Moving Forward

As the new year is in full swing, my book has hit the shelves and I have begun to speak with others who are interested in self publishing, I find myself looking for new projects.  I am only fulfilled when I have a goal to accomplish and right now it's going to be getting on a press tour and working on a new online series that will follow the structure of the Girl's Guide Book.

I will be reaching out to a larger audience and bring all those women and girls together who are craving natural beauty secrets.  Think global and not local.  Think bright, successful women coming together to share beauty secrets tips, stories and guiding each other on this journey.  Not so much the Jessica Simpson version, more the what do you do on a daily basis to help your life become more balanced and to help you feel great from the inside out.

I do still have moments of doubt as the size of the undertaking but I am also eager to get started on the endeavor.  Please join me with your thoughts, comments or ideas you wish to ad.  I am open to any suggestions you may have in finding the inner beauty that lies within us all.

Leave me a comment at APARTOFJOANNAINC.COM

EDITING, SUBMITTING THE MANUSCRIPT

So, you have a finished manuscript and you are ready to Publish.  Well my suggestion is to re-read it to make sure there are no mistakes.  Any given book will have a few typos in them but more than a few can have you lose your credibility as an author.  Not only should you use your spell check/ grammar check but you should consider having your book edited by a professional editor.  This will make your manuscript that much more concrete.

You will have to reformat your book once you have sent it to the publishers if it's not in the correct format already.  I made the mistake of including my photos in my manuscript, thinking my layout was going to be the same.  It is not the same at all.  In fact you have to send each photo as a separate file and indicate where you would like it to be placed in your manuscript.  This was one of the most time consuming parts of having my book published.  I actually had to un-format all the pages after submitting it to the publishers.  They do this because there is a team of people who do the layout for you and with all their entries your manuscript will grow.  My book almost doubled in size.  This also will have a big reflection on  the price point of the book.

Each process takes about 2 weeks to develop, if there are no changes.  Even subtle changes can ad 2-3 weeks on to the development process.  That's why patience and due diligence are major factors in completing the publishing process.

How to Publish a book on your own...

Writing a book is not an easy task or we all would be authors.  This blog is for all those aspiring writers, poets, fashionistas or anyone who has ever thought about writing a book.  I will lead you through the process and tell you about my experience as I continue to grow and learn as a newly published author.

To begin, of course you have to have your concept.  Your Story!!!  What are you going to write about?  You want to write a romance novel or a book of recipes, what ever it is make sure you have enough to fill up a book.  Roughly 48 pages is the correct amount to aim for unless it's a children's book.

From your initial concept through the writing of the actual book is a process and yes you have to go through the steps to make sure you aren't just rambling on, or creating run on sentences or that it actually has a story line.  In my book, The Numbers Book, A girl's guide, 9 rules for a happy healthy and beautiful life, I wanted to create a guide for girls filled with beauty secrets I have learned as a performing artist.  I was grouped together in numbered sections, 9 Pilates exercises, 8 super foods, 7 easy ways to pamper yourself, etc.  In a novel you would have to have an introduction, the meat and potatoes and the character arc and the conclusion.  Just make sure you have structure to your book.

After you have written your complete manuscript, comes the editing and publication...