Category: Books

This is the first Indie April for me as a new author. I have heard mixed opinions about self-publishing, and this blog post is an examination of some of them.

Is it hard work, or is it just vanity? You may have heard the term “vanity publishing,” meaning that anybody with money can have a book published. It is true that money is needed, and it’s also possible for anybody to publish a book. So depending on the Author, it could involve hard work, vanity, or both. Most Authors put their heart and soul into their books. This can be both a good and a bad thing. The writer knows the story or the topic, but often, they don’t see the big picture and don’t realize there are plot holes, typos, or other problems with the book. Hiring an Editor is a good way to fix those things, and many Authors do so.

There are also different reasons people have for publishing a book. Some may want to do so as a project with their kids, and I think this is a great educational project. If you’d like more information for young writers, please visit

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

. I’m also working on a children’s book and a website for young readers. Please visit

Hyacinth Grey’s Books for Young Readers (HGB4YR.com)

.

Another reason people self-publish is to see their name on a book. Call it vanity, call it a dream come true, or call it good news because books written in “vanity” might turn out to be great reads!

No matter how you’re published, you still need to do the hard work of writing. Yes, you pay an Editor to edit your work, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to do any more work. Sure, you could accept all of the changes without even reading through your manuscript, but Editors are human beings, and they could have misunderstood something you wrote, asked a question in their comments that you might want to answer by rewriting part of a chapter, or they might have made a typo.

No matter what their reasons are for publishing a book, almost all Authors engage in hard work at every step of the publication process. Furthermore, hard work and vanity are not mutually exclusive.

Many Authors write because they love to do so. Writing a book can be great fun, and even though it is also work, it’s rewarding, and I think that very few people write for money alone. It’s not the easiest thing in the world, and it takes patience and practice, just like any other skill. The first song you played on the guitar probably sounded about as good as the first short story you wrote; hesitant, with a lot of pauses and some strange notes, but it was your first, and it started you down the road to playing that song that had your audience sellbound, or that book that won several literary awards. Yes, there may be people who publish that first draft of their first story and then, once they’re holding a copy of it in their hands, never write another word, but they may find they enjoy writing. It may also be that that one story was the one they needed to tell, even if it may not be considered the best or even good, it was a personal experience that person needed to have. Readers have a choice to buy the book or not, and because anybody can publish a book, it means there’s always going to be something good for everyone.

If you’re thinking about writing a book, pick up a pen and some paper, or open a blank document. No matter what your reasons are for wanting to do so, today is the day, whatever the hour, now is the moment.

Once you finish it, I recommend

FriesenPress

.

Please support me and other Indie Authors this month and throughout the year, by visiting the

FriesenPress Online Bookstore

. My book,

Wounded Bride

, is available in Paperback, Hardcover, and eBook editions. There is also a Teaser Trailer video, and you can find it here on

YouTube

.