Breaking the Line Books Presents

Author Development

You want to write a book, so what’s next?

• Your story

• Audience

• Commitment and determination

• Writing the story

• Editing and proofreading

• Agent query

• Publishing options

• Marketing and Public Relations

Your Story

• What’s your story?

• How important is it for you to tell your story?

• What are you passionate about in your life or career?

• Has something happen to you that you want to tell?

• Are you ready to share it with the world?

Who is Your Audience?

• Gender

• Age

• Ethnicity

• Location

• Occupation

• Interests

Think about it and choose your audience well because

that will be how your book stands out in a crowd!

Commitment and Determination

Commitment

• During the entire process of creating your masterpiece, make sure that you stay on task.

• Write something everyday

• Allow time for brainstorming

• Repeat “Yes, I can do this” several times a day to avoid writer’s block

Determination

• Schedule time to work on your book every week.

• Create short-term goals for your book that you can reach

• Write something in your book everyday

• Think positively and avoid negativity from others

Writing the Story

Outline

• Form a framework of your book

• Don’t be afraid to add to it or take away as you need

• Remember that this is just a rough draft

Content

• Write from your outline as much as possible

• Keep a notepad near you when not writing just in case you get an idea

• As your story develops, compare it to your outline to keep on track

The Ending

• Keep the end of your story in mind to make your reader more interested in your future work

• Get ready for the next stage

• Plan

• Prepare

• Pace, don’t panic

Editing and ProofreadingEditing

• Critique

• Structure

• Clarity

• Revision

• Content development

• Collaboration

Proofreading

• Presentation

• Flow

• Focus group

• Test drive

• Genre confirmation

Whew!

You’re almost there!

Now, it’s time to decide if you want to have an agent represent your book to a publisher

OR if you want to explore other options.

Agent Query

• Agent Queries are basic information letters to literary agents to introduce yourself and your book. Authors that chose the agent route can search online agent query databases or literary agencies to find an agent to submit their query. You’ll have to confirm whether the agent accepts submissions by snail mail or email.

Queries should include the following three elements:

something about the book

something about you

the first 3 to 5 pages of the manuscript

Agent

Anyone?

Remember,

I’m

subjective

You have other options!Self-Publishing

E-book and Print on Demand

Print-On-Demand (POD) publishing refers to the ability to print high-quality books as needed. For self-published books, this is often a more economical option than conducting a print run of hundreds or thousands of books. Many companies, such as Createspace (owned by Amazon.com), Blurb, Lulu and iUniverse allow printing single books at per-book costs not much higher than those paid by publishing companies for large print runs. It is possible to create E-books with no up-front or per-book costs which is popular among readers and self-publishers. E-book publishing platforms include Smashwords, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, and CreateSpace among others.

Vanity publishing

Vanity publishers give unknown authors an alternative to publish any book in exchange for payment up front from the author. It differs from self-publishing in that the author does not own the print run of finished books and is not in primary control of their distribution.

Independent(Indie) Publishing

• Independent publishers or small presses are publishers that engage in a book selection process, along with editing, marketing and distribution. Small presses also enter into a contract with the author and pay royalties after they sell the books. Indie publishers own the copies they have printed, but do not own the copyright to the book itself.

• Small presses take on many of the creative tasks to complete the finished works. These tasks include creative writing and choosing writing software, deciding on an editor, and cover designer.

• The technical aspects of independent publishers include formatting for printing and digital conversion, as well as distribution and marketing/PR

• Most small presses work with the author to find the most economical routes from development to marketing the published work. Authors still have to perform some task independently to sell their book.

Your book is published! Now, let the world know!

Marketing and Public Relations(PR)

• Social media

• Website

• Blog

• Press Releases

• Radio/TV/YouTube

• Book Launch

• Promotional Materials such as posters, business cards, post cards, flyers, etc.

©Breaking the Line Books

Good Luck!