New Author

[IndieMay]

Hello everyone!

I've been writing since forever now and I'm finally wanting to get something published.
Does anyone have any advice for a budding writer and also how does everyone feel about Amazon publishing?
I'm open to any advice, please be gentle (but my books aren't ).

Thanks in advance!

 

[geronimo_appleby]

Hello everyone!

I've been writing since forever now and I'm finally wanting to get something published.
Does anyone have any advice for a budding writer and also how does everyone feel about Amazon publishing?
I'm open to any advice, please be gentle (but my books aren't ).

Thanks in advance!

hello. welcome aboard.

write every day.

 

[IndieMay]

Oh god, I do. I should have tried publishing a compilation of short stories, but as my biggest critic I constantly second-guess myself.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

Oh god, I do. I should have tried publishing a compilation of short stories, but as my biggest critic I constantly second-guess myself.

i may have something to interest you.

i dropped a pm.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

To answer your questions....

Amazon, as long as you don't do any of the special programs that limit your ability to publish elsewhere, it's okay. Do not join KDP Select or (hell I don't know what the other one is, but don't join it).

You also might try Smashwords. They distribute to a bunch of other places. Go to the website and look around. Plus you work is published immediately, no waiting around like over at Amazon.

There are others that other authors use, wait awhile and someone will make a post about them.

Good Luck

 

[_Lynn_]

No advice but welcome to the AH.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Welcome to AH!

I have advice, see here.

Smashwords updated how they do things since I wrote this blogpost, however most of what I say is still relevant.

(Like Zeb says: Do not join KDP Select unless you are willing to give up your third child and call your firstborn A. Mazon )

 

[Libratine]

To answer your questions....

Amazon, as long as you don't do any of the special programs that limit your ability to publish elsewhere, it's okay. Do not join KDP Select or (hell I don't know what the other one is, but don't join it).

You also might try Smashwords. They distribute to a bunch of other places. Go to the website and look around. Plus you work is published immediately, no waiting around like over at Amazon.

There are others that other authors use, wait awhile and someone will make a post about them.

Good Luck

Thanks for pointing out about Amazon and KDP select. I almost took that unnecessary plunge myself.

I haven't published anything erotic through Amazon yet, but I do fairly well with my mainstream novellas. It helps to have a lot of content available; if you just have a couple of titles, you'll be overlooked. That's why my stuff is published as a series of novellas; I could put them together as maybe three or four books of about five hundred pages each, but I stick to 100-page novellas and therefore have close to twenty currently available.

 

[glynndah]

A welcome for the little newbie from the good little witch.

 

[redzinger]

My advice is: don't be too disheartened if no one buys your books, despite any/all promotion that you do.

(Wish I could take my own advice.)

 

[lovecraft68]

I chime in with don't go exclusive with amazon-or anyone else-and add that although a couple of years ago they were pretty much the biggest platform, indy erotica has really been pinched there of late.

I do better on B/n at this point and on Smashwords main site as well, than I do on amazon.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Thanks for pointing out about Amazon and KDP select. I almost took that unnecessary plunge myself.

I haven't published anything erotic through Amazon yet, but I do fairly well with my mainstream novellas. It helps to have a lot of content available; if you just have a couple of titles, you'll be overlooked. That's why my stuff is published as a series of novellas; I could put them together as maybe three or four books of about five hundred pages each, but I stick to 100-page novellas and therefore have close to twenty currently available.

Check out the links in my sig...you'll see that I direct any traffic from my web sites to Smashword but have a Kindle like on the page that goes to my authors page at Amazon. Their the last two links. One for my erotic works and the other for my mainstream.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I chime in with don't go exclusive with amazon-or anyone else-and add that although a couple of years ago they were pretty much the biggest platform, indy erotica has really been pinched there of late.

I do better on B/n at this point and on Smashwords main site as well, than I do on amazon.

And I do just the opposite...better on Amazon for both pen-names than Smashwords and B/N.

 

[Libratine]

Check out the links in my sig...you'll see that I direct any traffic from my web sites to Smashword but have a Kindle like on the page that goes to my authors page at Amazon. Their the last two links. One for my erotic works and the other for my mainstream.

I did see that. It might be too late for my current mainstream series to transfer to Smashwords ... besides, they're doing okay on Amazon anyway, since I've been promoting them on other sites and forum boards here and there. But in future publications, I might want to switch to Smashwords first. I've heard a lot of good about them.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I did see that. It might be too late for my current mainstream series to transfer to Smashwords ... besides, they're doing okay on Amazon anyway, since I've been promoting them on other sites and forum boards here and there. But in future publications, I might want to switch to Smashwords first. I've heard a lot of good about them.

You can publish them on both site...there is no rule against that, unless you elected to participate in KDP Select.

With Smashwords you get Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, Inktera (formerly Page Foundry), Baker & Taylor, Blio, txtr, Library Direct, Baker-Taylor, Axis360, OverDrive, Flipkart, Oyster, and Scribd.

So pile on over at Smashwords. (Smashwords.com)

 

[chimicawriting]

Make sure your cover is awesome. Goonwriting.com is great for that.
Make sure you have your book proofread and edited.
Look at the best sellers for ideas.
Ask for help from those who are pros and who have been publishing for years. Knowledge is power when it comes to kindle.
The more books the better, aim for 10 books within 3 months and you'll be great.

Best of luck

 

[DreamCloud]

Read, then read some more.
Write, then write some more.
Trust yourself and post it.
Listen to all the non-angry criticisms and become better.
Love your stories or they will be crap. Don't write what you think someone else wants to read.

Cherish your readers - they are fuel for more.