Thank you for having me here to
tell my story. Upon learning that I am a self-published author, people often
ask me what the process is like when writing and self-publishing a novel. It’s
not something I can answer in a few words, other than to say, “It’s much more
involved than most people realize.” Especially when you factor in all of the
pre-marketing and marketing that is required.
I made of a list of things I
did with Naked Alliances. Not
everyone will share the same experience, but this was mine and I want to share
it with you.
Check off list for writing and publishing
process:
1.
Ideas formulate from life experiences.
2.
Spend months taking notes, researching, and scribbling mind maps.
Write up a fish bones outline.
3.
Start in word doc, and get myself too confused. Move to Scrivener
for better organization and flesh out outline in index card feature.
4.
Write book (eight weeks to first draft working 20/7).
5.
Cry when Alpha reader (who reads two to three crime novels weekly)
says book is a two on scale of one to five.
6.
Re-write.
7.
Edit and proof.
8.
Feel better when Alpha reader says book is four on scale of one to
five, but not good enough.
9.
Send to Beta readers (ten of them…nine months, back and forth
emails on their time, not yours).
10.
Get ecstatic when eight readers love the book.
11.
Cry some more when two readers report they could not read the book.
12.
Edit and proof some more. Continue to build blog platform keeping
readers informed of progress and providing interesting content on book
settings, feature articles, and writing process.
13.
Put book on shelf and pout (eight or nine months). Read all
encouraging emails from other authors and friends, over and over again.
14.
Take it down and read it again.
15.
Send to professional editor for two round of edits and a proofread.
(Have tissues handy, six months, back and forth.) Edit, rewrite, edit, proof,
read.
16.
Jump for joy when Alpha reader says it’s a five on one to five
scale and better than any book he’s read in three months.
17.
Polish text and remove clichés. Get second and final proofread.
18.
Get book cover designed (Saturn 9 with 99 Designs: Hold two polls,
one month.)
19.
Decide you should “try” the traditionally published route.
20.
Write synopsis, log-line and pitch for agents. Get coach to
perfect synopsis and pitch. Take class on writing log-lines.
21.
Read at Sleuthfest and get standing ovation! Get super excited
when four agents request manuscripts and/or partials, decide to definitely trad-publish.
22.
Purchase publicist package at Sleuthfest auction.
23.
Query more agents. (200 over six months)
24.
Cry over rejection letters (50 in six months, figure the other 150
were too busy to respond).
25.
Get copyright.
26.
Decide to self-publish.
27.
Write front matter; Title page, copyright, Acknowledgements, Dedication.
28.
Write back matter; Extended Acknowledgements, Author Bio, request
for reviews, thanks for support, links, promo for other book.
29.
Enlist help with Book Publishing imprint logo art. Hold Contest.
Select winner.
30.
Seek
endorsements??? (BTW, well known authors say they can’t read manuscripts for
legal reasons…what’s an author to do? Send out Advanced Reader Copies to
authors).
31.
Get
endorsements to book cover designer for back cover.
32.
Sign
on with CreateSpace for POD version, proof final product (Start to finish, two
months).
33.
Get
file formatted for eVersion, proof final product, set pre-release, and set
release date. (two weeks)
34.
Contact
publicist when POD proofs are ready (press release, blog tour, etc…)
35.
Make
list of book bloggers and book promo sites, radio shows, and other possibly
interested parties. Notify all the organizations I participate in (Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Florida Writers Association,
Writers of Central Florida…or Thereabouts.)
36.
Pre-release,
build hype on social media. (Complete interviews and guest posts.)
37.
Start
actively marketing and promoting beyond blog, FB, Twitter.
38.
Publish
and go live. Tell the world!
39.
And
it’s only just begun J
40.
Outline
next book in series. Start process all over again.
If you are a writer,
never give up. If you are a reader, tell us what you think when you’ve read our
work. I read all reviews personally so that I may continually write what people
are wanting to read. Naked Alliances
is Book One in the Naked Eye Series, your feedback is crucial. And thank you
for your support. Peace, and keep the faith. ~ S.K. Nicholls
///////////////////////////////////
Title: NAKED ALLIANCES
Genre: Mystery
Author: S.K. Nicholls
Publisher: Brave Blue Heron Books
Purchase on Amazon
About the Book: In Naked Alliances, novelist S.K. Nicholls takes readers on a witty, wild, wickedly fun romp that exposes a side of Orlando tourists rarely see. The debut release in The Naked Eye Private Investigator Series, Naked Alliances introduces lone wolf P.I. Richard Noggin.
When a young immigrant woman and an exotic dancer are forced to flee men with guns and have no place to hide, Richard Noggin, P.I., can’t turn his back—even if helping out makes him a target. Richard plans to impress an aspiring politician by taking on a big white-collar case that could take him from the streets to an air-conditioned office. Instead, he's handed a cold case and quickly finds himself sucked into a shadowy world of sex, secrets and…murder. Marked for a bullet and stretched thin by his investigations, Richard reluctantly teams up with the unlikely, brassy custodian of the young woman on the run. With bodies piling up, Richard and his companion are forced to go undercover in a most unlikely locale: the Leisure Lagoon, a nudist resort. Going undercover in this instance will mean going uncovered…but lives are at stake—and this Naked Eye will have to juggle to keep his balls in the air and connect the dots before anyone else is murdered. As his pulse-quickening quest for answers leads from the dark corners of Orlando’s Little Saigon to the sunny exposure of the Leisure Lagoon, Richard will be put to the test. Just how much will this Naked Eye have to bear…or bare? The heat is on in this quirky Sunshine State crime thriller.
About the Author: S.K. Nicholls’ family owns and operates one of the oldest and largest nudist resorts in the nation located in Central Florida, Cypress Cove. Her experience gives her a deep understanding of the lifestyle choice and how it is extremely different from the sex industry, yet harbors clandestine elements of intrigue and fascination. Social issues are at the forefront of her writing. A former sexual assault nurse examiner, she has a special interest in the subject matter of sex-trafficking. A native of Georgia, she lives in Orlando, Florida with her husband, Greg.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sknicholls/