Chapter 3 - Traditional vs. Indie Publishing

I know you’ve been looking forward to getting to this part.  Or probably, you skipped the other two entries to get to this part?  If this is what you did, I suggest you go back and read them first before going back here.

This is a self-help blog post, a companion you will always (or maybe not) carry with you as you take the Indie Publishing journey.  And you have to make the most of it.

Go on and read back.  When you finish, this entry will still be here waiting for you.

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Zzzzzz…

All right!  Welcome back to this post.

Brace yourself because this is going to be like high school.  We’ll define terminologies so that we’ll be aligned all throughout the book.

What is Traditional Publishing?

Traditional publishing is a rewarding and yet could be quite a long process.  It begins not after you finish writing your book.  Rather, after you made your manuscript sit for a few months in your desk drawer, and review it and come up with draft two, and three, and four, after several months.

And yet, after re-reading your manuscript and you thought there’s no way it could still get better because let’s face it, you’re an amazing writer, you have a beautiful mind, and the world is only waiting for your book to be launched, somebody tells you need to edit the whole thing again!

Bubble burst.

But that’s normal.  A friend or a family member could do that.  Or if you had joined a writing group, that could also happen.  The tip is, be open-minded.  Allow yourself to listen to their ideas.  But never follow every recommendation anyone gives you.  You know your book.  You know your story.  So in the end, trust your judgment.

Anyway, traditional publishing does not even begin yet.  After your edits, you will need to write down your synopsis, if you haven’t already.  I write off-the-pants, so synopsis comes last to me although in my head, I have a sense already of what’s going to happen in my novels.

The synopsis is usually a page to 8 pages long, depending on the length of your book.  It should give the plot of the story.

After writing the synopsis, you will write your blurb.  Yes, a blurb!  A book blurb to be specific.

A book blurb is what you find in the back of a book flap.  It is that piece of art that entices a person to read what you wrote.  It is quite important that you write this well and to follow certain rules.  Like, don’t write the blurb in past tense.  Don’t give away the ending.  Don’t confuse the reader.  Use only hifalutin words if they’re necessary and uplift the blurb, otherwise, drop them.

So you now have a synopsis and a book blurb.

Don’t forget your book’s tag line.

It is a one-liner that summarizes your book.  It is something that when read by someone else, would immediately be reminded of your work of art.  As an example, it could be a famous line like Jerry Maguire’s “You complete me.”  But this is in the movies so let me give you a more apt example. 

“What would you do if you had to choose?”

Can you guess what book this tag line represents?

Clue:  This is a Young Adult novel by Gayle Forman.

 Nothing yet?  Not familiar?

Another clue:  This book has been turned into a movie.

 Nothing still?

 Okay, it’s from “If I Stay,” which was a brilliant tale about a girl in her teens who had an accident and while in coma, her spirit kept transcending between the past and the current, and all throughout the story, her family begins to die.

Oops.  Sorry for the spoiler.

But you see, my point is, the tag line should be captivating enough to capture a reader.  It shouldn’t be like how I just described the book’s plot.

 Conciseness.  Brevity.  And a twist in imagination.  These are the key to writing tag lines that stick to the reader’s mind.

Now, before we proceed with the rest of the discussion, I want you to go on an exercise first.  Because whether it’s Indie to Traditional Publishing, you will still have to come up with these:  Synopsis, Book Blurb, and Tag line.

In Chapter 1, you claimed you wanted to become a writer.  Go be one.  If you haven’t come up with either of the three yet, then write them down now.

Of if you already had because let’s face it I’m here to just tell you about Indie Publishing Hacked, then just copy from your documents and put them down. 

 Synopsis:

Book blurb:

Tag line:

You’re not yet done.  The next part is actually the more challenging one, or if I may put it, the clincher in this exercise.  Here is where you create a query letter.

A query letter is a letter that introduces your book and yourself to an agent.  But it’s not that simple.  Writing one is probably even more difficult than writing a novel.

An agent is the one who will represent you and your work to a publisher.  Take note that the major publishing houses do not entertain communications directly with writers.  Therefore, if traditional is the way you want to go into, then an agent is crucial. 

When your manuscript gets into the hands of an agent, it gets reviewed, commented on, and sent back to you for editing.  Then after that, you work on editing your manuscript to beat the deadline you agreed with the agent.  And then your agent is going to do the job of selling your book to publishing houses.  Some are lucky and could sell books (if the book is really great) rather fast.  But of course, the result could vary.

Once your manuscript gets sold, it will be edited further.  Inputs from the editor would come in, and you will have to stay up killing your darlings.  Yes, those parts that you felt were significant on the story may to an editor not even relevant at all.  So be prepared.

But it’s not all that bad.  Actually, the truth is, I still want to get published the traditional way.  Because this is where your book would become widely available, and the chance for readership is higher.  Marketing expenses are also paid for by the publisher.

The way to that though, in summary, involves the following:

1.    Finish your manuscript

2.    Review and revise at least three times

3.    Write your synopsis, book blurb, and tagline

4.    Write your query letter

5.    Submit queries to agents

6.    Once an agent contacts you, submit a copy of the full manuscript to the agent.

7.    If an agent accepts, negotiate with the agent, and sign the contract.

8.    If an agent sells the manuscript, edit, edit, and edit the manuscript until the publisher’s editor fully accepts the revised book.

Then you sit and wait while the millions start coming into your bank account.

Oops.  That was just a joke.  Of course, don’t expect that the book is going to sell like pancakes.  Even world-renowned authors probably don’t have that high an expectation.  Or maybe a few does.  But before we make small talk about this, let’s take you into the world of self-publishing.  What is it?  Why take this path? And blah blah blah.

What is Indie Publishing?

As the name itself implies, it is independent publishing.  This means that you take matters into your own hands.  The book cover, the editing, the final edited manuscript.  Everything. 

There will be no need for you to kill your darlings.  No editor would care except for the gentle voice cooing inside your head telling you to never, ever, kill the darlings.

Indie publishing or Independent publishing is an alternative to publishing traditionally.  Instead of looking for an agent and having him or her sell your book to a publisher, you will be left to doing everything on your own.

Let’s see.  A book in order to sell and get into the hands of readers has to undergo or have the following characteristics:

1.    Full professional edit.  When I say professional edit, it has to be someone who is not yourself.  You will always be biased about your work and this could make you less objective in spotting technical errors.  Believe me, no matter how many times you’ve gone through your manuscript, if you get it into the hands of professional editors, they will still find misses in the document.

2.    Book cover conceptualization, design, and layout.  This could get messy.  As the author of a story, you know somehow what you want for the cover, but getting this idea represented by a picture is far more difficult than you could imagine.  Hell, that’s why we are writers and not painters!  We use words to make images.  And that’s why this could be a challenge. 

With the Internet and Google though, searching for an illustrator or a graphics designer who could help you with your cover is easier now.  So all you need is your creative idea of what you want for a cover, what font you’re going to use, etc.

Font, hmm.  Let’s see.  Yes, even font matters.  The font is the representation of your title.  Imagine seeing The Kite Runner in its book jacket in Comic Sans.  How would you feel if after reading the book you finally learned that the story was far from being comical at all?  Wouldn’t you somehow feel cheated?  So there.  Pick a font that will also represent your book.  Remember, this is critical since the book cover is what’s going to grab the attention of potential readers and make them read the book blurb.

Be careful of Papyrus font though.  Although this may seem to you as catchy and looked interesting on the cover, many say that this font shouldn’t be used at all if what you’re after is a sense of uniqueness or something that would make your book stand out.

3.    Good plot, if you cannot strive for great plot.  This one’s self-explanatory.  How many times have you wanted to throw a copy of a book against a wall because the plot sucks?  Once, twice?  Or couldn’t keep count anymore? 

If you have all of these and no agent has paid you any mind yet, my hunch is that you’re hands are itchy and couldn’t wait to take the steps to getting your book out there.

Right?

Before you answer me with a resounding yes, I advise that you think it over one more time.  Do some more research over the Internet.  Check out the pros and cons of going indie over traditional publishing.  And then sleep on it.  Think again.  And when you’re convinced that you want to go Indie, get back to this book, and move on to the next chapter.

In the meantime though, I’m leaving you with a table of pros and cons.  Write down as much as you can about Traditional and Indie.

Traditional		Indie
P r o s	C o n s	P r o s	C o n s

Chapter 2 - Looking into the yearnings of your heart ... or bank account

There are many genres one can explore in writing. The main categories to choose from are fiction and non-fiction. And from there, should one choose fiction, the list is almost limitless. There’s romance, fantasy, young adult, chic-lit, literary, science-fiction, gay and lesbian, Christian, Children’s, picture books, and many more. For non-fiction, there’s biography, self-help, inspirational, picture books, Arts, and others. From these two main categories, there are sub-categories such as dystopia, juvenile, family drama, erotica, etc., and it is important that you know into which of these categories and sub-categories your manuscript will fit.

Nowadays, we are seeing a lot of films from young-adult, dystopia, and family drama. Take a look at the Harry Potter franchise. This one is under the Young Adult category and so is The Fault in Our Stars. Twilight is also young adult and urban fantasy since the setting is contemporary, and yet there is the element of the supernatural, which are vampires.

Under dystopia, we have Divergent and The Hunger Games.

My Sister’s Keeper falls under Family Drama.

And all of Nicholas Sparks books are under Romance. Well, at least those that I know of.

What is your motivation to write?

Would you like to write them down? Feel free. Here:

Enough now. Or we might find you publishing an epic book that only contains your aspirations. 

Look at what you’ve written so far?

Is it money? At the end of the day, after you publish several books, do you think that you now have a ticket to retirement?

Or are you the type of writer who above anything else wants to leave a piece of yourself, ergo, wisdom, to the world?

If most of what you’ve written veered on fame and money (which I tell you is as honest as any answer can get, unless you happen to be the heir or heiress to a business tycoon), then good for you! Because looking at what I enumerated above, any category has its own following. Dystopia hits success mostly between 2012 and 2014, and still continues until now, but the market is seeing a die-down. I hope not though because I love these heroes and heroines who live to be killed and change the world. Right? Who wouldn’t love them?

Seriously, while Romance has the highest readership among the fiction categories, the other categories also fly in the market as long as the book is well-written, and the plot is good. By good, I meant relatable. If not totally relatable, then it should be, mind-blowingly good.

So don’t despair because regardless of what category you write in, as long as you stick to the writer’s credo of creating beautiful stories, there’s a chance that you’ll hit both passion and bank account at the same time.

Reminder though, this will not happen overnight.

And don’t ever—ever—forget that.

Now, this is what I want you to do as an exercise. List down your inspirations. The authors first, and the specific book that made you want to write. And made you wish you were the one who wrote the book. Copying a style is not bad. Actually, emerging writers are told not to reinvent the wheel. These authors, the one we all idolize, have gone through a tested process and have emerged successful. To put it bluntly, they already conquered what we are just beginning to graze upon. Study their works. Copy the style. But never plagiarize.

Author	Books

And now, on the line below, put your name and the title of the book you want to publish.

Make it happen. Believe it will happen. Because it is true, the only thing standing between you and your dream is yourself. Of course, that’s not entirely true. There’s the internet, social media, your grit, and other factors. But let’s assume there is just you and your dream.

Write it down.

Come on. It’s just a title! And your name, which was taught to you as early as kindergarten.

Go.

Write. It. Down.

Your Name	Your Working Title

There. Congratulations.

Now, that's if for the day.

See you tomorrow.

Chapter 1 - So you want to become a writer

I will begin with a story, since after all, this book is about a writer who wrote a book, or several books for that matter, and decided to go Indie publishing.

Not everyone wants to be a writer.  Or maybe a handful does.  But only a selected few goes on to take time, write down ideas, and pursue writing stories.

The question is, do you really want to become a writer?  Do you know what it takes to become a writer?

A year ago, in July of 2013, I decided to resign from my job and take to writing full-time.  My boss told me to just file a leave of absence for 3 months.  My colleagues told me the same.  My friends told me to follow my heart.  And my parents, well, they told me something that was a cross between what my colleagues and friends told me, follow your heart, we’ll support you, but think about it doubly-hard.

These are all sound advice and I would be lying if I say that I didn’t do what they told me.  I was sleepless for several nights, ecstatic and afraid at the same time.  For the first time after working for fifteen years, I would be jobless, no source of income whatsoever, and with monthly amortizations that I had to pay. Looking back now, I would like to yell at my younger self and tell her, What the hell were you thinking?

But my younger self would simply respond with, No, I need to do this.  I will do this.  I will make it through all this.  I don’t care what you say. Hah! I will laugh my ass out when I get to sell my book (which I haven’t sold to any publisher yet) and strut in front of all of them who told me writing or living as a writer is tough!

If only I will be given a chance now, I would smack the younger me in the head, douse her in water, or probably make her drink sleeping pills, in the hope that when she wakes up, she’ll see the light.

What I’m saying here is, look deeply.  Know your passion.  Don’t let an impulse or a fad take you.  If you’re writing because you think it’s the job that will uplift your soul, go on.  If you think writing will make you rich, think again!  It could.  Yeah, maybe, it could.  Let’s just pray it’s not posthumous. 

But kidding aside, before reading the next chapters, I want you to dwell on this question.  Do you really want to be a writer?

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Zzzzzz…

I know. You’re going to tell me, “Shut up!  Quit asking me about my passion and move on to the more relevant parts of the blog.  You promised Indie Publishing--Hacked.  Show it now.  Or I swear, this will be the last entry you ever write.”

Okay.  So I shut up now.

I know the reason you’re reading this is because you want to learn more about Indie Publishing.  And several years ago, I did, too.  That’s why I’m summarizing everything I learned and writing them down in this manuscript.  Because I tried befriending famous authors to get tips from them and failed.  I mean, they probably thought I’m just a scumbag.  And they’re probably right.  But that’s beside the point.

Every writer needs a companion.  And going Indie Publishing, you need one, too.  So here, stay with me.  Move on to the next post (which will be out tomorrow).

Remember though, writing takes a lot of work.  It does not come overnight.  It does not promise every time that you will get fame, or money, or both.  Sometimes, if you’re a smoker who enjoys drinking coffee along with a stick, writing could even give you hyper-acidity.

Before you flip to the next page, think once more.

Do you want to become a writer?

If you’re going to throw the question back at me, I would say, Yes.  I have always wanted to become a writer.  If we’re along the same lines, let’s do this together.

Before proceeding though, take the time to write down some notes here.  Reflect on this chapter.  It’s quite easy to say you want to write.  But it takes patience.  Discipline.  Grit!  And really great ideas.

Now, go get a glass of water or coffee, sign up to my feeds list, and tomorrow, I will let you know the next steps.
P.S.  This was supposed to be a book, sort of like a text book/ journal type, which is why there are lines where you're supposed to write your thoughts.  Since this is online though, you can either post comments, or write in a journal, or already start your blog.

Indie Publishing-Hacked!

With so many resources out there, it sometimes gets confusing for a novice writer to find just one space to get information from, and believe me, this page is not going to be where writers would find the most help.  But rather, this is some sort of like a pep talk.  A little push to get us all going.  And when a writer gets that sense or feeling of almost crossing the finish line, of that particular moment when keying-in "the end" is all but a few presses, this site would lend some insight on what could be your next step.So welcome to this section of my blog, Indie Publishing--Hacked!

Foreword:My journey in writing started since I was ten years old and it was the first time I read a Sidney Sheldon novel.  I was astounded at the way the novel was written, how the plot was laid out, and how the voice influenced the overall impact of the story on me.  As the years progressed, I developed a passion for writing.  It was only in 2012 that I got the chance to write my full blown novel.I have been writing since then.  Short stories that I sell as a ghost writer.  Novels that I dreamt one day would be published traditionally.  And some blurbs that I thought might help fellow writers like me, who are just starting to chase this passion.This book (blog) is a product of my own experiences as an Indie writer.If you are thinking or evaluating whether to go indie or traditional, keep on reading.  I just may be able to leave you with some tips to get by. My expertise is really in writing fiction and this is the first non-fiction book I wrote.  So my tips are focused more for writers that write fiction.  Regardless, the rules apply to both types of writers.  And hey, since this book is free, take the time to download it and read in your device.For updates on the this thread, please join my mailing list.

We Were Liars--this book is astonishing, I won't Lie about it

As an Indie Author, I always look for new stuff and authors to inspire me.  And well, when I was going through Goodreads top 2014 books, I came across the winner, We Were Liars.

I went to National Book Store and looked for a copy there, and voila-- I was wowed with the book blurb.  It was brilliantly written and it piqued my interest.

So here's what happened next.

I grabbed a copy and started reading the book. 
                 

The book started off with the unraveling of the plot, and location, and the characters.  It was about an elite family, with their snotty noses, and with them looking down on people that they perceive as not their equals.  To my mind, the book was like a modern rewriting of the famed Wuthering Heights, and this was confirmed by the book as later on, I got to that part where Gat, one of the main characters, felt that his love for Cadence and his character can be equated to that in the classic Wuthering Heights.

I kept on wondering what the lie was.  And how the title came to be.  Halfway through the book, I thought of stopping to read it, but then again, there were some clues thrown here and there that made me continue reading, aside from the fact that I was wondering what Cadence's sickness really was.

After a few days of late night reading, I finally came to the last part of the book, and I was astounded.  I was lying in bed, gripping the pages of the book, and with abated breath continued flipping through the pages til I got to the last page.  When I finished the book, what I had in mind was--brilliant!

I don't want to ruin it for those who have not read it yet so I'm not going to leave a spoler here, but here's an assurance that this book is great.  As a writer myself, I always ask myself what story I am so envious of that makes me wish I was the one who wrote it. Well, here's the answer--We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.

For me, a definite must read.

Goodreads

Goodreads is a great venue for readers and writers.  For readers, they can share what books they've read and Goodreads will come up with recommendations on what to read.  For writers, there are tons of groups that they can join and get insights from.  

Just this morning, I thought of being active in one of the groups that I signed up with.  It's about a fantasy and sci-fi book reading club.  The members are all keen on knowing what to read next, so that discussions could follow.  But what I like about the group is that it does not tolerate sharing of posts that are directed to pirated copies of books.  To writers like me, this is of great value, and kudos to the moderator/ creator of the group.

Reading is a great way to pass the time, and aside from that, it is the medium that allows people to go to places without having to spend for a lot.  And to go to places that only exist in their minds.  Reading alone is enjoyable already to begin with, but to find other people who share the same interests, to be able to talk about the favorite scenes, and the great quotable lines, and how relatable a particular scene is--these are the additional value that Goodreads bring to voracious readers.

On Writing

Writing takes courage.  It is not merely having the ability to craft words into sentences, and sentences into phrases.  The thought has to be there.  And the thought should flow in an organized manner.

When I started writing, I was in that state where I just let my fingers type on the keyboard.  Whenever I finish a short story, I would read them over and over and admire how the plot unraveled.  I became lost in my writing that I forgot to be objective about what I had written.  So I began to follow what authors usually say, which is, read a lot.  When not writing, read a book, a magazine, anything that could open the senses to different writing styles.  Writing does not have to be reinventing the wheel.  Learning comes from reading the masters' works.  So I grabbed a book and without actually realizing it, I had fallen into the habit of comparing how I would write a certain sentence given a specific scene, and how the author actually wrote the scene.

Writng takes conscious effort in skimming the lines, grazing the words, and identifying what works and what does not.

As a tip to new writers like me, the essentials, and I say this with affirmation to the literature I have read from the past, ones that could help grow the writing skill are below:

1.  Read daily.  A novel doesn't have to be read in one sitting, but a chapter or two in a day could increase vocabulary and style without your knowing it.

2.  Be your own critic.  Stop patronizing your work.  If someone says it sucks, stop defending your work.  Open your ears and listen to what the critic has to say.  If someone says your manuscript is good, it probably is.  Or, it still probably sucks.  But don't despair, just be open-minded because this state will allow you to traverse to that next level, from a beginner to a not-so-beginner.

3.  Imagine.  Don't be limited to what you see and hear everyday.  Go beyond the norm.  If it's a love story you're writing, add in a new twist.  For example, if your storyline runs like "A boy meets the girl of his dreams.  he courts her and wins her over.  but her parents don't approve of him, so he takes her away, marries her, and after a while, they go back to the in-laws.  They are accepted and blessed after they presented their kids, twins with blushing apple-cheeks."  Insert a twist.  Now, the question is, what could be the twist?  In a world where love abounds, what could drive their story differently?  It is hard to say, but whatever it is, inject that something.  Drive the readers crazy.  If the readers like your twist, they will remember you for the brilliant idea.  Otherwise, they will remember how it sucked.  And yet, the important thing is, they will still remember the story.

4.  Good title, good names.  A good title is important although I have to say that it is very subjective.  Hence, how can one define if it's a good title or not?  Similarly, names should be memorable enough.  If it's a romance novel you're writing, stick with common decent names.  Don't give names that are hard to pronounce.  Leave them to the fantasy novels.

5.  Write.  The beginning of writing is when you actually start to write.  It does not culminate in the dream to write.  The dream is a factor, mind you, but still only an ideology to support the actual writing process.

The Dark Unveiling

Breaking the Scroll is my first fantasy book and I was ecstatic when I finished writing it.  It has a cliffhanger ending and I like to believe that the handful readers I reached were waiting for the next installment.
Writing book two though proved to be difficult.  For one, it was difficult to start.  There were many scenes playing in my head that I just couldn't settle whose voice to allow to talk.  I settled on a new character, The Swordless Swordsman.  Now, how this guy's appearance in book 2 was perceived by the readers remains a question to me.
After more than a year or writing, reviewing, and editing, I am proud to announce that The Dark Unveiling is now available on Smashwords and Wattpad.
Let me hear from you.  In case you're already done reading it, let me know what you think.  I'll be happy to know your comments.  And who knows, maybe I can even listen to your dream power and use it on the third, and hopefully, the last part of Akea's world, Breaking the Scroll.
Enjoy reading!
A look back, here's what Breaking the Scroll is about: