Angela,

Hey there! Thanks so much for the great newsletters and all that you do on behalf of writers and editors.

So, here’s my question, for both my work as a book editor and as a novelist starting to gather info on self-publishing (with BookLocker my prime choice right now) – I can find reams of writing on how to self-publish, promote, and sell novels, but what are the two or three (or more) resources you would recommend as absolutely essential to a self-publishing novelist?

Thank you again for all your efforts. Best to you and yours!

Sincerely,

JDK

Four essential items a self-publishing author needs are:

1. An affordable publisher that doesn’t gouge authors, that doesn’t take rights, that gives authors their production files, and that profits from book sales (not from setup fees).

2. A good editor (please see the full list further below)

3. A good cover design (our designer is excellent)

You can see samples of Todd’s covers HERE.

Click on each one to see the entire cover (front, back and spine).

Also, see the covers at the top of THIS PAGE.

Note: If an author approaches Todd separately for cover design, he will charge $1,000 for the same service. He gives BookLocker a great deal because we send him so much business. Our At-Your-Service package, which includes original cover design, is only $875.

4. A copy of 90+ Days of Promoting Your Book Online, which BookLocker authors receive for free.

FREELANCE EDITORS WE RECOMMEND ARE RIGHT HERE.

If you hire one of these editors you will need to pay them directly. We are only referring you to them. We do not hire them for you.

WARNING: There is no licensing agency for editors and there are many online now who are NOT professional editors. We receive complaints almost daily from authors who hired an editor they found online, and then found even more errors in their “edited” book. (This even happens with editors who work for some POD publishers!) References can be easily manufactured so you should only hire an editor who’s done a good job for an author or publisher you know.

NOTE: Many POD publishers now claim ownership of edited manuscripts (what they call the production files) even though authors paid THEM to edit their books. We call this a “forced marriage” because it makes it almost impossible for an author to move to another publisher someday, even if they are unhappy with their current publisher. We strongly recommend NOT paying a publisher to edit your manuscript. Freelance editors don’t try to claim ownership of an author’s files.

RELATED:

PRINT ON DEMAND (POD) PRICE COMPARISON

CONSIDERING SELF-PUBLISHING? – How Many Book Sales Needed to Recoup Your Investment?

MORE CREATESPACE COMPLAINTS (Part III)

More Lulu Complaints – Thinking Of Using Lulu To Publish Your Book? You Might Want To Read These Authors’ Complaints First!

Complaints about AuthorHouse, Complaints about Xlibris, Complaints about iUniverse, Complaints about Trafford, etc., etc.

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90+ DAYS OF PROMOTING YOUR BOOK ONLINE: Your Book's Daily Marketing Plan by Angela Hoy and Richard Hoy

Promoting your book online should be considered at least a part-time job. Highly successful authors spend more time promoting a book than they do writing it - a lot more.

We know what you're thinking. You're an author, not a marketer. Not to worry! We have more than a decade of successful online book selling experience under our belts and we're going to teach you how to promote your book effectively online...and almost all of our techniques are FREE!

Online book promotion is not only simple but, if you have a step-by-step, day-to-day marketing plan (this book!), it can also be a very artistic endeavor, which makes it fun for creative folks like you!

Yes, online book promoting can be EASY and FUN! Let us show you how, from Day 1 through Day 90...and beyond!

 

 

BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K - $100K Publishing Contracts - by Angela Hoy

Peek over the shoulders of highly successful, published authors to see how they landed publishing contracts worth $10,000 to $100,000! An enticing yet professional book proposal is the key!

BONUS! Successful ghostwriter, Anton Marco, shares his secret for landing ghostwriting clients. Don’t miss Anton’s real ghostwriting contract at the end of this book! It provides an example of what he charges and the payment terms he requires from each client.