on that limb with your determination to be unique and no audience. Readers come to a genre knowing what they want. If you disappoint them because you decide to break convention, they will not be happy. They’ll then share their displeasure by leaving a nasty review.

The same is true of covers. When choosing a cover for your book, check out the top one-hundred best sellers in your genre. Are there themes, colors, and fonts that are used to signal that the book is a YA fantasy or a cozy mystery? I’m not telling you to copy those covers, but you should use them as guidelines for your own design.

I write romantic comedy. In the rom-com sub-genre there are three camps as far as covers go. One camp is full of sexy, shirtless guys. The second is illustrated covers with quirky characters, and third features women in flirty skirts, that only show their legs. My book didn’t fall neatly into any of those styles. It’s kind of a combination of all of them. It took several iterations, but I came up with a compromise that I think works. It’s flirty, quirky and sexy, just like my book.

A reader should be able to look at your cover and tell immediately what kind of book it is. If your cover and your content don’t match, then you’ve confused the reader. And a confused reader is one that moves on to the next book by another author.

In addition to a great cover, you also want a blurb or book description that hooks the reader. If you don’t know how to write good copy, learn, or pay someone to do that task for you. Bryan Cohen’s How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis is an excellent resource on the subject. If done well your cover and blurb can sell your book for you.

Before we move on, one more quick word about covers. Put down the mouse and step away from Photoshop. Now! You should not be making your own covers unless you have an extensive background in graphic design. There, I said it. Someone had to.

Hire a professional cover artist. A good cover can cost as little as $25 for a pre-made all the way up to $3000 for an artist commissioned cover. Mine cost me $200, it would’ve been less, but much to my designer’s annoyance, I kept changing my mind. The two most important things you will spend money on are the cover and editing. You should have someone other than your mother or your high school English teacher edit your books. You need a professional editor. Period.

I know these things cost a lot of money, and if you’re like me, that money isn’t in your budget. But it’s important, so important that I worked odd jobs to make extra cash and, ultimately, sold plasma to pay for it all. Was it hard to travel thirty minutes to an unfamiliar part of town, sit for hours in a small room filled with people I didn’t know, and get stuck with a needle twice a week? Yes. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I have a book I’m proud of. A book that looks professional on the inside and out. A book I paid for with actual blood, sweat, and tears. Damn right, I’d do it again.

Now that I’m off my do whatever you have to do soapbox, I should say that you can sometimes barter with an editor to get the services you need. Or find a graphic design student that has experience and wants to build their portfolio. Or just wait and save up until you have the money.

I know you want your book out yesterday, but we’re playing the long game. Smart, professional authors don’t rush something to market that isn’t ready because it will hurt them in the long run.

To re-cap, we need to know our genre expectations, have a fantastic cover that we don’t make ourselves, a well-written blurb that hooks readers, and professional editing and formatting.

Finally, I can’t encourage you enough to get involved with the indie community. Once I realized that indie publishing was the route I wanted to take, I immersed myself in learning everything I could about the business of self-publishing. I listened to podcasts, I got involved with Facebook groups geared toward publishing and marketing, I went to the Smarter Artists Summit, and I tried my best to be a good community member and make meaningful connections with other indie authors. Little did I know how those connections would be a driving forces behind my successful launch.

In the beginning, I had very little to offer other writers other than encouragement. I could share posts, give moral support and be a friend. So can you. It requires a little effort, imagination, and courage, all things you have because you’re a writer.

How do you feel? Do you think you’re ready to release your baby… um… product into the world?

Jami Albright

Running From A Rock Star
www.jamialbright.com
jamialbright1@gmail.com

Please continue to read our blogs for the processes about Author Brand and Book Launches, and please remember the first step to building your book is RESEARCH

Our next article will cover Social Media and Website Building. What to expect, what you need to do and learn. Much of this also depends on your budget. Can you afford it or are you willing to LEARN what’s needed to get your BRAND working for YOU.

Publishing Confusion – Part One

November 16, 2020authors, Important, InformationAuthor Brand, Author Pages, Beta Readers, Editing, Fan Base, Grahic Design, Independent Publishing, Interior Book Design, Learning Curve, Lessons, Marketing, Pre-Publishing, Proofreading, Publishing Confusion, readers, Research, Social Media, Tutorials, Websites, Your Time isn't FREEclaire

YOUR TIME ISN’T FREE – EVERY MINUTE IS WORTH…?

There are lots of new writers out there each and every day. There is also a heck of a lot of confusion in writing groups. The same questions get asked constantly, people give inaccurate information to each other, few do their own research to find the information they need to publish a book. The main issue is paying for publishing.

Paying for Publishing – Confusion

What is the new writer really asking? What should your reply be if you’re trying to help them. We really need to look deeper than saying things like ‘don’t pay for publishing it’s Vanity Publishing and Publishing is FREE’ If you say publishing is FREE then you obviously don’t value the time it took you to write, to learn the processes of how to publish. Not everyone is good with computers, websites, marketing, graphic design, etc. And these aren’t even the start to building your Author Brand

There are steps to publishing a book and getting it accepted by a distribution website, the same as there is a process if you wish to try traditional publishing. It doesn’t matter which way you go, you will PAY for various things along the way. Now you want to know HOW or WHY, or WHAT THE HELL…

With Traditional Publishing you will pay for the work they do via royalty share for the life of the book. This is how they make their profit. If they don’t see a profit in your book, you won’t get a contract. Of course prior to that is the time it takes to find an Agent, write proposals, etc. It is all time consuming and your time shouldn’t be FREE.

With Independent Publishing you will pay one off FEES for various areas you don’t have the skill set to do yourself. If you are willing to lean, it makes it cheaper, though please remember your TIME is not FREE. Everyone should have an Editor even if it is your job in life. We all miss things in our manuscripts. The best part of Independent Publishing is you get to keep all your royalties and copyright. If you’re good at Marketing, you may earn a decent income.

AUTHOR BRAND – AND WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

Step One: Writing a first draft of your manuscript. WRONG. The first thing you need to do if you wish to earn a decent income as a writer is research your Author Brand. What is this? you ask. Well it’s developing you and showing everyone who you are and what you can do. A bit like a Resume. Once you’ve listed what you know about yourself you can REASERCH what you need to do to get there. What do you need to learn? What way do you wish to publish? How does Publishing work. Do you want to try Independent Publishing or Traditional Publishing. Both have different processes you will need to learn.

At this stage I’m looking into Independent Publishing. You’ll need to research the genre you write. Who’s in the top 100 on Amazon? What are their book covers like? Why are they a best seller? What is their book blurb like? How many novels have they written. How did they find their fans? What are their websites and social media sites like?

There’s so much to research before you even start to write and though you can learn from other writers and authors, you will find some things don’t work for you or are incorrect. RESEARCH is still the key to develop your Author Brand and any learning curve processes you will need.

Step Two: Social media and websites. To build your fan base you need to start chatting, sharing teasers, photos, information about you, your stories. It depends on which social media sites you use. This is where your learning curve begins. Guess what you need to do…Yep RESEARCH… This time you need to learn how to build a website and how to use social media to your advantage and which ones are best for you! How to make a newsletter and get readers to sign up. Once you decide what you need to learn and how to use them, the real work begins. For many, it’s not as easy as it seems, especially when social media keeps updating their technology, causing frustration due to having to learn something new…AGAIN.

Also remember you’re supporting yourself at this time. (unless you have another job). Think about how much you’d expect to earn each hour you research, each time you do something to move forward. How much an hour are you worth? This is the FREE part of publishing, though only if you consider your time is worthless

Interior Design – Fonts and Genre you Write

October 12, 2020authors, How To, ImportantAdvice, Book Covers, Chapters, Comic Sans, Commercial Usage, Editing, Fonts, Garamond, Genre, Genre & Fonts, Headings, Indents, Independent Publishing, Interior Book Design, Line Spacing, Marketing, Paperback Siz++++e, Research, Times New Roman, Titleclaire

Nothing is FREE when you publish independently unless you’re a tech expert and know everything. EDITING, INTERIOR DESIGN (Formatting) BOOK COVERS & MARKETING, etc. Can you do everything? I know I can’t which is why I use CONTRACTORS for my manuscripts and developed a business to help other Independent Authors.

I’ve seen so much BAD INTERIOR DESIGN, it makes me want to leave reviews with one, two or three stars. Never mind the lack of flow and EDITING in stories I try and read, along with BOOK COVERS. The worst part is, most of these books could be saved with some professional help.

This post is about INTERIOR DESIGN, something I love to do. In fact I’m pedantic with formatting books, be it choosing a paperback size, a FONT for headings and Chapters, INDENTS or an image to use as a break between paragraphs. It all makes a difference and those little STARS used as breaks are—in my opinion about as unprofessional as you can get.

FONTS

The fonts an author uses for Titles, Author Name and Chapters can be hard to choose. However, I like to look into the genre of a manuscript when making a choice with my own work and I advise my clients what may work for their story.

When writing romance I’d chose a type of Calligraphy with swooping curves that draws the reader to the book cover, catches the eye though readable. Some of these fonts can be over the top and unreadable. Leave those well alone. For Romance I like Tangerine. Not overly fussy like some Scripts and is FREE for commercial use.

For Horror, Thriller and Ghost Stories who want something that looks a bit scary. One of the ones I like is Chiller, though if you look online you can find plenty to use. Make sure the fonts are FREE and can be used Commercially or you could be sued for Copyright Infringement.

Murder and Mystery fonts can stay with the romance or thriller fonts there again, what about the age group you’re writing for? What would you use for a book aimed at Teens or Young Adults? Something simple or…Scooby Do…ish? Like the one below.

How about this one?

There are so many different fonts to use in your writing which could attract readers to your work. Think carefully before you choose what to use. Talk to your graphic artist about the font to use on your book cover (if you’re contracting out to someone), they know the ropes on what to use. Some of these can be used in the interior in the front matter of the manuscript as well as Chapter Headings. Think outside the square and be daring.

All the above fonts are for commercial use and downloadable at 1001 FONTS.

FONTS FOR BODY TEXT!

Nothing is simple, though the body of the text is much easier to decide. It has to be readable to the literacy age of the person you’re marketing your books to – better known as your audience. Most authors of adult books use Times New Roman size 12. It’s generic and usable in most books. Some in the book industry tell you not to use this font, ever. However, like everything with Independent Publishing, it is up to you, the writer. Always do your research and ask others who have been publishing for advice. Everyone has an opinion. Some authors decide to blend their Title and Chapter Fonts with the body text, this can mean decided the line spacing is different as well.

I use Garamond size 12 at 1.08 – 1.15 cm spacing. When it’s an indented line I use 0.3 – 0.5 cm indents, this is decided on the size of the paperback you are making, the smaller the paperback size the smaller the indent. Putting it mildly it looks ridiculous with large indents in a pocket book. I find Garamond is easy to ready and goes with all the Title and Chapter Font’s I use. However, children’s books are totally different.

Childrens’ books should always have a bigger font size, so as they learn to read they can follow the words with a finger underneath the sentence. This also means your spacing can be bigger. There is one font I love for childrens’ books and it’s close to how children form their letters when they first learn to write. Comic Sans size 16 (at least) with spacing at 1.15 – 1.5 cm. The spacing depends on the literacy age of the children or even the adult who is learning to read or reading a new language, after all, English isn’t everyone’s first language and it is a complicated language to learn due to word usage.

Remember to do your RESEARCH and have fun with your creativity!

English Language and your Readers!

October 5, 2020Important, InformationAmerican English, Audience, Australian English, authors, British English, Canadian English, Different word same item, Editing, Editing Discussions, English Language, fans, Flow Writing, Grammar, Grammarly, Grammarly Pro, Idioms, Marketing, New Authors, New Zealand English, Proofreading, Punctuation, readers, Research, Spellingclaire

Who is your Audience? Do you know? Do you care?
Remember choosing your Audience also affects the marketing
you will need to do.

Editing is not my thing. I do my best work helping with the flow and structure of a manuscript. I’ll call it proofreading for now.

Some things are easy to see and catch, others not so much. If you can get your manuscript flowing nicely it will be easier to edit. Then you have to find an editor who fits and this can take some work and lots of research. I’m not going to get into the research. This time it’s about the English Language you use and who you want as your audience/readers.

Most people write in the English Language where they grew up and were educated. It can, for some also be a second language. However, this doesn’t mean it’s the right English for your readers. If you’re aiming at an American Audience, then most writers would use American English, including grammar, spelling and punctuation.

What if the book is set in another country?

If you go traditional publishing they will generally set books in American English with dialogue in the English of the setting (Australian, British, etc). However, I think this is wrong. My thoughts are on genre as well as where the story takes place.

I’ll tell you why I don’t like the above idea. This is from way back when most books were traditionally published. I loved to read Regency Historical Romance, though many were a bit long winded. What a didn’t like was the fact they were written with American spelling with Regency words in place. Now…yes, I am fussy. In no shape or form were Londoners in Regency England speaking or reading American English in the early 1800’s. So why were they published like this? Simple, their audience/readers were American. It’s a pity they didn’t do a British version, mind that may have cost them to much and Traditional Publishers are all about profit.

With saying this, British authors or other authors who use British English due to setting do get the odd review from readers about how their books are full of errors. Those are the readers who don’t realise British and American English are different in spelling, grammar and punctuation. This is also why I recommend you learn what English you should use and also add what English you are using on the copyright page and even as part of the description if you’re self-publishing online. The difference is a bit of an eye opener.

English Spelling and Different Words.

What do you know of the different spelling and words used for the same item. Do you research what you need? Does your editor understand the spelling you use. There is quite a variety out there, however I will stick with UK, USA & NZ, mainly because these are the ones I use most.

Most New Zealand spelling is the same as British until you hit Te Reo Maori, which is an amazing language to use and write. What is different are the words we use. I can tell you now, going back thirty years and not only was it the words used it was the accents as well. Hilariously funny at times and embarrassing at others. I don’t think I’d ever rolled my eyes so much as I did back then when I was new to New Zealand. I remember once asking where the nearest ‘Chippie’ was. “Oh you can get them here,” and the young lad at the pub/bar held up a packet of—what Brits call Crisps, in the UK. I rolled my eyes, still not realising how different the language was. “I mean the Fish and Chip Shop.” Of course my future husband—a Kiwi, laughed his socks off (not literally). In fact, we didn’t even understand each other much of the time. I eventually became a Kiwi speaker, so much so, that when I visited family in the UK eighteen years later, my siblings kept correcting me. Annoying as hell, especially since they knew what I was on about.

Anyway, slightly off tangent there. In US English you’ll find the difference in spelling. I’ve always wondered why the spelling changed since a majority of colonists were English. If anyone can tell me, I’d be interested to learn. There are hundreds of words you’ll notice with different spellings. Things like COLOUR/COLOR, REALISE/REALIZE. Then you have the words. CANDY/SWEETIE/LOLLY…US, UK & NZ, and there are plenty more which I will list at the end.

Punctuation

First I’d like to get this … out there. PUNCTUATION IS DIFFERENT IN EACH ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY!

Yes it is true, though some will slice and dice and disagree. It depends who taught you, where you were taught and in what generation you’re from. Then you have the accents used and how you speak or how your characters speak to each other. This is one of the many things you need to discuss with your editor. You can give them a generic manuscript which has no country setting as such which is when you can discuss which English you wish to use, remembering you also need to use the correct words. Many people know that US English uses more commas than British English. I have seen the different with Editing apps I use to help me tidy a draft novel.

I use Grammarly Pro. It can give you questionable suggestions and sometimes make you laugh because it’s off base with changes. So, if you’re using an Editing App, make sure your English is proficient.

Grammarly is set up for four different types of English Grammar. Uk, US, Canadian and Australian. Unless I’m helping a client, then I have it set on Uk English.

During the last week I’ve been going back and forth with UK and US English do to proofreading. You can see the difference straight away. One of my own books I’d used UK Grammarly on, was clear of errors, though I still had several steps of editing to do. I accidently clicked on my manuscript when working through an American Clients work and it picked up…over a thousand errors. I nearly panicked until I realised what I’d done, after which I laughed. Yep. It caught the spelling, grammar and punctuation but in American English. It just shows how different it can be. I was pleased I didn’t have to start over.

Different Words, same Item

British	American	New Zealand
Sweetie	Candy	Lollie/Lolly
Chips	Home Fries	Chips or Fries
Chemist	Drug Store	Pharmacy
Off Licence	Bottle Store	Liquor Store
Biscuits	Cookies	Biscuits/Cookies
Handbag	Purse	Handbag
Waistcoat	Vest	Waistcoat/Vest
Vest	Tank Top	Singlet
Trainers	Sneakers	Sneakers

As you can see New Zealand is a mixture of two English Languages, similar to Canada and probably Australia, though they both have their own Idioms There are so many which will confuse a person with the words used and their actual meaning being totally different. Many of these Idioms I had to learn not to use thirty years ago because they were just not understood by the local KIWI population. Then of course you have KIWI Idioms to confound visitors along with place names, many of which are pronounced in totally different way from what they are written.

Te Puke — Tea Pu Key
Petone — Pea Toe knee (Not Pet One as I’ve heard some Americans call it)
Bring a Plate — It means take a plate of food to share at a party, not take an empty plate.
See ya laters — They are not literally going to see you later the same day. It could be tomorrow, the following week. So don’t wait around and yes, people used to do this too.

You can find more
Kiwi Idioms HERE
American Idioms HERE
British Idioms HERE