1. art and entertainment
2. movies and tv
3. reality

WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Publishing Dreams
Third Edition
By NB VanYoos
WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Publishing Dreams
Third Edition
Copyright © 2008 by NB VanYoos
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,
graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by
any storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in
the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Lulu books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:
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Phone: 001-919-447-3290
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in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.
ISBN: 978-0-557-03726-1 (pbk)
Printed in the United States of America
For more information about the author or to preview the latest version of this eBook,
please visit the author’s web site. Companion material mentioned in this book may be
downloaded for free through the author’s web site. No warranties are implied on the
companion materials and all US and International copyright laws apply:
www.nbvanyoos.com
The views expressed in this book reflect those of the author and in no way represent
the views of the publisher or its affiliates. The opinions of the author relating to
existing companies and products are not paid endorsements, and the author does not
recommend the use of such products unless the reader has done proper research into
their appropriateness for the reader’s goals and objectives.
All opinions expressed are based on the author’s experience using such products and
services and may not coincide with other user’s experiences. All costs or services
offered by companies expressed within this book may have changed since the
publication of this book, and the author does not warrant the accuracy of the
information based on the changing commercial environment.
Thanks to the U.S. Army and everyone I worked with in the high-tech field for helping
me learn to prioritize and manage time. Thanks to my writing group who constantly
inspire me to continue my efforts.
Table of Contents
PART I: MAKING DREAMS REALITY ..................................................................................................... 1
FOREWORD ..............................................................................................................................................1
IF I ONLY HAD TIME ...................................................................................................................................3
WHAT SHOULD I DO FIRST? ........................................................................................................................7
I CAN’T REMEMBER EVERYTHING! ..............................................................................................................13
GREAT, I’M DONE. NOW WHAT? ...............................................................................................................19
WHY DO I HAVE TO DEPEND ON OTHERS? ...................................................................................................21
PART II: MAKING REALITY DREAMS .................................................................................................. 26
FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................................26
WRITE, EDIT, RINSE, REPEAT… ..................................................................................................................27
THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING! .................................................................................................................32
TO SELF-PUBLISH OR NOT TO SELF-PUBLISH, THAT IS THE QUESTION ................................................................40
DO IT MYSELF? WHAT A LULU!...................................................................................................................44
EBOOKS AND KINDLE™, IS THIS STUFF FOR REAL? ..........................................................................................56
APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................................... 63
APPENDIX A: THE PROCESS (TO PURSUE YOUR DREAMS) .................................................................................63
APPENDIX B: MANAGING DEPENDENCIES .....................................................................................................64
APPENDIX C: EDITING AND PROOFING .........................................................................................................65
APPENDIX D: PUBLISHING ON LULU.COM .....................................................................................................69
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Part I: Making Dreams Reality
“Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.”
– Cecil B. DeMille
Foreword
It would be easy for anyone reading this book to ask why they would need another
informational book about time management. Truth is you don’t. But that is not what
this book is about. Although it contains basic processes for time and task
management, this book is about pursuing and completing your dreams.
As an author, stock trader, parent, and teacher, I understand the demands placed
upon people in our modern-age society. Unfortunately, these demands tend to ensure
we never pursue our dreams. We are all looking for the twenty-five hour day to
squeeze in those extra things you may call a hobby, another career, or simply pleasure.
You see, this book is about dreams. I believe few of us woke up one day and said
“I dream about being a teacher,” or computer programmer, or soldier, or whatever. We
may enjoy our careers, but deep down, many of us wish to pursue other dreams that
we were often told were impractical or unrealistic. Maybe they are, but you will never
know if you never pursue them.
Now, I am not advocating quitting your job, moving to Paris, and becoming the
next Van Gogh. However, you can keep your current position and still try to be the
next Van Gogh. If it is your passion, then you must pursue it or you will have a heavy
heart filled with the sad question “What would have happened if I had …?”
If this doesn’t describe you, then stop right here, put the book down and move on
to something else. But if you have always felt you have something more to offer the
world than your current job or existence provides, then this book is for you.
I do not profess I have all the answers, but I have some, and they may prove useful
for you. I have spent my life working towards my dream of being an author, and I
have had some limited success in that field. Oh, for sure, I would love to be the next
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Frank Herbert or Arthur C. Clarke, but I have learned to set my expectations lower
and let my work speak for itself.
My background knowledge comes from careers in the military, the high-tech
industry, and educational field. All of these required rigorous process and time
management to complete the mission, the project, or the lesson plan on time with the
highest quality.
In the Army, I learned to focus to get one thing accomplished. In the high-tech
industry, I learned how to multi-task, prioritize, and manage tasks so the overall
project was completed on time and on budget. In the educational field, I learned how
to manage multiple classes, create lessons plans ahead of time, or on-the-fly, while
maintaining the quality essential to ensuring no children are left behind.
This book encapsulates this essential knowledge in a direct effort to help you
pursue and achieve your dreams. It is an easy, quick read with real-world tools you
can put to use right away. In no time, you won’t be asking why you can’t get anything
done, you’ll be asking “Why didn’t I do this earlier?” As always, the first step is
yours. Do you want to pursue your dreams?
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If I Only Had Time
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is
made of.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Does the title of this chapter sound familiar? It does to me! I have said it and hear
others say it all the time. Time is one of the easiest things to run out of. In fact, it is a
life guarantee you will eventually run out of time, unless of course you have found the
fountain of youth. Fantasies aside, this quote sums it up nicely.
As soon as we are born, the allotted time we have been given pours through the
proverbial hour-glass, and all too soon, it will run out. Okay, perhaps this is a bit
melodramatic, but you get the point. We have very little time in our lives to
accomplish the things we want.
Some people want money and fame and spend their lives pursuing those goals to
the exemption of everything else. Others may want to achieve more modest goals:
have a family, own a home, and support those with a stable job. If they have time,
they’ll travel, have fun, pursue a hobby, and maybe save something for retirement.
These people usually achieve those primary goals and are relatively happy with
how they spent their time. For others, there is something missing, something that nags
at you while driving down the road, standing in the shower, or watching a movie.
These are the people with a hidden passion—a passion to express themselves, unleash
their creativity, or change their lives in fun and imaginative ways.
These are the people who this book is written for. The problem, of course, is they
don’t pursue their passion because they never have the time. Well, here is the first
secret I will impart:
YOU WILL NEVER HAVE THE TIME
Between your job, taking care of a house, car, and family, you will never have the
time to pursue your passions. Sorry, but that is a cold, hard fact.
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All right, before you get frustrated and throw your computer against the wall, let
me explain this secret. The reason you will never have the time is because all of those
other things, that we call life, will fill every waking hour, and some of our sleeping
ones. My wife bemoans how often she dreams about doing tax returns in her sleep.
Yikes!
Okay, now you’re thinking “Duh, tell me something I don’t know!” You are right,
this is common sense. Here is a typical week’s worth of tasks for a typical parent:
Grocery shopping
Laundry
Mow lawn
Clean house
Cook meals (or take out)
Get gas in car
Quality time with children (sports, movies, etc.)
Feed pets
Now, add to this a forty to sixty hours a week job, and it is no wonder you will
never have time to pursue your passion.
At this point, you are probably wondering “What must I give up to pursue my
passion?” Or maybe “How can I better manage my time to fit in my passion?” Well,
you are on the right track, but really, we are just going to add a new task to your list
instead of deleting any of those you already have.
I know it sounds stupid, but bear with me while I explain. The basic problem, as
stated earlier, is that all these demands will fill whatever time you have. Okay, then
how about you add a new demand to the list? If all those listed must be accomplished
each week, then why not add your passion to the list and ensure it, too, is completed
each week?
If everything on the list will fill all your time, then simply add your passion to the
list. Then it, too, will fill your time. Simple, right? Well not exactly, but it isn’t as hard
as you might imagine. Let’s look at this in terms of other life events.
Let’s say you have family coming in next week from out of town. You wouldn’t
blow them off because you have all that other stuff to do, would you? Of course not,
they are scheduled to arrive, so you make sure you are ready to receive them.
Another example? You have a dentist’s appointment next week for your teeth
cleaning. If everything takes all your time, when are going to go to the dentist? When
you have an appointment you’ll go. That’s my point! We constantly make room in our
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busy schedules for things that we consider important like, family or health. So that
leads to the ultimate question: is pursuing your passion important?
I’m not asking what your children, parents, or spouse might say, I am asking you,
is pursuing your dreams important? Well, like all good self-help books, eventually the
self must get involved. That means you must answer my question, because if your
answer is yes, then you can schedule an appointment every week to pursue your
dreams. You will make the time, not wait for it! Because as we have already stated,
you will never have the time!
All right, let’s get down to some nuts and bolts and see how this works. Since I
wrote the book, I’ll use myself as an example. When I finally decided to pursue my
passion to be an author, I was in the middle of graduate school getting my teaching
certificate. I was working full-time as a student teacher at a local school and going to
graduate classes at night. Oh yeah, and I had a spouse, house, pets, cars, etc.
I decided I wanted to write, and that this was something very important in my life.
As important as all those other things I had to do. So I scheduled two hours each
Saturday morning to write. Between eight and ten AM, I was scheduled to be in my
office writing. Anything else that needed to be done that week would have to be done
some other time, because I was out writing.
I informed the spouse and cleared the calendar during that time slot. I am very
fortunate to have a very understanding wife who would never impede the pursuit of
my dreams, as long as I am still taking care of those other things. Things worked quite
well if I kept my appointment each Saturday morning. Eighteen months after I started
this new schedule, I published my first book, a four hundred page science fiction
adventure called Onyalum Retribution. Sorry, cheap plug, but hey, it’s my book!
If you are a would-be writer, you are probably wondering how you can schedule
such a creative process. Easy! Once I set the time aside, I kept my appointment
religiously whether I could write that day or not. If the words were not pouring forth,
then I spent the time working on something else related to the book. If you want to be
an author, there is plenty to do besides the actual writing. For example: editing.
If I couldn’t come up with new writing, I spent my scheduled time editing the
previous stuff I had written. Trust me, the editing takes nearly as long as the writing. If
you feel you cannot just sit down and write, then perhaps you are not as passionate as
you think. If you have writer’s block, then you need another book to solve that
problem. I don’t really have those problems, so I won’t address them in this book. If
you have the passion, you will make it happen.
If you are pursuing some other passion, scheduling your time will be different than
mine. For example, if you want to be a painter, then maybe you want to schedule
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weekly time in a class, or at an art studio, or in your garage, or in the mountains.
Either way, you find the appointment that makes the most sense for your needs.
My wife can’t pursue her passion early in the mornings because she is a night
person. If that is you, then perhaps you will schedule an appointment in the evenings
after dinner, or Sunday night before starting the week all over again. Regardless, you
must schedule a weekly appointment to pursue your passion and then keep it.
Religiously … like going to church … really!
So the next secret is:
SCHEDULE A WEEKLY APPOINTMENT
Again, if it is important to you, then it must be done. Once it is scheduled, you
must keep the appointment no matter what other life task demands your attention.
Obviously, if the house is burning, maybe you could postpone your passion until next
week.
That leads us to the next concept in this book: prioritization. Scheduling the time is
only part of the equation. You must use that time effectively, and that is what the rest
of Part I tries to impart: methods and processes to manage your time and accomplish
your dreams. But first, you must create the time to make it happen.
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What Should I Do First?
“Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into
lazy habits of thinking.”
– Albert Einstein
I quote Albert Einstein because he is one of my favorite historical persons. Not
because of his achievements, although they are great, but because he was as simple a
human as they come. He embodies everything I am talking about. He pursued his
dreams while working as a clerk in the patent office. He had a family, job, and all the
trappings of life, but look what he achieved! Talk about passion.
The quote above is intended to warn you away from the pitfall of reading book
after book about your specific passion. However, if your passion is researching
history, then by all means, read! Too often, and I speak from experience within the
writing industry, we are inundated with book after book that will tell us how we can
pursue our specific passion.
Don’t take this to mean don’t read up on your subject area, but be aware, if all you
are doing is reading, then you have fallen into the lazy habits of thinking Einstein was
talking about. Another analogy would be the Royal Bank of Scotland commercials:
“Less talk, more action.” That’s what you must keep in the back of your mind, less
reading, more doing. Okay, off the soap box.
Where to start is a great question, but one that has an answer. You must state a
goal. No, I don’t mean something like “I will become a painter.” I mean something
tangible like “I will paint a landscape of Pikes Peak.” For me, it was “I will publish
Onyalum Retribution.” At that point, did I know everything this goal would entail?
Heck no! I just knew it was what I wanted to accomplish.
You will be a painter, but only after you have actually painted. Many people call
themselves authors, but have no completed material to demonstrate that fact. An artist
is only defined by their art. Therefore, you must define a product that will help you
define yourself and your dream.
For would-be writers, that product may be a novel, article, short story, poem, or
other medium in which writing produces the end result. Don’t fall in love with your
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dream until you practice the skills that make it possible. From the outside, becoming a
creative artist is appealing, but from the inside, it takes a lot of work.
Don’t run off scared just yet, first we must talk about how we might grapple with
the mechanics of getting your new passion off the ground. You must understand the
area of your passion. I don’t mean be an expert—that comes with time, but you should
know some of the basics.
Using the painter analogy again, there are some basic concepts that one must have
a rudimentary understanding of before they paint the next Van Gogh. For example:
What types of paints exist?
What types of techniques exist?
What medium can you paint on?
How do you construct a painting?
Where can you showcase your work?
What can you charge for original work?
For a writer, the list might be:
Where can I publish?
What tool do I use to create my work?
What kinds of writing are there?
What writing careers exist?
Who will pay for my writing?
Once you have these basics understood, you can begin to break your goal into
smaller components that you will diligently work on during your weekly appointment.
Of course, all of this assumes you already have some basic skills in your area. If not,
the first thing you should do is take some classes. So for you, your goal might be
something like “I will learn to paint with acrylics.”
If you are truly lacking the basic skills, then you should seek out classes either
online, through your local community college, or through professional organizations.
Once you have the basic skills, then come on back and we can discuss how to put
those skills to work.
I will continue to use “I will paint a landscape of Pikes Peak.” For those who do
not know what this is, it is a famous fourteen thousand foot peak overlooking the
eastern plains of Colorado in Colorado Springs. It is a gorgeous landscape
photographed to death, but not often painted.
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So you have set the product or goal and need to know what steps are required to
accomplish it. The following lists some steps that come to mind, however not in any
specific order, that comes later:
Take some photos of the Peak during different times of day, different
seasons, and/or different angles.
Determine medium for painting.
Study other landscapes.
Purchase materials.
Make various sketches of Pikes Peak.
Make final sketch on medium.
Paint landscape.
This process is called Task Decomposition. You are defining tasks based on a
stated Goal. There is no science to this, just brain dump based on what you know.
Over time, this process becomes easier as you become more of an expert in your
chosen area. Corporations use this method when defining a product they wish to create
and market. Since you are now doing the same thing, it makes sense to approach it the
same way.
Now you ‘artist’ types don’t get too ruffled by this comment. You need to
understand that all creative endeavors, art, writing, woodwork, etc, are just products
that we all hope to market to someone who will appreciate them. You are not selling
out, as it were, you are simply making sure your product reaches your customers.
The task decomposition process is freeform. Simply imagine all the things you
must do to make your goal come to life. You will constantly be monitoring and
modifying your list, so don’t worry if it seems incomplete to start with.
Once you have your list, you must order it based on a logical sequence. Using our
example, I might re-order the list as follows:
1. Determine medium for painting.
2. Purchase materials.
3. Take some photos of the Peak during different times of day, different
seasons, and/or different angles.
4. Make various sketches of Pikes Peak.
5. Study other landscapes.
6. Make final sketch on medium.
7. Paint landscape.
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Often, there is a specific sequence. For example, it would not make sense to paint
before I have purchased supplies. I probably wouldn’t plan on writing my novel until I
have a computer to write with. You get the point.
Still, other tasks may not have any specific sequence, so this is where you must
decide what should be done first. Again, I default to the basic tenet: you must produce
something. It would be great to spend a lot of time studying other landscapes and
dreaming about your masterpiece before you start the process, but I warn you, that is
the way of the lazy thinker. This is why I placed it near the end so that you would
have accomplished a great deal before you dream of that masterpiece. By having that
task near the end, it can become a motivator. Then, you can take that motivation to
begin your masterpiece.
Ok, you have your list, and it is ordered. Now you need to grab a calendar and
begin to estimate how much time each item will take. We are going to create deadlines
for each of the items on your list. If you are saying “Hey, how do I know how long it
will take?” You would be asking a fabulous question. You may not know how long it
will take, but I bet you can estimate some pretty good guesses. The next time around,
you can use the results from this painting to refine future estimates.
Now remember, you only have the scheduled appointments each week to work
with, so your estimates should be based on that. Let’s assume we are starting on
January 1st and will work only two hours each week, then we might estimate the
following deadlines for each of the items in our list:
Table 1: Item List and Deadlines
Determine medium
Purchase materials
Take photos of the Peak
Make various sketches
Study other landscapes
Make final sketch
Paint landscape
7-Jan
14-Jan
7-Feb
7-Mar
14-Mar
14-Apr
14-June
2 hrs
2 hrs
6 hrs
8 hrs
2 hrs
8 hrs
16 hrs
I placed the hours each deadline afforded the task to illustrate the relationship
between the amount of time to accomplish and its due date. Now this is your task list
you will use to complete your goal. Notice that in our example, the would-be painter
would have a completed landscape in around six months, if they stick to their schedule
and make all their scheduled appointments.
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I realize this seems like a long time, but keep in mind, you will purse your passion
for the rest of your life. If the person is thirty-five and completes one painting every
six months, they would complete a total of seventy paintings assuming they lived to at
least seventy years old.
Obviously, as you become a master, the amount of time will decrease, so don’t get
discouraged early on. Unfortunately, many get discouraged and give it up. Hey, we are
talking only two hours a week, so this is pretty good work!
Think you can follow this process? Great, let’s continue to refine it after we talk
about something which is very important to achieving your goal. In the last chapter, I
mentioned prioritization, and now I would like to elaborate.
When our lives get really busy, we prioritize all the time. For example, when we
are sick, we generally set getting well as the highest priority item. We do this by
taking a sick day. If you are expecting a baby within the next week, you probably
would postpone that trip out of town until after the baby has come.
I mention this because we all mentally prioritize, we just don’t do it formally.
When trying to achieve your goals, you must formally prioritize to ensure you
accomplish something.
I once worked with a manager who told me that all my tasks were the highest
priority if we were to get the project done on time. Well, that sounded good in theory,
but never worked in practice. I had another manager who said “I would rather be
really good at one thing than mediocre at lots of things.”
The second manager hit the nail on the head. Accomplishments come to those who
focus their efforts. In our example, we really had simple tasks to achieve a simple
goal. There was very little prioritization required. However, if you are a very creative
person, you will likely have a lot of ideas that you want to pursue. This is great, and I
want you to keep those dreams alive. However, you must not be distracted by your
ideas. You must stay focused on that one thing you want to do really well.
One of the people in my writing group has so many great ideas, we can’t wait to
see them come to fruition. However, when I first met her, she listed all her ideas and
stated, quite matter of fact, that each of them was in various stages of construction.
When I asked when they would be done, she honestly couldn’t give me a timeline for
any of them. It was clear she needed to focus on only one thing until it was done. She
has since focused her efforts on one thing and hopefully will have it completed soon.
As of this writing, I myself, have no less than the following items on my to-do list:
1. Four more books in my Onyalum Series
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2.
3.
4.
5.
Start two more series
One solo book
Six screenplays
One children’s book
That is a lot to accomplish in one lifetime, and I am sure that I will have even more
as my life goes on. But the important thing is this: I have published three novels, this
non-fiction book, and completed one short story all within four years. How do I get it
all done? I prioritize.
Look, the one solo book I listed is dying to get out, but I cannot work on it until I
have completed the first four books in the Onyalum Series. I focus and set my
priorities to ensure I am good at one thing. This is how professionals get things done.
I certainly don’t want to squash your creativity, but it is an important rule you must
follow if you are to achieve your dreams. So, the third secret is:
FOCUS ON ONLY ONE GOAL
Sure, go ahead and put those other great ideas on your task list, but make sure they
are listed after your current goal.
This means you should make sure the first goal you set is the one you are the most
passionate about. Your other goals can wait if they are really good ideas. Heck, my
Onyalum Series was conceived ten years before I started working on it. If it is good, it
will wait.
All right, let’s summarize what we have learned in this chapter. Define a Tangible
Goal, break it down into Real Tasks, order the tasks in a Logical Sequence, estimate
a Deadline for each task, and work on each task until you have met your deadline.
Voila, you have a new painting, or novel, or hotrod, or piece of furniture, or whatever
your passion is.
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I Can’t Remember Everything!
“The palest ink is better than the best memory.”
– Chinese Proverb
With the intense focus on memory these days, you would think we would have solved
the problem. Unfortunately, the truth is we haven’t. People’s memories vary as much
as their fingerprints. For example, I have a remarkable ability to remember faces and
the places I saw them, even if I did not meet the person. However, I am a selfconfessed poor learner of names. Try that as a teacher when you need to learn over a
hundred new students each year while remembering all your past students. Whew!
My wife is far better at remembering names of people. However, she cannot always
remember a face, especially if she did not meet them. Part of this difference is based
on how we learn. In education, we talk a lot about the learning style of students. For
example, I am actually a really strong auditory learner, although I obviously use vision
quite well. Other people learn from doing, we call them kinesthetic learners. Whatever
your predominant learning style will determine how you organize your memory.
However, there is one thing many of us have in common. We have trouble when
confronted with the multitude of tasks we are faced with in our life, jobs, or passions.
When working at a Northwest tech company, I remember at one point my task list had
no less than one hundred and thirty tasks. Think I could remember all of those tasks,
their priorities, and their deadlines? Yeah right!
This leads us to another secret:
WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN
Thankfully, we have tools at our disposal to assist us in remembering all our tasks
and deadlines. For many, a day planner is a great way to organize your calendar and
tasks. I used one for years and still use it for certain activities. Others use various
calendaring tools available on their computer. I myself have used Microsoft® Outlook
calendar for years. In fact, if you are advanced enough, you can even manage your
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tasks with Outlook. I like it because it has notifications. Try and get your day planner
to do that!
Still others may use databases or spreadsheets to organize their tasks and their time.
For me, I use several tools depending on my needs. But for task management, I still
prefer the basic spreadsheet. The rest of this chapter is dedicated to using a
spreadsheet for managing your tasks.
I use Microsoft® Excel to create my task lists, but you can use any basic
spreadsheet program to accomplish the same thing. If you downloaded this book off
my website (http://www.nbvanyoos.com), then you will have also had access to my
sample spreadsheet to follow along with this chapter. If not, you can create your own
using whatever program you have available.
Now one of the reasons I like a spreadsheet is the various abilities to easily
manipulate the data while viewing all of it in a single window. Most of the other tools
mentioned don’t have that same power. If you are using this to manage your dreams,
then this enhanced functionality will be very beneficial. Here is a list of things I easily
do with Excel:
Sort the data by any field
Change view based on specific value of field
Maintain column headers while scrolling through data
Copy and paste tasks
Format data for date-time, money, etc.
Count, add, multiply, etc.
Needless to say, it is a powerful product and serves my needs quite well. Other
products will likely have the same type of functionality.
Before we start adding our data, we must define what data we wish to store. I will
list the data fields I have been using, but you can easily modify them to match your
specific area. For my publishing task list, I have defined the following fields
represented in the spreadsheet as column headers:
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Table 2: Spreadsheet Field Names
Field
Contents
Book
Name of book task is assigned to.
Area
Writing, Editing, or Publishing
Task
Actual item to complete for goal.
Status
Not Started, Inprogress, or Done
Target
Date of the deadline to complete.
Comments
Anything related to the task such as web links, person
names, address, supplies, etc.
It is rare I ever need more than this, and in fact, I could use less. However, this
suits my needs. Obviously, yours will be different based on your goal and tasks.
Having this information is both critical while I am actively working off this list and is
even more important when I need to go back and check historical information, like
what reviewer to send the new book to. In essence, this becomes a record of what you
have to do, what you are doing, and what you have done. Simple, yet powerful!
Great, once you have defined your fields, you can create those column headers in
your spreadsheet. Your spreadsheet table header would look something like the
following:
Book
Area
Task
Status
Target
Comments
Now, being diligent to the new process you have just learned, you have already
scheduled your weekly appointment and defined your first goal. I have also defined
my goal to publish book four in the Onyalum Series.
I want to move on to the next step in the process, Task Decomposition. For my
book, I come up with the following tasks:
1. Write first draft
2. Locate publisher
3. Complete first edit pass
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4. Complete second edit pass
5. Create proof copies for proof readers
6. Proof read book
7. Acquire proof reader feedback
8. Make final edits
9. Contact publisher
10. Send final copy to publisher
11. Make final edits based on publisher feedback
Now I take each task and place them in my spreadsheet, filling in the first, second,
third and fourth fields as appropriate. I have abbreviated the tasks in the example since
I have limited space. In your spreadsheet, you can be more verbose by widening your
columns:
Table 3: Initial Task List Spreadsheet
Book
Area
Task
Status
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Writing
Publishing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Publishing
Publishing
Editing
First draft
Find publisher
First edit pass
Second edit pass
Proof copies
Proof read
Proof feedback
Final edits
Contact publisher
Send to publisher
Publisher feedback
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Target Comments
Now, I have my data stored so my brain is much lighter but I still need to estimate
deadlines for each task. You’ll note that I listed mine in a fairly logical order, but if
you have not, then go ahead and wait to let your spreadsheet do it for you later (sort by
date).
Go through your list and add a due date or deadline in the Target field for each
task. Mine looks like the following:
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Table 4: Task List Spreadsheet with Deadlines
Book
Area
Task
Status
Target
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Writing
Publishing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Publishing
Publishing
Editing
First draft
Find publisher
First edit pass
Second edit pass
Proof copies
Proof read
Proof feedback
Final edits
Contact publisher
Send to publisher
Publisher feedback
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
6/1/09
7/1/09
6/1/09
9/1/09
9/21/09
10/21/09
11/1/09
12/1/09
12/1/09
1/1/10
2/1/10
Comments
Now, I have a complete list that I can work on during my weekly appointments.
However, I first want the spreadsheet to re-order the data based on the Target date
each is due. The sort command for Excel requires you to highlight your entire table,
and then select Data | Sort. It will prompt you for which field to sort on and whether
it should sort ascending (smallest to largest) or descending (largest to smallest). Select
the Target field and sort ascending.
When done, it should be ordered according to Target from the earliest date to the
latest date. Here is what mine looks like after the sort:
Table 5: Sorted Task List Spreadsheet
Book
Area
Task
Status
Target
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Three
Writing
Editing
Publishing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Publishing
Publishing
Editing
First draft
First edit pass
Find publisher
Second edit pass
Proof copies
Proof read
Proof feedback
Final edits
Contact publisher
Send to publisher
Publisher feedback
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
6/1/09
6/1/09
7/1/09
9/1/09
9/21/09
10/21/09
11/1/09
12/1/09
12/1/09
1/1/10
2/1/10
Comments
At this point, you are ready to focus your efforts on the earliest items in your list.
However, if your list is like mine, you may want to break these tasks down into even
smaller tasks. For example, my first draft could be broken down into smaller tasks
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
like, outline, chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, etc. Again, I would follow the
same process and enter each task into my list, making sure I sorted each time around.
When I keep my scheduled appointment each week, I open this file, look at the first
item on the list, and begin working on it. Once I begin a task, I change the Status field
to Inprogress. Having done so, I must now re-order my list based on this field. This
ensures I keep the things I have started at the top of the list.
In Excel, once I have sorted my data, I do not need to highlight everything again, I
simply make sure I select one cell within the table and do Data | Sort again. This time
I change the first field to Status ascending, and then the second sort field to Target
ascending. Now anytime I want to sort, I don’t need to highlight or change anything, I
just select one cell and do Data | Sort again. It remembers your previous sort.
Okay, with this sorting, my completed tasks are listed first, my current working
tasks are next, and finally, those I haven’t started are last. Within each of those
categories, the data is further sorted by the deadline of the specific task. You can
certainly sort more, or change your sort to fit your needs. The key thing is, use this list
to direct your weekly efforts.
As far as the other features I mentioned, I will let you experiment as you see fit, but
one useful feature I’ll mention is the Data | Filter option. If you select your table’s
header row and switch this to Autofilter, you will be able to select specific values for
a specific field and hide all the other data. For example, if I did this to my list above
and wanted to see only the writing tasks, I would click on the arrow at the top of the
table for the Area field and select Writing. All other rows would disappear except for
those tasks that are categorized as writing tasks. Pretty useful, especially after your list
gets long.
You will spend a little time each week looking at this list, refining it as new tasks
become known, updating the Status and Deadlines fields as appropriate, and using it
to look up past tasks if you want to begin a new project. Copy and paste is a very fast
way to speed up the process the next go around.
In this chapter, we discussed how to formalize the process using a spreadsheet to
store all your assigned tasks. We talked about what features you can use to manage
your tasks, and what changes you should make to your tasks as you complete them.
Stick to this each week, and soon you’ll have completed your first goal. Then what?
Read on.
Part I: Making Dreams Reality
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Great, I’m Done. Now What?
“Victory belongs to the most persevering.”
– Napoleon Bonaparte
In the preceding chapters, I have given you a process, which, when followed, will
ensure you get things done. Thus, I have solved the problem inherent in the title of this
book. However, I also promised you I would discuss how to accomplish your dreams.
So great, you finished your painting, your novel, your hotrod, or whatever, so now
what do you do? Well, there is no easy answer, but the basic problem is this: You
want to show it to the world. More specifically, you want to show it to people who
will appreciate it as much as you do. For that, you may want to sell it, perform it,
display it, or compete with it to see how you match up with the rest of the field.
Before you do that, let’s pat ourselves on the back for actually completing
something! Hey, that’s the hard part. That’s what you wanted to do all along. From
here on out, it is gravy.
All right, back patting aside, you want to take your creation to the next level. Well,
this is why I quoted Napoleon at the beginning of the chapter, because the truth is,
perseverance is the one thing all successful people have in common. They refuse to
accept no for an answer and they keep on trying regardless of what the critics say.
And, oh, yes, you will have critics, even from people who know you.
Forget the dream that everyone will love your work; it simply won’t be the case. I
write science fiction, and I can speak from experience, it is not everyone’s cup of tea.
But I didn’t write for everyone, I wrote for myself and those people who will enjoy
what I have to offer. The problem is, how do I find them?
I have no great prescription here, but I do have some ideas that you can use to help
jump start your journey into the next phase of achieving your dreams.
First, you must do research and track down what outlets cater to your fans. This
could be retail outlets, the Internet, clubs or guilds, events, competitions, or local
shows. It will be different depending on the passion you pursue.
Part I: Making Dreams Reality
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
For example, if I completed that painting of Pikes Peak, I can choose to sell it, or
enter it into a competition. First however, I must find what venues will support either
of those two things. If it is a competition, then I probably want to look into the local
art scene. I might talk with someone in the art department of a local college or
university.
If I want to sell it, then I’ll need to track down where in my area new artists can sell
their work. Or I might decide to take it to a flea market and try selling it myself.
Again, it all depends on my goals and who I want to reach.
For me, I sell my books online and enter competitions to try and win accolades that
might bring more people to my writing. I try to get real reviewers to review my work
so that people will take it seriously before deciding to invest in it. Until you are
established in the trade, you are an unknown quantity. Accept it and have the patience
to become known.
Either way, you must get it out there or no one will ever realize you created the
next Van Gogh. One possible venue that I use is a club or organization that supports
budding artists. Through them, you can meet others trying to do what you have done,
and locate great leads to further your work. This will also give you an opportunity to
get feedback from your peers. This criticism is important because you will probably
never be successful without some constructive criticism. It is a sad fact, but no matter
how great we think our work is, it can always use improvement.
But hey, it will improve the more you do it. So don’t give up, don’t be daunted,
keep plugging away and:
PERSEVERE
It may take a lifetime, or it may not even happen, but at least you will have tried,
and that is more than most people can say about their lives.
Part I: Making Dreams Reality
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Why Do I Have to Depend on Others?
“The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-andham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'.”
– Anonymous
Since you are pursuing your dream, it is proper to say you are committed. However,
for those who you will depend on, they may only be involved. This is a frustrating,
and often exacerbating situation that most of us will find ourselves in at some point
while pursuing our dreams.
Fortunately, there are some dependencies you can control, while others are beyond
your control. One of my fellow writers is dependent on an illustrator to create the
illustrations for his fabulous children’s books. His illustrator wants to be committed to
the illustrations, but is bogged down by life. He has children, a career, and a side
business he wishes to launch. This is where the difference between being involved and
being committed becomes important.
Now, I cannot say whether he views these illustrations as a passion, but it would
probably be more accurate to say they are a business proposition helping him get his
business off the ground. In any event, he cannot always prioritize his time the same
way my friend does. Despite this, it is not an impossible situation. There are ways to
manage such a dependency, and I will share these with you.
First, you already have a tool to manage your time, so you will use this same
technique to manage your dependencies. I will use my friend as an example. He
publishes children’s books that highlight the various activities inside Colorado.
Because of this, his largest market is the tourists visiting Colorado. If you live here,
you know the peak tourist season is May through September.
Okay, for our example, let’s assume it is currently the start of October. He has the
book written and wishes to have it available for retail outlets by the start of tourist
season (May). This gives him, his illustrator, and his publisher only seven (7) months
to complete the project.
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Before we begin analyzing how to manage his dependencies, let’s refresh our
minds with how important it is to understand the process before you begin. Without
that knowledge, you won’t know what to do, when to do it, or who should do it. Your
first time around, this process will be somewhat difficult, but as you become more
adept, it will be a life saver.
Right, let’s get started. We have established that my friend has seven (7) months to
get illustrations created and published. The publisher has given him one (1) month
from the time they receive it to the time it is available to sell. That now gives him and
his illustrator only six (6) months to have the book ready to hand off.
So, Step One is to establish your timeline. Once you have your timeline, Step Two
is to break down the remaining work required. The following is his list of tasks he
knows must be completed before he can hand it off to the publisher:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Proof read text
Define cover art
Sketch cover art
Create final cover art
Define page layouts
Define page illustrations
Create sketches of each page
Create final illustration for each page
Adjust each illustration for publisher required format
Assuming his book will contain a total of thirty-four (34) interior illustrations plus
the cover art, he now has a total of thirty-five (35) illustrations that must be completed
within six (6) months.
Step Three is to take your total tasks and divide it by your total timeline. Since my
friend has to manage the dependency, he must develop the schedule they must follow
to ensure they meet his timeline. Dividing thirty-five (35) by six (6) months, he
calculates approximately six (6) illustrations per month.
Next, divide the six (6) tasks per month by the number of weeks in a month, four
(4). This calculation yields one and half (1.5) illustrations per week. Please note, this
does not take into account holidays, vacations, etc.
That is okay since we are basically developing a first draft schedule that will be
used to begin the contractual agreements between the artist and the dependent party,
his illustrator. While discussing this first draft schedule, it will be adjusted with items
that take time away.
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Unfortunately, many people simply sit down with the dependent party and try to
derive a schedule from scratch. Bad idea! It isn’t that they will lie to you, but it is
simply a fact that we assume we can do more than we really can. Without calculating
these hard numbers, your schedule will be a pipe dream.
Now, here is where a little knowledge goes a long way. Let’s say my friend knows
that his illustrator cannot produce more than a single illustration each week. If that
were the case, then this project is impossible to complete within the timeline defined.
That is the power of this process. It is a sanity check so that no one is surprised by the
actual delivery date.
However, we will assume his illustrator can produce two (2) illustrations per week.
Now we can calculate a new end date by using this new number we have derived. Two
(2) per week with thirty-five (35) illustrations total, yields approximately eighteen
(18) weeks to complete. Their completion date will be less than six (6) months, but
that will give them wiggle room for holidays, vacations, surprises, etc.
Step Four is putting this straw schedule into a separate task spreadsheet for
managing his illustrator. It must list the detailed illustration to complete, and its due
date. With eighteen weeks to work with, he should put each date sequentially, week
one through week eighteen. This is the schedule he will use to discuss the work with
his illustrator.
Those four steps comprise a lot of numbers, so the following table helps summarize
the process we just went through:
Table 6: Four Steps to Managing Dependencies
Step
1
2
3
4
Description
Develop your overall timeline from start of
dependency work until it must be finished.
Break down the remaining work into individual
tasks that must be completed.
Divide number of tasks by the number of months in
your timeline. Then divide this new number by the
number of weeks in a month. Round final number
up to a whole number, this is how much must be
produced each week.
Build spreadsheet with dependent tasks and
deadlines based on number derived in step 3.
Result
Six months
35 illustrations
35 ÷ 6 ≈ 6
6 ÷ 4 = 1.5
1.5 => 2/week
Dependency
Schedule
Assuming my friend completes the steps listed, he would produce something like
the table on the following page:
Part I: Making Dreams Reality
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Table 7: Dependency Task List Spreadsheet
Area
Task
Status
Target
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
Cover Art
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Not Started
Week 1
Week 1
Week 2
Week 2
Week 3
Week 3
Week 4
Week 4
Week 5
Week 5
Week 6
Week 6
Week 7
Week 7
Week 8
Week 8
Week 9
Week 9
Week 10
Week 10
Week 11
Week 11
Week 12
Week 12
Week 13
Week 13
Week 14
Week 14
Week 15
Week 15
Week 16
Week 16
Week 17
Week 17
Comments
Notice I have not placed specific dates in the Target column since you will do that
when you meet with your specific party. The idea is to take this list with you, plus a
real calendar, and discuss/derive the actual schedule using this rough draft.
Once you have the final spreadsheet completed, you will review it every time you
meet with your specific dependency. Did I forget to mention you must meet with your
Part I: Making Dreams Reality
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
dependency regularly? Well, you cannot manage the process if you don’t get regular
status updates from those involved.
These meetings can be either face-to-face, online (chat room/messenger), or on
your phone (voice/text). But whatever you use, you must schedule it for a regular time
you both agree to. From my experience, meeting once a week is a small price to pay to
get your project completed by your due date.
When you meet, you should both be looking at a copy of the agreed upon
spreadsheet you co-created. At that time, you can change the Status of each item as it
is started or completed. If you have gone past Target dates that still have not been
started, then you can immediately discuss those situations, and if need be, adjust the
schedule to accommodate. This spreadsheet is your contractual tool to help manage
your dependencies and ensure your project is completed on time.
If you have more than one (1) dependency, the problem gets harder, but the process
remains the same. If you have two dependencies dependent on each other, then you
must make sure you create a list of those dependent tasks, so that one is not started
until the first one is completed. This will extend your schedule out further, but will
give you a realistic timeline.
In this chapter we discussed how you can manage dependencies for your project to
ensure you meet a realistic schedule. What wasn’t mentioned was how to manage the
dependencies when they are foreign, personal friends, family members, or co-workers.
However, this process still works, and alleviates the “personal” side of the equation
by illustrating cold, hard numbers that are hard to argue with. Without this sanity
check, your project will fall onto the heap of overdue projects that needlessly bury this
country every day.
Part I: Making Dreams Reality
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Part II: Making Reality Dreams
“Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their
guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.”
– Mark Twain
Foreword
When I first wrote this book, my initial intentions were to make it generic for all
dreams people might pursue. However, as I am a writer, it became apparent much of
the sage advice I can impart will relate to that very specific aspiration. I label myself a
Fiction Novelist, so much of my experience comes from producing these literary
works.
Because of this, I needed to update this book by splitting it into two separate parts
to encapsulate the various activities related to generic dreams versus those specific to
the art of writing. This second part contains very specific information relating to the
writing or publishing of books. In it, I share some of my experiences gleaned while
producing Science Fiction novels. At the time of this writing, I have published three
novels and have a fourth nearly completed. While this may not appear to be a portfolio
that would make me an expert in the field of writing, I will share my nuggets
nonetheless and let you decide whether the information is useful.
Part II: Making Reality Dreams
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Write, Edit, Rinse, Repeat…
“Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.”
– Jules de Gaultier
All writers have to do it, but how often and how long? The ultimate question. Editing
is the most important aspect of writing, aside from writing. If you are like me, your
first draft tends to be wordy and filled with superfluous clauses that hide the
underlying style rather than add to the narrative. Sometimes the most powerful words
are left unsaid.
In one instance, I took a 400 page novel and shrank it down by thirty pages. This
was accomplished by removing the superfluous words that didn’t add to the writing
but took away from it. Oh, sure, there is more to editing than just removing these extra
bits, and I will share some of my wisdom with you. But suffice it to say, powerful
writing is expressive, active, and compact. These are the qualities you should strive
for when editing.
First, we should discuss a process which a writer may use to edit his manuscript
throughout the writing process. Sometimes, writers falsely believe they can simply
wait until the manuscript is completed before starting the editing process. I suppose
this comes from our English teachers drilling into our head the mantra: First Draft,
Revision, Final Copy. I actually find five (5) to eight (8) revisions are necessary to
properly refine the writing to something I am both proud of and willing to market. So,
if you wish to wait until that first draft is finished before starting your editing, prepare
for a long editing phase that will take you away from what you really enjoy, writing.
As it so happens, I have developed a relatively simple process that achieves my
editing goals without sacrificing my true love of writing. The basic premise is edit
early, edit often. In fact, not only does your early writing improve, but your later
writing will as well.
Let me explain. Since I write fictional novels that are three hundred (300) to four
hundred (400) pages in length, I always view my work in terms of chapters. A chapter
to me is anywhere between ten (10) and fifty (50) pages in length.
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
When I sit down to write, I am thinking about only writing a single chapter and will
stay focused on that until it is completed. Within each chapter, I may have many
sections, but the chapter itself is the unit I work to completion. This usually takes
between one (1) to four (4) writing sessions to complete. In that time, I only focus on
the writing and nothing else. Refer back to Part I of this book to understand the notion
of focus and singlular purpose.
However, once that chapter is completed, I begin the editing process. Before I
begin the next chapter, I always do one (1) edit pass of the chapter I just completed.
This accomplishes two things. One, it ensures I complete an early edit pass while
everything is still fresh in my mind. Second, it keeps the action moving in my head so
I know exactly how to start the next chapter. Like I said, it improves both the previous
work and the new work.
Well, if this was all there was to it, I would only complete one (1) edit pass by the
time I finished the manuscript. So, how do we get to the five (5) or more edit passes?
Simple, we take intermediate breaks while writing and edit everything from the
beginning to the end of the current manuscript. I usually do this after every third
chapter is done, but you can play around with the numbers. Assuming a book of ten
(10) or more chapters, and you begin to see how we can easily accomplish our goals.
At the completion of the manuscript, I should have most of the material edited at least
three (3) times, and perhaps more depending on how I felt during the writing.
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Table 8: Editing Process
Edit Pass
Timeline
1
Edit chapter before writing next chapter
2
Edit everything after every 3-4 chapters are completed
3
Edit everything after every 3-4 chapters are completed
4
Edit everything after every 3-4 chapters are completed
5
Edit everything after manuscript is completed
6
Edit everything before proof reading begins
7
Edit everything after proof reading is completed
The simplicity and the elegance of this method is that by starting early and doing it
often, each subsequent edit pass becomes faster as we wring out the most agregious
flaws early in the process and refine in the later passes. It is a process of breaking
down the editing into manageable chunks that don’t overwhelm us, and ensure we
apply the most rigorous standards to each pass.
If you are like me, you probably have a writing group with which you work and
who love to read your novels as they are developed. If this is the case, a word of
warning. Despite their enthusiasm, do not give them any part of your manuscript until
it has been edited at least twice, three times is best. This will ensure they can focus on
the story elements rather than the editing problems you haven’t removed yet. They are
like you and always read with an eye to finding problems. If you allow them to read
while many problems still exist, they will miss what you really want them to see.
Well, you have likely discerned that the earlier work seems to get edited more than
the later work. Is this a problem? I suppose it could be, but I find my later writing is
always better than the earlier work. Because of this, the later stuff does not seem to
require as much editing, so this process seems to work despite this inequity. In
addition to these early edits, you will typically make more than one (1) pass during
your proof reading phase, but that is detailed in the next chapter.
Okay, so we now understand how often to edit, but what should we be editing?
That question is ultimately different for every writer, because every writer will have
their own unique set of problems they introduce into their writing. My problems will
probably not match your problems exactly, but we may have a subset of each other’s.
Part II: Making Reality Dreams
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WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
Although I am not here to teach you how to write, I can at least mention a few of the
problems I always find in my writing. It may help you, or it may not.
The following table contains a list of issues I have found in my writing that I look
for when making my edit passes. First and foremost, at every edit pass, use the spell
checker included with your writing software. If your writing software does not possess
a spell checker, then I suggest updating to one that does.
Table 9: Common Errors
Error
Details
That
This word creeps into my writing more than any other, and
with few exceptions, it is not usually necessary. Remove
most of the instances of this word except where it is really
necessary like “That is ridiculous.”
Commas
There is some flexibility in using commas in creative
writing, but make sure you are consistent in your usage.
Here are a few I always mess up:
1. Before and after addressing a name.
“I like you, Jim, but you are foolish.”
2. Before and after too.
He, too, was very tired.
3. Well, yes, no, oh
“Oh, yes, we are going to tango!”
There are others, but these are the most common ones I
miss.
Capitalization
Consistency is key. Formal names should always be
capitalized. Read up on the fundamentals of capitalization.
I confess I still don’t always get it right.
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Error
Details
Dialog Structure
I use a format that I am comfortable with, but there really
is no industry standard. I suggest finding one you like and
being consistent. Here is mine:
He looked worried. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“Really?” She asked sarcastically. “Why not?”
“I guess,” he paused, “I wasn’t sure you would feel the same.”
“You’re pathetic!” She spat.
Notice the capitalization, period, and comma usage above.
I keep this consistent throughout my books.
Passive Verbs
would, could, was
Whole books are written on this subject, and I cannot
emphasize how important this is. Here are a few key things
to look for during your edit passes:
1. would say
2. could hear
3. was looking
Change these into active verbs.
Incorrect Words
For me, Microsoft® Word’s auto-correct feature is one of
the best ways to ensure lots to edit. It usually auto-corrects
a word incorrectly. In other words, it replaces the word
you misspelled with a wrong, but correctly spelled word.
Voila, it introduces a new error that cannot be found with
the spell checker. Thanks for the help! Look out for these.
This is far from a complete list, but these are ones I find most often in my editing.
Over time, I don’t make as many of these mistakes, so it is easier to fix as I progress.
Good luck finding out how to turn off the auto-help in Word. The funny thing is, I
used to work at Microsoft®. Many designers there seem to think the users are so inept
we are unable to do anything without their software’s help. I have one comment:
“Stop helping me!”.
Despite this process, you are far from done. Proof reading is the last phase of your
editing process that must be completed before your manuscript is done. The next
chapter outlines the process for a successful proof reading phase.
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The Proof is in the Pudding!
“People ask for criticism, but they only want praise.”
– W. Somerset Maugham
Never a quote so aptly applies to my own experience as a writer. After all, I know
what the story and the characters are supposed to be doing, so why should I listen to
anyone else? I only want people to confirm what I already know—this is the best book
they have ever read! Wow, if only that were true.
We all have our shortcomings whether as a writer or in other ventures we may be
pursuing. Unfortunately, we are usually the last ones to see those shortcomings, and
grow extraordinarily angry when others point them out. But we must understand them,
especially if we are to grow as an artist and refine our craft.
How often have you gone back through old stuff and said, “I can’t believe I wrote
this!” It seems immature, filled with flaws, and certainly does not represent our best
efforts. Now, however, you have matured, you understand how to write properly, and
you don’t make those same silly mistakes. Wrong! You may not make those same
mistakes, but chances are you have invented or created new ones.
Writing, like any craft, does get better with time. You will learn from your
mistakes and improve your craft as you mature into a master from an apprentice.
However, finding those mistakes can be like finding a needle in a haystack that you
built straw by straw. We are not easily convinced mistakes can be in something we
spent so much time diligently editing until we know every word and sentence like
every wrinkle on our face. But the needles do exist.
How many can truthfully say they have read a book from cover to cover and found
no errors? It is impossible to clean them all out, but we can certainly strive for that
perfection. These persistent errors only surface when viewed through a fresh set of
eyes. Not your eyes! So how do you find them? Proof reading.
It sounds so simple, but done improperly, it can take you away from your happy
place. You will spend too much time, too much money, and too much of your soul
simply trying to find the small imperfections that are preventing you from getting your
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book ready to send to the publisher. So what should you do to prevent this phase from
becoming a tragedy?
You must be organized, targeted, and consistent in your approach. I do not profess
to have to the ultimate method of proof reading, but I have been able to take what for
most might be a four month or more process and condense it into about a month and a
half. Better yet, I do not pay anyone for the service because they volunteer to do it for
free, well almost free.
Okay, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts. First, let’s review the high-level process
we are hoping to complete:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Select a group of Readers to read the manuscript.
Each Reader will read the entire manuscript and locate all possible flaws.
The Readers will provide a list of flaws to the Author.
The Author will fix the flaws and send off the perfect book to the publisher.
Well, where is the problem in such a simple process? Finding the readers? Finding the
flaws? Fixing them? Actually, none of those. You see, the problem is that each reader
will cover your tome as if they are you, going through an edit pass. Therein lies the
problem. By attempting to achieve so much, they will miss so much.
Worse yet, you will receive an avalanche of feedback you will have to sort through
to sift the valid errors that must be fixed. It will be a monumental undertaking that will
tax your time as well as your soul. In the end, you will be convinced your book is a
failure and be ready to throw in the towel.
Okay, hold on there, let’s not get carried away. Suffice it to say, we cannot sift
through this tome of information to ferret out the tiny imperfections blocking our
progress. So what can we do to save our soul from this overwhelming task? We can
organize and target what we want people to find. With this simple set of directions,
your readers will be more focused and likely to find the problems you really hope they
will find. But, let’s stop for a moment and start from the beginning.
We want to find proof readers with whom we can trust to complete certain tasks.
This means you need a wide swath of individuals with a wide range of capabilities.
All right, I know what you are thinking, I’ll run down to my writing group and get
every author to proof read. Problem, they will often be as blind as you, especially if
they have been reading it all along. They cannot divorce themselves from the entirety
of a novel to only look for specific problems.
Next, you’ll probably think tracking down every English teacher you or your
family knows is the next best thing. After all, who better to find those dangling
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participles and incorrectly used commas than an English teacher? Once again, there is
a problem. Their job is to instruct students in the grammar of writing and analyze
books for their literary quality. Do you really want someone who has spent many
years reading and studying Shakespeare to be the only person who reads your modern
day writing? Probably not.
So where does that leave us? Actually, it leaves us looking for a sprinkling of
professionals (Writers, Teachers, Editors) combined with a set of very ordinary people
who enjoy reading. In my experience, using ten (10) proof readers has proven to be
productive. I don’t know why that number is magical, but it works for me. You need
at least enough to focus on the many areas you want proofed while minimizing the
number to something manageable. Ten fits the bill.
Who you select should be based on several different factors. Here are the factors I
use when selecting:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Loves to read novels.
Likes the genre and reads it frequently.
Does not like the genre and never, or infrequently, reads it.
Has read my other books in the series (when appropriate).
Has never read any of my books.
Understands grammar, character development, dialog, or plot.
Is under eighteen or over eighteen.
Is related to me, is a friend, or is a stranger.
Will work for free under a deadline.
As you have surmised, it leaves the door pretty wide open. The more varied the
people, the better the proof session will be. The problem for most of us is we tend to
gravitate towards people we know will like our story. This is not a good way to
choose proof readers. Like the quote at the start of the chapter states, this sets us up to
be looking for nothing more than praise.
You must really want true criticism before you embark on this journey. If not,
don’t bother proofing your book and simply turn it in to the publisher. This is why
having only family or friends is not necessarily a good thing either. They may love
you so much they don’t want to hurt your feelings by telling the truth or the truth as
they see it.
When I proof a book, I normally use a couple friends, a teacher or two, some
family members, some of my students, and some authors. It is a good mix that gives
me the flexibility of assigning nearly every task I need proofed. I want some expertise,
but I also want just readers.
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So what do we proof? An excellent question that could be debated until the cows
come home. Here is my recommended list:
Table 10: Proof Reading Focus Areas
Area
Description
Plot
Without a decent plot, your story has no marketability.
Dialog
Watch a 1940s or 1950s murder mystery movie and see why
dialog is so important. You want realism, not a cardboard
character ripped from a comic book, unless you are writing
a comic book.
Grammar, Syntax, and Spelling
Good writing must possess quality formatting. Yes, those
English classes meant something!
Consistency
My writing club jokes about a book where the red horse in
the barn runs out of the burning barn as a black horse.
Wow, that is a bad fire!
Character Development
This is where a writer must possess a great knowledge of
human behavior, or a strong imagination for non-human
behavior. People want characters they can relate to.
Point of View
First person, third person, third person limited, etc.
Descriptions
Can you see the setting in your mind’s eye? Is there a
definite face to your characters?
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Area
Description
Believability
Fiction must be grounded in something your reader
understands. Put too many weird things in it and you will
lose your reader’s interest.
Enjoyability
Does the reader come away saying, ‘I really enjoyed it.’
Demographic & Genre Specificity
Does it match the demographic of my target audience? Will
they relate? Does it match the expectations of the genre?
The first six (6) items make sense as a writer, and typically are best assigned to
professionals or people capable of handling them. The remainder are nebulous areas
you still want feedback on. Believability is whether the story line, action, events,
world, characters, and all that you include are believable. Suspension of disbelief is
one of the hallmarks of both movie makers and writers. We want people to feel like
they are part of the action, not Alice in a bizarre and strange wonderland. This is a
very subjective area to proof, so I usually want a more experienced reader to handle it.
Enjoyability is another subjective area but one that does not need experienced
readers to assess. In fact, the wider your readers for this category, the better the
feedback you will receive. You really want to know whether they were bored or
couldn’t wait to read more. I have had some who said they couldn’t stop and finished
it in one night. Pretty hardcore, but it gave me real feedback on how well they enjoyed
the book. If they said it they found it difficult to meet my deadline, that was also
feedback, although not one I was hoping for.
Demographics and Genre Specificity are two areas that also need to be addressed.
You want to know what, if any, particular demographic your book will appeal to.
Also, you need to know whether the book meets expectations for your specific genre.
If it doesn’t, then you may want to make changes to adjust it. These items definitely
relate to the marketability of your product. If your book is filled with salacious acts of
sex, then marketing to children would certainly be inappropriate. If you were working
on a mystery, but the only mystery is why there is no mystery in the book, this would
be good feedback to have.
Great, you have selected your proof readers, you identified what areas you want
proofed, so what next? You want to give them the manuscript, but you want it in a
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format that most people will enjoy. Some will accept Adobe PDF files, while others
prefer the dead-tree format. Authors and teachers will likely accept it in manuscript
format, but few others will enjoy that. So, when I said free, I meant the readers will
not charge you. However, there will still be an associated cost to creating the formats
you need to satisfy the readers.
I actually produce real books for my proof readers. This requires me to understand
how to format the document in a format acceptable for printing and requires a
publisher or printer who can create the books at a reasonable cost. I hate to say it, but
your local Office Supply Printer will likely charge more than your entire project
budget for ten (10) novel length printings. I am fortunate to have a local publisher who
will do this for me. Find yourself one and you will be forever grateful. For those who
cannot locate a local publisher, I find Lulu.com to be a good secondary choice. Later
in this book, I outline how to submit a manuscript through Lulu.com to produce a
book.
I get my books for about $10-$15 apiece, so the cost is affordable for the value I
get from the process. If you cannot locate a printer to come in at this price, then you
can always print on regular 8.5” x 11” paper. Putting these sheets in a binder is
probably best so that order and organization is maintained. Some people, like my wife,
prefer to read in bed, so the large binder has always been problematic for her. Get to
know your readers first, then, you can determine what format they will accept.
However, if you will be printing them yourself, be sure to stock up on printer ink
‘cause you’re going to need it!
Finally, you have the material to give to your readers, but what else must they have
to be successful? Here are some suggestions I use that people have enjoyed. Again, it
isn’t free but it is very affordable:
Colored highlighters with built in sticky tabs. These can be bought at your
local office supply store for reasonable cost. Whether the people use them
or not, they think they are a cool gift.
Small notebooks for making notes. Some prefer this to writing in the
margins.
A set of guided questions. This is best for those who don’t quite understand
what their focus should be. With targeted questions to guide them, they can
feel confident they meet your needs. (See web site www.nbvanyoos.com for
downloads)
Once you have supplied your readers, select a deadline that makes sense. I find no
more than one to two months is adequate for most. Some may go longer, but that is
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okay, as long as it is reasonable. You have heard the saying, give them a week and
they will take a week, give them a month and they will take a month. A deadline is
necessary, or people will put it off indefinitely. Ask them up front if it is a comfortable
deadline, otherwise, tell them thanks for their consideration and find someone else.
You don’t want this process to go on forever. Remember, you still have to make
changes based on their feedback!
Now, you wait. Well, not entirely. I would touch base with each reader halfway
through the cycle and once again when the deadline rolls around. This way, you will
not be harping on them, but will give them a gentle reminder you have your own
deadlines. I usually pull Christmas out when people ask why I need it so soon. Need to
be ready by Christmas for the book selling season! Sometimes it works.
As the feedback comes in, you must begin to analyze and make changes to your
book based on the feedback. Do not wait for them all to be returned before beginning
this process. Start the moment you get one back. Be honest about your work when
looking at the feedback. Some things are obvious, like punctuation and spelling, but
some are not obvious and must be carefully considered. Don’t make wholesale
changes unless they make sense.
I remember an editor saying my second book didn’t have a noble quest. It turns
out, the book is about the main character going through a personal and real hell, so
yes, there was no noble quest other than self-actualization. I didn’t change the story
simply because an editor wanted Lord of the Rings. You get the idea. Be true to your
story, but be realistic about the feedback. Sometimes we cannot see the flaws that our
readers do. Take this to mean every bit of feedback should be considered.
Finally, be sure to version your manuscript during this process. In other words,
after each editing session, save the file with a new name that represents the version.
Keeping the older version is critical in case you need to back out certain changes you
have made. For example, doing a global replace of the word “that” with only empty
space. But wait, sometimes this word is good!
I suggest the following naming convention to help with versioning:
TitleProofVersion-Date.doc an example would be:
RedStarProof4-10-3-08.doc
Once it is completed, I usually name it something like:
TitlePublishVersion.doc or as in the example:
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RedStarPublish1.doc
This is because you often will have changes based on feedback from the publisher.
Since the number of changes due to the publisher should be small, I rarely need dates
on these versions. However, you want to keep versioning until the book is in print. At
that time, take your latest version and copy it into TitleFinal.doc.
In the end, your work will only be as good as the process you put it through. Proof
reading is not the end all to writing a great novel, but it is a necessary step to avoid the
problems Authors have when editing their own stuff. Fresh eyes are always a good
thing, especially if they are targeted to specific areas of the book. Use this process,
and you will find those small imperfections that mar you book and keep it from being
the best it can be.
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To Self-Publish or Not To Self-Publish, That is the Question
“The wisest men follow their own direction.”
– Euripides
Some might say the quote above is really the definition of stupidity, but I rather
subscribe to this philosophy. My life has mostly been a product of my decisions, and I
still like to think I make pretty darn good ones. Self-publishing is one of those
decision I have come to enjoy even though it has its downsides as well.
As a writer and once technologist, I have seen the writing on the wall, and it is not
the traditional publishing houses. Have you seen a record store recently? Far be it
from me to predict the demise of the once and mighty establishments that have graced
our bookshelves with their wise and learned choices in literary tastes. After all, they
are really just in it for the money. And so should you! Unless you simply expect to
give all your writing away for free, you need to have a game plan.
The question is what? Self-publishing seems the logical choice at first glance. You
are in control of your own publishing. You control the content, the editing, the art, the
marketing, and everything that must be done to publish that great book you have
slaved over for so long. Why wait for someone to pick it up? You know it is good, so
let’s get it out there quickly!
Hold on, partner, let’s at least go into this understanding what is involved. Why is
it good? Why is it bad? What sort of expenses can you expect to incur? How will you
make money? If you cannot answer these questions, then don’t jump into the selfpublishing fray just yet. It may be right for you, but you must do the proper research
and fully understand what will be involved.
Trust me, I have had to rethink my gameplan many times, but ultimately, I have
been happy with my choice to self-publish. Oh, sure, I went into it blind just like so
many out there, but I have since learned the ins and outs of self-publishing and
realized that managing my expectations was one of the most important steps I had to
take first.
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You see, the publishing industry is all about marketing. Get on Oprah, and you
might have a best seller. Win a prestiges award, and you might have a best seller. Get
someone famous to endorse your book, and you might have a best seller. You must
understand that the odds of writing a best seller are very narrow at best. Does it mean
it is impossible, no, but you must set your expectations realistically before you embark
down the path of publishing.
So many of the traditional publishing houses make their money off only a handful
of their authors. The rest are considered overhead and are managed based on the low
expectations for profitable sales. At best, they are hoping to break even with your
novel while increasing their offers on the book shelves. It is a game of numbers, and
like many businesses, the margins are small and the competition heavy. When is the
last time anyone recommended a publishing company for you to invest in? I rest my
case.
Okay, so all is hopeless, right? Wrong! We may not like the way the business
operates, but the advent of computers is transforming the playing field. You no longer
have to wait for someone to decide they might break even with your book, you have
the possibility to publish with the big-boys and compete in this huge market like
everyone else. You now have the power to allow the market to determine if your book
is worthy, not some distant stranger sitting in an office in New York City.
But beware, the market is a finicky mistress and will dash your hopes on the rocks
as quickly as she will lavish you with praise. You cannot expect to take the world by
storm with your first book, but then, no war was ever won with a single battle. You
must market your wares while continuing to build a steady readership over a long
period of time. If this scares you, then I highly recommend you try your hand at
something else.
Let’s put it in context. At the time of this writing, I did a simple search on the key
words Science Fiction on the Amazon.com web site in Books. I received a total of
180,593 hits to peruse. Now granted, some are likely duplicates, but the numbers are
staggering for a genre that has traditionally been small. Now try searching on self-help
and see how many come back! How is your book going to stand out from the crowd?
What makes your’s more enjoyable, instructional, or beneficial to the average reader?
You see, these are the numbers the publishing industry must deal with, and writers
always wonder why the publishers turn them down over and over again. The
competition is so fierce, no-charge book returns has become the industry standard.
This is the only business that allows stores to return the merchandise they don’t sell
without incurring a cost! So can you compete in this market? Does your book have
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something the others do not? How will you build up a readership from the other
thousands, if not millions, of writers publishing today?
When I started writing, I had illusions of grandeur. I would hit the market by storm
and garner awards and accolades with minimal effort. After all, I was writing good
stuff, surely people would quickly see this and snatch it up. Well, it didn’t take more
than a few years to realize that this is not what happens to the average-Joe writer.
Writing is a passion, and you must be committed to the passion before fame will find
you.
So why self-publish if the hill is so steep and difficult to climb? Because you have
control and you will dictate how, where, and when your book is published and
available. You totally own the outcome, no excuses, no scapegoats, and nothing to
stop you from being the next Stephen King or Tom Clancy. As a control freak, I love
this aspect of self-publishing. I don’t want to have to wait on anyone else to release
my latest novel. My fans love it, albeit their numbers are modest. I enjoy moving
through the process rapidly and smoothly.
I have met people at conferences who sit waiting for a pitch with a novel they have
been shopping around for the last four years, re-writing it and re-writing it everytime
they feel it isn’t meeting the current flavor of the month with publishers. Whoa! In
four years, I have published two novels and finished a third. I am very proud of the
stories and didn’t wait to see if they were the current flavor being requested. If I
waited for the publishers, I’d be old and gray with only one or two books to my credit.
No thanks, life is too short.
So, about now, you are wondering what the downside is to self-publishing? Well,
first and foremost, you cannot compete with the traditional houses for shelf space in
bookstores. Oh, sure, your local bookstore will love to carry your books to spotlight
local artists, but nationally, you probably don’t stand a chance. Second, self-published
books cannot compete with traditional publishers on per unit costs. My books sell for
easily twice to three times what I think they are worth.
Okay, so my books won’t be stocked in book stores, and if they are, no one will
want to buy it for the price that must be charged. Wow, sign me up! You see, there are
real downsides. So why do it? Because you have a long term goal in mind, to write,
publish, and establish a brand name in the market. It is a long term goal that must start
with the first book, yes, errors and all. Read the first Harry Potter novels and tell me
you don’t think the writing is simple. But read the last books and you will be blown
away!
Writing is like golf, a game I play at every now and again. It is very difficult to
learn, takes a great deal of time to master, and you may never play in the PGA. But
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that hasn’t stopped me from playing. What if I was told I could not play unless a PGA
professional checked me out and said I had what it takes. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t
have taken up the game. Same with writing, I am not waiting for someone to tell me I
have what it takes. I am writing, and every year, I get better. How many people can
say that about anything? Like the first part of this book indicates, you will never
achieve your dreams unless you actually pursue them. Self-publishing is part of my
pursuit.
Fine, you decide you want to pursue your own dreams and you think selfpublishing is for you, now what? Well, you must track down a self-publishing
company with which to contract with. I am not going to help you with that, but I will
suggest you do some internet research to decide which offers the best services for the
price. Keep in mind, these companies make money off you, not off the books they sell.
Why? Because, they don’t sell that many books except to the authors.
Like I said, it is a tough business, so these self-publishing houses milk their authors
to make profits. This is why the per unit costs are so astronomical. I suggest you only
take the basic packages that will provide cover art, basic formatting, and print on
demand of a trade quality paperback or hardcover. Also, beware of the ongoing costs
to keep it listed in the major distribution companies like Ingrams. Some will rake you
over the coals each year while others will charge you a high fee at the outset to be
listed. I think any package over $800 is too much money for what you are getting.
Now, if you get $2 per book you sell, how many must you sell before you will break
even? I think you get the picture.
What happens after you publish? Well, that is up to you. I recommend you develop
a sound marketing strategy and pursue it with vigor. Conferences, contests, book
signings, discussion boards, and local bookstores are all great ways to get exposure. I
have my own web site (www.nbvanyoos.com) that acts like my storefront for my
writing. As part of that web site, I give away free previews and blog to keep it fresh
and entertaining. Perhaps if I write a Part III to this book, I will cover some of my
trade secrets of building a web and marketing it around the ether.
In the long run, the amount of marketing you must put into your work is the same
regardless of whether you luck into a traditional publisher or self-publish. At least
with self-publishing, you will be in charge of all aspects of your work and its eventual
success or failure. That approach might not be for everyone, but it fits my style to a
tee. Look at all the successful people in this world and I guarantee most of them never
waited for someone to tell them they had what it took. They simply began to pursue
their passions, refining their product over time until it became a market leader. All of
us have the same opportunities as they did, we only have to be willing to work for it.
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Do it myself? What a Lulu!
“You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.”
– Henry Ford
While the self-publishing industry has grown large over the last few years, there is one
that stands out in my mind as empowering authors to the fullest. That is because the
author has to do nearly everything! However, if you are like me, then this is the Holy
Grail. I have published through authorHouse and iUniverse, and they have created
wonderful products for me, but at astronomical prices in relation to the publishing
industry’s business margins. For non-fiction books, this may be acceptable, but for
fiction books, it makes you less marketable.
We must first understand that self-publishing publishers make their money off the
author, not off the retail book sales. If they make money off retail book sales, this is
simply gravy. So, the question for an author is why should I publish with them if the
only money they make is from me? Good question, and I really don’t have the answer.
Ultimately, you must decide.
However, in this sea of publishers, one stands out because of its ability to cut
production costs down to a minimum, letting the author competitively price their work
in the market. Lulu.com is the name of this publisher (www.lulu.com), and they have
so efficiently cut costs, you don’t have to pay anything to publish through them. The
only cost to you is the cost of books you purchase to sell on your own.
Okay, this is not entirely accurate, it is not all completely free. When you publish
through Lulu.com, you have several choices: Privately publish, Lulu.com Publish, or
Self-publish. In the first instance, you are creating a publication only you can
purchase. This is great for family projects, internal corporate publications, or like me,
proof reading material not ready for primetime. This service is free except the cost of
whatever books you purchase. You will not receive an ISBN for this publication and it
will not be sold through their standard distribution channels.
If you choose the Lulu.com publishing method, it is still free unless you wish to
take advantage of their extended distribution services. There is a nominal charge (less
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than $100) for this extended distribution. However, the rest is free of charge, except
the cost of books your purchase. In this method, Lulu.com is the registered publisher
of your material and will provide an ISBN for your work. You will be contractually
bound to them for the duration of your contract (thirty day cancellation of contracts)
until you decide to publish elsewhere. Your work will be available through their
website, and several online retailers. The extended distribution will make it available
to all book retailers.
The last option, self-publishing, is the truest form of self-publishing since you will
be the publisher of record for your work. They will create an ISBN for your work
using a publisher name you create. This is not free of charge, and at the time of this
writing, was approximately $99 to publish this way. This removes the contractual
obligations between you and Lulu.com, and allows you to market your work as you
see fit. This includes their standard distribution, but you can still purchase the
extended distribution for their nominal fee.
Once you have decided on a publishing option, you are ready to publish through
them. Their website has a very user friendly publishing wizard that walks you through
all the steps to publish your work. However, the onus is on you to ensure you have all
the required material formatted in the proper fashion. In other words, you are going to
do all the work to publish this thing except print and distribute it. So, what does this
mean for you? It means you need to become an expert on formatting your manuscript
and making cover art, or hire someone who can.
I prefer to do it myself because I have all the tools necessary. My word processor
comes with all the formatting tools, I just need to learn how to use them. I will not
instruct you on how to use your word processor, but I will instruct you on how to
format your document for publishing through Lulu.com. Once you figure it out, it
really is not that difficult. Now, if you go with the other guys, they will do all of this
for you. However, with their publishing packages running between $400-$1000, you
may want to take the time to learn it yourself.
Cover art. I am not going to mislead you, this is something you may want to hire
someone to do. This is why the other guys generally win over the authors. However, if
you are reasonably savvy with Photoshop or any other digital photo editing tool, you
probably can make your own cover as good as or better than what they will produce.
However, the design is still something you might want help with.
I have both photo editing and graphics tools to assist me, but I confess I wish I had
an artist to create quality artwork for me. But, again, I am doing this on the cheap and
have been satisfied with my cover art to date. You will have to decide how to create
your cover art, but I caution you to spend as little as possible on it. Keep in mind, you
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would have to sell several hundred books just to pay for a $500 piece of artwork that
may or may not assist in your books sales.
Okay, I have not dissuaded you from continuing, so let’s get down to the nuts-andbolts of this process. First, you must ensure your manuscript matches the industry
standards for published books. It is not that difficult to do, but I recommend you leaf
through several fiction and non-fiction books to see how they format the first few
pages before their manuscript begins.
To really accomplish the formatting necessary, you need to understand how your
word processor formats a page when including header and footer information. In
Microsoft® Word, a page is part of a section where the section header and footers are
the same. You must create a section for each part of your manuscript so you can
customize your header and footer in a professional manner. Again, in Microsoft®
Word, you create a section by inserting Next Page rather than a Page Break. You’ll
have to discover how to do this in your word processor.
Once you have figured this out, you need to go through your document and create
sections for each chapter of your book. This will allow you to set headers and footers
specific to each chapter, giving it that professional look you want. Once you have
completed that, we need to add the preceding pages as required by the publishing
industry standards. I have listed the pages below:
Table 11: Publishing Industry Pages
Page
i
Title
Contents
Title Page
Just the title of your book fully capitalized:
WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
ii
Also by:
A list of other publications you have published.
iii
Full Title Page
Full title with author’s name:
Why Can’t I Get Anything Done?
A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Publishing Dreams
By NB VanYoos
iv
Copyright Page
Contains copyright information, publisher name and
address, ISBN, and author specific information.
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Page
Title
Contents
v
Credits/Disclaimers List credits for cover art or any other assistance you
(optional)
had in the creation of your work. This is where you
need a disclaimer if you are publishing a fictional
work. You know, all characters in this work are
fictional…blah, blah, blah. Look in any fictional
book for their disclaimer statements.
vi
Blank Page
Yeah, leave it blank.
vii
Dedication
Dedicate your work to anyone you want.
viii
Blank Page
Yes, do it again.
ix
Table of Contents
(optional)
For fictional books, you can leave this out. However,
I prefer putting it into mine as another marketing
tool. People will look at the table of contents to see if
there is anything that tells them more about the book.
If you use Chapter 1 for your chapter titles, leave this
out. You need this for non-fiction books.
x
Preface or Prologue Anything you want to write about your book can go
(optional)
here, including a prologue to fill in blanks about your
series.
1
Chapter 1
The start of your book always starts at page one (1).
Are you feeling freaked out by all the stuff you have to put into your book? Well,
don’t! Hey, you already wrote several hundred pages, what is a few more? You know
how they say duplication is the greatest form of flattery? Well, look at previously
written material and duplicate what they have done. Last time I checked, formatting
was not copyrightable.
Good, you have added the necessary pages to your manuscript, now you need to
format each page. The first thing you need to do is format the page size to match your
publishing size. In Lulu.com, you can choose between the following standard sizes:
(8.5”x11”) Standard Paper Size
(6”x9”) Trade Paperback
(5.5”x8.5”) Paperback
(4.5”x8”) Pocketbook (Mass Market Paperback)
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This book is formatted in Standard Paper Size and seems a good fit for a reference
book. However, I have also published in the (6”x9”) and (5.5”x8.5”) formats for my
fictional works. I recommend one of these for your fictional work as well. You may
also lower your production costs by using their Industry Grade Paper. I prefer the
smaller form (5.5”x8.5”) because it is slightly easier for your readers to hold.
Once you have selected your paper size, you need to format it inside your word
processor. In Microsoft® Word, this is called Paper Size. Select Custom Size and type
in your size in inches. Make sure before you hit OK that you have selected the changes
to be for Whole Document. This will change every single page in your manuscript to
the preferred size. Notice that your page count has changed dramatically and your
table of contents will have to be modified. Hold off doing that until the end so you
don’t have to do it so often.
Now, we need to set the page margins to match your new format. Before you set
them, you need to ensure you have chosen Mirror Margins in your word processor.
This will set it for book formatting, allowing you to increase the Inside margin so the
binding does not obscure your text. After that, your margins should include Top,
Bottom, Inside, and Outside. If not, you haven’t set it to Mirror Margins. Set your
margins as follows:
For (8.5”x12”) page size:
Top:
1”
Bottom:
1”
Inside:
1”
Outside:
1”
Gutter:
0.25”
For (6”x9”) and (5.5”x8.5”) page sizes:
Top:
1”
Bottom:
1”
Inside:
0.5”
Outside:
0.5”
Gutter:
0.125”
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For (4.5”x8”) page size:
Top:
0.75”
Bottom:
0.75”
Inside:
0.5”
Outside:
0.5”
Gutter:
0.125”
Perfect, your book is starting to come into focus. Let’s continue by focusing on
your pages contents. We will start with paragraph formatting and font, and finish with
headers and footers. For fictional books, your paragraphs should be formatted using
the following guidelines:
Justified (like newspapers)
Indent first line by 0.2”
No spacing before or after paragraph
Single spaced
If you are creating a non-fiction book in the (8.5”x12”) page size, you may add
spacing between paragraphs, as I have done in this book, to add to its readability. Such
large pages need breaks in them so that the reader does not get lost in the text. I
recommend no more than 6pt space after each paragraph. Your font should be New
Times Roman 12pt for (8.5”x12”) page sizes, 11pt for (6”x9”) and (5.5”x8.5”) page
sizes, and 10pt for the Pocketbook size. You may certainly choose a different font if
you wish, but you will be deviating from the Industry Standard. For non-fiction, this is
probably not a big problem.
Wow, it should be looking more like a book and less like a manuscript. We are
almost done, so stick with me. We want to add our headers and footers, and you have
some flexibility in doing this. I’ll recommend a couple ways, then, you decide which
is best for your work. When we look at a chapter, the first page should have no header
at all. In your word processor, you can usually select to have the first page different
than the rest of the pages in that section. Also, the page numbering on your first page
should be Bottom Center.
Good, now, we want to set the headers for your other pages in that section so that
Odd and Even pages are not the same. Again, your word processor should allow this
option. You have a couple options for what you put as your header and/or footer for
each of the page types. I have several suggestions listed below:
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Table 12: Header & Footer Options
Option
Page
Content
1
Even
Book Title (all caps or italicized)
Odd
Author Name (Italicized)
Even
Book Title (all caps or italicized)
Odd
Chapter Title (Italicized)
2
**Only use if you have titles for your chapters
3
4
Even
Book Title (all caps or italicized)
Odd
Book Title (all caps or italicized)
Even
Author Name (Italicized)
Odd
Chapter Title (Italicized)
**Only use if you have titles for your chapters
5
Header
Book Title (all caps or italicized)
Footer
Chapter Title (Italicized)
**Only use if you have titles for your chapters
For fictional books, I would insert my Page Numbers in the header on the outside
of the page. For even headers, this would be the left side. For the odd headers, this
would be the right side. You have the option of centering your headers or leaving
them on the outside just off from the page numbers. Both look perfectly professional,
so choose which you like best. I would avoid footers except in the (8.5”x12”)
formatted books due to space constraints. With the larger page sizes, footers can be a
nice addition to frame the writing. Notice how I did it in this book. I think it looks
nice!
Well, if you haven’t thought about it, you should be wondering how to format all
those beginning pages before page 1. Well, the general rule of thumb is to avoid using
any headers or footers, and if possible, don’t include page numbers. However, if you
insist on using page numbers, then use lower case Roman Numerals. Generally, it
works great without page numbers, but play around with it after looking how other
books have done it.
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It may seem like a lot of work to prepare your manuscript for publishing through
Lulu.com, but you have saved a great deal of money, and got to choose how it looks.
This is the empowerment of the author I mentioned earlier. You are nearly done
preparing to publish, then, we can walk through the wizard and get your publishing
project off the ground.
Before we begin the publishing process, let’s discuss cover art. Considering the
traditional publishers choose the cover art for you and hire professional artists to
create it, you are at a big disadvantage. They have marketing professionals who will
design and create the cover art based on the demographic market the book is intended
to sell within. However, before we give up and spend loads of money to accomplish
this step, let’s discuss some of the criteria you might want to consider when creating
your cover art. If, after that, you decide you cannot handle it, then go out and find
someone who can.
First, the makeup of the cover art should always contain the book title, duh, and the
author name. You do want credit, right? So, what else should it contain? It should
contain something that represents your story, if even in an abstract way. It should
represent the genre of your work. For example, if you are writing historical fiction,
putting spaceships and planets on the cover may be inappropriate. If you were writing
romance, then you should put a romantic scene of a man and woman, or just a woman
on the cover. You get the idea.
Some of the best covers for fictional works come from talented, professional
artists. They paint pictures based on the books themes, perhaps giving the reader a
face to place with the main character. Others may create fantastical landscapes from
mystical or other worldly places to generate curiosity and wonder. Others may create
symbols that represent the main concepts within the book. The sky is the limit, but
you should attempt to match what the genre generally produces because that is what
your readers will be expecting.
Everyone in the industry will tell you one thing about cover art, if it is not
interesting, then the book will not sell. If you do not think you can manage to create
something of interest that matches your genre, then hand it off to a professional. I am
not here to advocate a professional to do it, but if you do some research, you just
might find someone. Check out your local art co-operative, some of the starving artists
may love a chance to get published, if only on your self-published book.
Keep in mind, you need the art to be the same size as your book, and should be at
least 300dpi for the best resolution when printing. Also, you need to ensure that the
outside edges of your cover art are padded with an additional 3/8 of an inch to ensure
your art is not cut off during production. Make sure everything on your art is kept this
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far from the edges so as not to cut it off. You may be able to get away with less than
3/8 of an inch, but you are taking a chance.
Finally, I would recommend emphasizing your title over your name since you are
not a known quantity, yet. If you look at existing books, you’ll note only well
established authors over-emphasize their names more than the title. That is because
they are a known quantity that can move books, regardless of what the book is about.
Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Janet Evanovich, you get my drift. Since you have yet to
establish yourself, place the emphasis on your title, or share your name’s emphasis
equally with your title.
Okay, assuming you have created your cover art, we are finally able to begin the
process of publishing through Lulu.com. First, you must create an account within
Lulu.com. Please be aware that this publisher will need to use your SSN unless you
have a valid ITIN or EIN. Please refer to their web site and Creator Remission
information for details about the tax ID.
You have created your account and are ready to publish. First, you must create a
new Project within MyLulu. Name your new Project to match your Book’s Title.
Enter your Author Name or your name if you do not use a pen name. I suggest you
select Keep it Private for now, until you have something you are ready to sell to the
public. You can change your publishing option later, so don’t worry about making it
Public just yet. Select Save and Continue to move to the next step in the Wizard.
At this point, the Wizard should be asking you to enter the details of your finished
book. If you are publishing in the (6”x9”) or (5.5”x8.5”) page size, choose the
Publisher Grade paper option as this will reduce your book production costs by a large
factor. I have used both options, and the Publisher Grade paper is white and very nice.
If anything, it is slightly more translucent than the Standard paper. Select your Paper
Size and binding type as Perfect-Bound. Finally, choose Black&White or Color
printing based on your publication. I suggest Black&White as the cost is much lower.
However, if you have a nice non-fiction book with lots of pictures, then color may be
best. Hit Save and Continue once you are done.
The next step is where you submit your manuscript that you formatted as outlined
earlier in this chapter. Select the Choose File option first to locate the file on your
local machine. Make sure you choose the correct version of your file and that it is
formatted properly. Once you select your file, choose Upload to load it into their
system. Once uploaded, select Make Print-Ready File to continue. At that point, the
service will convert your document into their format ready for printing. If you used
Microsoft® Word, the converter should have no problems with your manuscript. If you
used something else, you should refer to their submission format support to
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understand the best method to submit it. PDF may be the best format if you use
another editing tool. Free converters into PDF are easy to find.
Once the conversion is complete, please download the result and make sure it
matches the formatting you created. Check each chapter to ensure the header and
footer information is correct. Spot check several pages at the beginning and within the
chapters to ensure the text is all right. Generally, I would look for strange fonts and
unusual spacing. Assuming it checks out, select Save and Continue.
You should now be ready to create your book’s cover. If you have already created
one, then you will only be uploading that into their system. If you do not have one,
you are welcome to use their themes or templates, but keep in mind they are simplistic
and not really meant for commercial publications. I am going to assume you created
your own cover art and walk you through the steps to get it uploaded.
Your book consists of three (3) components for the cover: Front, Spine, and Back.
We will start at the front and walk through until we finish with the back cover. First, I
recommend setting a Single Color for your background. Select Background &
Pictures to do this. I recommend a color that is used in the Cover Art you created.
Now, select the Edit Picture for your front cover to upload your art. Once you have it
uploaded, select Text to edit the text automatically displayed on your cover.
If you provided front cover art, then deselect the Show Title and Show Author
check boxes since you already have this information integrated into your art. Now
select the Spine Text and enter your Title and your Author Name. Note, if you are
publishing through Lulu.com as your publisher of record, you need to add at least five
(5) spaces to the end of your name so it does not run up against the Lulu.com logo.
Trust me, you don’t want to have to order a copy to see this problem, just do it now
and you’ll be fine. Select a font size that will work for your book size. The preview
will show you the effect of your changes.
Now, select the Back Cover Text. If you have cover art for your back cover, I
usually do, then this can remain blank. If you are publishing through Lulu.com, you
may select the check box to add their URL to your back cover. They will also add the
ISBN and barcode to your back cover during production, assuming you are
publishing through them or as your own publisher. If you do not have back cover art,
then type in the back cover copy you want for your book. If you are not sure what this
is, then go do some research. Basically, it is what the potential readers will look at
when deciding whether to buy your book. It better be pretty good.
Return to Background & Pictures to finish the cover art. If you are publishing
through Lulu.com, check the Lulu Logo check box to have this added to your spine. If
you have Back Cover Art, then select Edit Picture in the larger box for the back cover.
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Upload your art as you did for your Front Cover. If you have not added your picture
to your Back Cover Art, but wish to do so, then select the Edit Picture in the smaller
box of the Back Cover Art and upload an Author Picture.
You should now preview what you have created allowing the Crops and Folds to
be displayed. This will show you what might get cut off during production. If need be,
modify your art and upload again. Note, if you need to re-upload your cover art, I
suggest setting the cover art to one of their templates first and then re-loading your art.
There seems to be a problem in their system when you upload the same file name
again. It will only display the previous file you uploaded, so you can’t see the changes
in the preview. Setting to one of their templates first before re-uploading yours will
correct this problem.
Once you are satisfied with the cover art, select Make Print-Ready Cover to
continue. This will create the PDF file for your cover art. You will notice that the crop
lines will shift slightly. If you are satisfied, then select Save and Continue. You will be
taken to the Review Project page to look over what you have selected so far. At this
point, you may elect to change how your book can be found. I recommend keeping it
Private at this point. You’ll note the pricing part of this page indicates the purchase
price, or your cost, to produce your book. You can select the retail prices once you
make the book available to the public. Select Save and Continue.
Lulu.com and I recommend your order one copy of your book at this point. This
will allow you to check out the quality, composition, and format of your publication.
It will take anywhere from 5-14 days to receive it by mail unless you expedite the
order with more expensive shipping. Keep in mind, the price you pay is the production
cost plus shipping. This is a great price, especially if you order more than a single
copy. If you are creating these for proof copies, then ordering 10 or more will be more
cost effective.
Once you have looked over the finished product, you may wish to make changes.
This is especially true if you created the first version for proof reading. Log back into
MyLulu and go to My Projects. Next to your project’s name you will see a Revision
option. Choose this and walk back through the Wizard to make the necessary changes.
If you are ready to make it public, you can choose that at this time. You may make as
many revisions as you wish, but once you make it available, it can be purchased, so be
aware of that in case you want to wait until it is totally completed. If you do create a
revision, I recommend deleting the document you last uploaded before re-loading your
manuscript. Just like with the cover art, the system doesn’t always distinguish between
earlier and later versions of a file with the same name.
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Congratulations, you are a self-published author. Oh, there are a few more steps
involved to get it distributed and available, but they are pretty self-explanatory on
their web site. Once it is available, I recommend marketing it to your target group, but
that is another book.
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eBooks and Kindle™, is this Stuff for Real?
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”
– Sir Richard Steele
I love this quote as it so aptly sums up reading. Unfortunately, our culture has begun
to disregard reading as they so avidly disregard exercise. If we have an obesity
problem in this country, so, too, do we have a lazy mind problem. Ask someone,
anyone, what was the last book they read. Ask how many they have read in the last
year. The numbers are abismal. However, this is not reason to give in and stop
writing. The written word shall always be an integral part of the human condition,
same as exercise.
What then does this quote have to do with eBooks or the new Amazon Kindle?
Easy! Just as we have multiple ways to exercise, so, too, should we have multiple
ways to read. eBooks have made grand strides in getting writing into the hands of
those who still read. Although traditional publishers had initially fought this new
wave, perceived as stealing the copyrighted material through electronic means, even
they finally embraced the new technology to deliver their content.
Does this mean paper is going away and books as we know them will no longer
exist? Absolutely not! At least, not in my lifetime. However, we must keep in mind
that cost and access are very real concerns when it comes to delivering artistic content.
We must minimize the production costs while maximizing availability. Electronic
distribution is the future, and we must embrace it or be left in the annals of history
along side the record store.
So what does this mean for you, the author? It means you need to embrace
electronic publishing in all its forms and be prepared to publish in that format if selfpublishing is right for you. I have heard some authors say they have sold more through
eBooks then they ever did in paperback. Does that mean your’s will take off without a
hitch, launching you to great literary heights? Probably not, but it may help offset your
expenses for self-publishing.
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So why are eBooks so wonderful? Well, in case you haven’t noticed, cell phones,
computers, and hand-helds have become as ubiquitous as the television set. In fact, I
would almost argue they are becoming even more ubiquitous. In my family, we have
already said goodbye to the home phone since our cell service provides everything we
need. In my office alone, I have no less than three (3) computers: one for my wife, a
desktop for me, and a laptop I use on the go. These devices are simply a part of our
existence, and it won’t be long before most people will expect their content delivered
to them through these devices.
Don’t believe me? Okay, do some research on the ever diminishing numbers of
people who read newspapers. Oh, sure, they were once the crowned kings of news and
content for the people in the know. Today, hardly anyone reads them, and most in the
younger generations have never read them. An iPod they understand, but a dirty black
and white stack of papers? Forget about it.
Although your generation may still cling to old books, newspapers, and home
phones, the younger generations have embraced the new technology and it is all they
know. So if that is the only way to reach this demographic, are you going to refuse on
the basis that someone might steal your content? Hardly. First of all, I don’t think
anyone really thinks stealing your content is going to make them money.
So how do you market to these gung-ho people on the move? You must first entice
them with information or entertainment that is easily delivered on the devices they
now use to communicate with the world. Blogging, free downloads, games, all of
these are valid tools to market to the internet jet-set. I use blogging myself, writing
short stories to pique curiosity about the Universes I have created.
Once you have their attention, you can offer up your real content at modest prices
easily downloaded to their device of choice. For eBooks, that choice is either a
computer or comparably equipped cell phone and PDA, or eBook readers designed for
those who want to take their libraries with them. Today, one of the up and coming
readers is the Amazon Kindle™ device. This device uses a new E-Ink® technology
which makes reading it very close to reading a real book in any lighting situation.
Better yet, the device can download eBooks from the Amazon.com store wirelessly
from just about anywhere in the US.
I know what you are thinking, pretty cool, but who has four hundred dollars to
throw down on this? The same people who throw down hundreds on PDAs, iPods, and
cell phones. Perhaps these technologies will all merge someday, but for now, it is a
stand alone device with great potential to authors.
To partake in this new phenomenon, you must own the eBook rights to your book,
and then format and publish it yourself through their web tool. I am resisting putting
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the address in here because they are notorious for changing paths. I will tell you it is
called the Digital Text Platform at the time of this writing, so search in Amazon.com.
Later in this book, I outline the process to publish your book for the Kindle™.
If you wish to publish for generic devices or computers, then the Adobe® PDF
format is probably for you. You don’t have to go out and purchase their expensive
Adobe® Acrobat® to create PDF files, you can download free Microsoft® Word
plugins that will create them for you without any heartaches. I won’t recommend one
here, but you can search on PDF Conversions to locate several hundred.
So, if eBooks are sweeping the publishing world, why create any real books? It is a
good question that must be answered by you. I can offer a couple reasons why eBooks
should not be your only format. First, you cannot enter eBooks in most of the
established book contests that will help you market your writing. This may not seem
like an adequate reason, but keep in mind you don’t have that many marketing
avenues to begin with. Cutting one off at the outset may curtail your book’s eventual
success.
Another reason is having a paper version will keep it listed in Amazon.com,
Barnes&Noble.com, and other more traditional sites. Although sales from these sites
may be minimal, they can provide a storefront from which you can direct potential
readers to your eBook version at a substantial discount. I always search for books in
Amazon.com first, regardless of where I plan on purchasing it. Don’t throw away that
potential marketing boost for your product.
I hope I have imparted some interesting reasons for embracing the new electronic
media formats taking over so much of the traditional formats. They will never replace
the old formats completely, but they will begin to exceed the traditional formats as a
medium for people to consume your content. Not embracing it early in your
publishing career will cost you plenty down the road. I hope to purchase my Kindle™
someday if for no other reason than to clear off my bedstand. Right now, I can barely
find the alarm clock!
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Kindle™ or Kindling?
“This paperback is very interesting, but I find it will never replace a
hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop.”
– Alfred Hitchcock
I suppose it was easy for Alfred Hitchcock to treat paperbacks with disdain, after all,
his successful medium was movies. However, with the advent of eBooks, the
paperback may be heading for extinction, or as a poor doorstop. While I don’t think
paper books will be gone anytime soon, they are the old medium that is slowly
eroding as the next generation grows up wired into the Internet.
If you are from this younger generation or are just a fan of technology, like myself,
then the Amazon Kindle is an exciting new eBook reader. Did we need another eBook
reading device? Probably not, but since you can access all of Amazon.com’s Kindle
library automatically through their wireless connection over the Sprint wireless
network, you now have an easier medium from which to purchase and read eBooks.
One of the key technological improvements is the use of the eInk technology which
creates a viewing experience nearly identical to a paper book, no matter the lighting.
All right, I am not here to sell you a Kindle, but I am here to let you know it is a
new and exciting publishing medium you can take advantage of for free. Yes, I said
for free. It does not cost a thing to publish your books for the Kindle, and in fact, you
might even make money off the venture. So where do you begin?
You begin by setting up an account through Amazon.com. If you already have an
account with them, which many of us do, then simply use that account to access the
publishing features. The tool you use to publish on the Kindle is called the Digital
Text Platform located at (https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/signin). Of course, this is the
current web address, and if it doesn’t work, simply search Amazon.com for Kindle
Publishing. Please note, to publish through Kindle, you must provide bank account
information to Amazon.com to be used to make payments autmatically into your
account. While this poses some risk, Amazon.com does have a great reputation for
protecting its customer’s and client’s information.
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Sign in to the service to access your book Shelf. Within your Shelf, you will create
whatever publication projects you wish to publish on Kindle. However, before we
start, let’s talk about formatting your document before your begin. To understand the
formatting needs, you must first understand what the Kindle expects: HTML. That is
right, the Kindle is nothing more than a glorified Internet surfing machine. So, it
makes sense that it wants to consume HTML, the Internet language of choice.
Okay, you are not an HTML expert? No problem. If your manuscript was created
within Microsoft® Word, you can export your document in the HTML format ready
for Kindle consumption. If you created your manuscript through another word
processor, you’ll have to check to see if they support exports into HTML, or you can
search for HTML converters for your appropriate document format. I use Micrsoft
Word, so I use their export feature.
The real question is, how does this format affect my documents formatting.
Generally, it doesn’t, but there are some things that will not port over. First, page
numbering no longer exists as the document is treated as a single entity that pages as
fits the view screen rather than your notion of pages. Second, header and footer
information is completely gone. Yes, there will be no book title and/or author name at
the top of each page. For the most part, this information isn’t really that useful, but is
used as a professional formatting for paper versions. You won’t miss it.
So, you don’t need page numbers, and header and foot information isn’t ported
over. Anything else? Yes, images within your document must be uploaded into the
system separately. I am not here to inform you on how to do that, I recommend you
consult with their documentation for the specifics. For the most part, the paragraph
formatting you have for each section of your manuscript will port over, including the
section breaks between chapters. Since you can preview the document before you
release it, you can check for any other strange or exotic problems created during
conversions. Fancy tables may not make it intact, for example.
I start by taking my paperback version and stripping out the unnecessary pieces that
do not port. If you have a table of contents, you will need to remove the page numbers
from the format of your table. Since page numbers have no meaning, you won’t need
to refer to them as the numbering won’t match up anyway. Once I have made these
simple changes, I export the document using Microsoft® Word’s Save As feature. The
service recommends you use the HTML Filtered option as this strips out the Word
specific features to give you the cleanest HTML possible. Of course, if you wish, you
can simply let the service convert your Microsoft® Word document for you, but it
doesn’t always produce the best results. You can always try and then convert yourself
later if it doesn’t work.
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Now, back to your Shelf. Select the Create New option to create a new publication
on your Shelf. This will take you into their three (3) step process to publish on the
Kindle. In step one, you will enter all the specifics about your publication. If you have
an existing publication in print and are porting it to the Kindle, then enter the ISBN
number for the version in print. This will link any information about your print book
in Amazon.com to your Kindle version. You do not need an ISBN to publish on
Kindle, so if this is the only way you are publishing, leave the ISBN entry blank.
Enter the Title of your book. Next, enter the description of your book. I use the
back cover copy I have written for the paperback versions. For the publisher, put your
name or your pen name. If your paperback version is published through another
publisher, don’t use their name as you would be misrepresenting them as publishing
the Kindle version. Since you are doing it, you take the credit. Some publishers will
publish on Kindle, but in this case you are.
If you have an existing paperback version, use that Publishing Date, or default to
the current date if this is the first time it will be published. Select appropriate
categories for your publication, and enter the Author Name. Enter Keywords that will
help others locate your publication. If this is a first edition, you need not enter an
Edition Number, but if this is more than a first edition being published, then enter
which number. Finally, if the book is part of a series, then enter the Series Name and
Series Volume. Before you save your information, you need to upload the Front
Cover Art for your publication. Since no actual book is created, you simply need an
eBook cover for them to display on the retail pages. I simply upload the Front Cover
Art of my paperback version, but you do not have to use that if you have something
different. Save your entries and proceed to the manuscript upload screen.
Browse for your document, and then Upload it into the system. It will attempt to
convert the document for you into the desired Kindle format. Once it is completed,
please do yourself a favor and Preview the document. Their viewer, while slow, does
represent a good facsimile of what readers will see on their Kindle. Go through every
page to ensure it meets your standards. Look for unsual formatting issues like Left
justified instead of Justified. I find spacing to be an issue or the use of anything
special. If you are adept at HTML, then you can always download their file and make
changes directly to it before uploading back into the system.
Assuming the formatting looks great, you are ready to set your price and proceed to
sell it. The question is what to set your price to? Here are a few of my
recommendations. If you are an unkown author, then I suggest pricing below the $5
level. People might take a chance on your book if they don’t have to pay a lot for it.
The minimum price you can charge is $0.99, so don’t try and give it away for free. If
you are still unsure, then go look up some user groups to see what they have to say.
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One such group mentions $3.50 being a good price for fictional paperbacks. A bit
more for a non-fiction book may be warranted.
Once you have all the information entered and you have set a price for it, you can
select the Publish option to publish it within the Kindle system. At that point, it takes
about 72 hours for the book to become available. You are done, congratulations!
Now, I don’t know how many Kindle users there are today, but I suspect it will be
a fast growing piece of the book selling market. Since Amazon.com is one of the
largest Internet retailers for books, it is only a matter of time before other devices seek
to tap into this eBook marketplace. Can you say iReaders? Maybe so.
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Appendices
Appendix A: The Process (to pursue your dreams)
YOU’LL NEVER HAVE THE TIME
Decide if it is an important part of your life. If pursuing
your passion is not important to you, then you will never
find the time.
SCHEDULE A WEEKLY APPOINTMENT
Schedule a weekly appointment to pursue your passion.
Keep your appointment religiously and work only on
your passion.
FOCUS ON ONLY ONE GOAL
Choose one goal you are truly passionate about and
make sure the goal produces something tangible.
Decompose your goal into tasks necessary to achieve
that goal.
Sort your tasks into a logical order.
Estimate deadlines for each task based on how much
time you will spend each week.
WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN
Enter your tasks into a spreadsheet or other calendaring
or task management tool.
Read through your task list every week and update the
tasks as you start them and finish them.
Refine your task list as new tasks become known or old
tasks become obsolete.
Maintain an up to date task list every week.
PERSEVERE
Perfect your craft and accolades will come with time.
Do it because you want to, not because of what it might
do for you.
Be your own worst critic, then others won’t seem so bad.
Remember, if you never try, you’ll never know!
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Appendix B: Managing Dependencies
The four steps to managing dependencies:
Step
1
2
3
4
Description
Develop your overall timeline from start of
dependency work until it must be finished.
Break down the remaining work into individual
tasks that must be completed.
Divide number of tasks by the number of months in
your timeline. Then divide this new number by the
number of weeks in a month. Round final number
up to a whole number, this is how much must be
produced each week.
Build spreadsheet with dependent tasks and
deadlines based on number derived in step 3.
Result
Six months
35 illustrations
35 ÷ 6 ≈ 6
6 ÷ 4 = 1.5
1.5 => 2/week
Dependency
Schedule
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Appendix C: Editing and Proofing
Edit early and edit often. This process works well with fictional novels:
Edit Pass
Timeline
1
Edit chapter before writing next chapter
2
Edit everything after every 3-4 chapters are completed
3
Edit everything after every 3-4 chapters are completed
4
Edit everything after every 3-4 chapters are completed
5
Edit everything after manuscript is completed
6
Edit everything before proof reading begins
7
Edit everything after proof reading is completed
These are not all the errors you will find, but they are a set of common ones I always
need to look out for.
Error
Details
That
This word creeps into my writing more than any other,
and with few exceptions, it is not usually necessary.
Remove most of the instances of this word except where
it is really necessary like, “That is ridiculous.”
Commas
There is some flexibility in using commas in creative
writing, but make sure they are consistent in your usage.
Here are a few I always mess up:
1. Before and after addressing a name.
a. “I like you, Jim, but you are foolish.”
2. Before and after too.
a. He, too, was very tired.
3. Well, yes, no, oh
“Oh, yes, we are going to tango!”
There are others, but these are the most common ones I
miss.
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Error
Details
Capitalization
Consistency is key. Formal names should always be
capitalized. Read up on the fundamentals of
capitalization. I confess I still don’t always get it right.
Dialog Structure
I use a format that I am comfortable with, but there
really is no industry standard. I suggest finding one you
like and being consistent. Here is mine:
He looked worried. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“Really?” She asked sarcastically. “Why not?”
“I guess,” he paused, “I wasn’t sure you would feel the
same.”
“You’re pathetic!” She spat.
Notice the capitalization, period, and comma usage
above. I keep this consistent throughout my book.
Passive Verbs
would, could, was
Whole books are written on this subject, and I cannot
emphasize how important this is. Here are a few key
things to look for during your edit passes:
1. would say
2. could hear
3. was looking
Change these into active verbs.
Incorrect Words
For me, Microsoft® Word’s auto-correct feature is one
of the best ways to ensure lots to edit. It usually autocorrects a word incorrectly. In other words, it replaces
the word you misspelled with a wrong, but correctly
spelled word. Voila, it introduces a new error that
cannot be found with the spell checker. Thanks for the
help! Look out for these.
These are a few of my favorite things that I want my proof readers to find during their
reading.
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Area
Description
Plot
Without a decent plot, your story has no marketability.
Dialog
Watch a 1940s or 1950s murder mystery movie and see
why dialog is so important. You want realism, not a
cardboard character ripped from a comic book, unless you
are writing a comic book.
Grammar, Syntax, and Spelling
Good writing must possess quality formatting. Yes, those
English classes meant something!
Consistency
My writing club jokes about a book where the red horse in
the barn runs out of the burning barn as a black horse.
Wow, that is a bad fire!
Character Development
This is where a writer must possess a great knowledge of
human behavior, or a strong imagination for non-human
behavior. People want characters they can relate to.
Point of View
First person, third person, third person limited, etc.
Descriptions
Can you see the setting in your mind’s eye? Is there a
definite face to your characters?
Believability
Fiction must be grounded in something your reader
understands. Put too many weird things in it and you will
lose your reader’s interest.
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Area
Description
Enjoyability
Does the reader come away saying, ‘I really enjoyed it.’
Demographic & Genre Specificity
Does it match the demographic of my target audience?
Will they relate? Does it match the expectations of the
genre?
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Appendix D: Publishing on Lulu.com
Industry standard pages to add to the beginning of your book:
Page
i
Title
Contents
Title Page
Just the title of your book fully capitalized:
WHY CAN’T I GET ANYTHING DONE?
ii
Also by:
A list of other publications you have published.
iii
Full Title Page
Full title with author’s name:
Why Can’t I Get Anything Done?
A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Publishing Dreams
By NB VanYoos
iv
Copyright Page
Contains copyright information, publisher name and
address, ISBN, and author specific information.
v
Credits/Disclaimers List credits for cover art or any other assistance you
(optional)
had in the creation of your work. This is where you
need a disclaimer if you are publishing a fictional
work. You know, all characters in this work are
fictional…blah, blah, blah. Look in any fictional book
for their disclaimer statements.
vi
Blank Page
Yeah, leave it blank.
vii
Dedication
Dedicate your work to anyone you want.
viii
Blank Page
Yes, do it again.
ix
Table of Contents
(optional)
For fictional books, you can leave this out. However,
I prefer putting it into mine as another marketing tool.
People will look at the table of contents to see if there
is anything that tells them more about the book. If you
use Chapter 1 for your chapter titles, leave this out.
You need this for non-fiction books.
x
Preface or Prologue Anything you want to write about your book can go
(optional)
here, including a prologue to fill in blanks about your
series.
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Page
1
Title
Contents
Chapter 1
The start of your book always starts at page one (1).
Suggested margin guidelines for publishing on Lulu.com:
For (8.5”x12”) page size:
Top:
1”
Bottom:
1”
Inside:
1”
Outside:
1”
Gutter:
0.25”
For (6”x9”) and (5.5”x8.5”) page sizes:
Top:
1”
Bottom:
1”
Inside:
0.5”
Outside:
0.5”
Gutter:
0.125”
For (4.5”x8”) page size:
Top:
0.75”
Bottom:
0.75”
Inside:
0.5”
Outside:
0.5”
Gutter:
0.125”
Paragraph formatting for publishing on Lulu.com:
Justified (like newspapers)
Indent first line by 0.2”
No spacing before or after paragraph
Single spaced
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Header and footer options for publishing on Lulu.com:
Option
Page
Content
1
Even
Book Title (all caps or italicized)
Odd
Author Name (Italicized)
Even
Book Title (all caps or italicized)
Odd
Chapter Title (Italicized)
2
**Only use if you have titles for your chapters
3
4
Even
Book Title (all caps or italicized)
Odd
Book Title (all caps or italicized)
Even
Author Name (Italicized)
Odd
Chapter Title (Italicized)
**Only use if you have titles for your chapters
5
Header
Book Title (all caps or italicized)
Footer
Chapter Title (Italicized)
**Only use if you have titles for your chapters
A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Publishing Dreams