Are eBooks Too Cheap?

I luv Twitter!


Not only can you network and share your thoughts but you can also pick up on some useful and interesting information, which is what I have done this weekend.


Looking at, 'The Trends' a few nights ago, I found an interesting article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/ebooks-cheap-price_n_1160383.html?ref=books), arguing the pro's and con's of selling your eBooks at 99 cents or for free.

Reading through the article, the main points seemed to be:

• Traditional publishers are scared at independent authors selling their books so cheaply as most of the public (especially in the current climate) will obviously go for the cheaper options, leaving the traditional publishers struggling to gain custom,

• Some independent publishers are not happy to give away their work for free (or for 99 cents) as they feel that the time and effort they have put into creating the book has been in vain,

• Some publishers (both traditional and independent) have a problem with books priced at 99 cents, believing that they maybe of poor quality due to many of the books in this bracket been of substandard value, and;

• Before an eBook is published, "there are other associated costs to publishing a quality book, including cover artists ($125-3000), editors ($800-5000), marketing, etc. If you add up the average cover cost of $350, average editing job of $1400, then divide by 34 cents, the author would have to sell 5,134 books just to break even, and that’s nearly impossible without an additional amount for advertising".

After reading this article, I was left with more questions than I started with. However, after doing my own research into the self publishing world and using my experiences with traditional publishing houses, I realised the following:

• Looking at the top 10 successful self publishing stories, all of the authors used the same approach of setting their first books as 99 cents to get readers interested then increased the price, once they had a following,

• If you do the research of the other books in your genre and these are priced at 99 cents and you place yours at $9.99, you are already alienating your target audience as they would want to see why your book is priced so high and if you do not have reviews from readers to back up your book price, you will find it difficult to sell any copies, and;

• Although some traditional publishing houses claim that they do not rate books becoming successful in the 99 cents category, of the self publishing sector, this should make you wonder why they feel so strongly about this? As many traditional publishing houses do not take on new authors as they cannot foresee your success, however, if you already have success with your 99 cents books and have obtained a following, this should be the green light for all traditional publishing houses to snap at your heels with offers as many have done with Amanda Hocking and John Locke!

So, although everyone is different, my approach will be sell the first copies of my novels at 99 cents and then when I gain a following increase steadily, depending on the number of pages!

DIY Book Covers

Looking at the range of free template some of these self publishing website's offer, makes me see how they get people to go for the fee option.


However, doing a little research myself, I have found that creating my own book cover doesn't mean I need to enrol in a graphic design course, have amazing computer skills or be a fantastic artist!


It just means I need to do my research on other book covers in my genre, which are already published and successful, have at least a few hours to play around in Photoshop or Fireworks, have a great eye catching image and some vision (plus a little patience!).


Using a template for my first women's fiction book, I was lucky as the free template I am using is exactly what I wanted for the theme of the book.

Editing the colours, the font type and adding my own image has allowed me to have a visually pleasing from cover, which will stand out from the competition and saved me a lot of time.


Now, that was great for the women's fiction book but when I looked at the options again, I realised I would need to create my own cover from scratch for the paranormal series, I am in the process of writing.


OK, so the standard book size in the industry is 5.5 x 8.5 and the average pages in a book of this size if 300 pages, therefore the dimensions would be (in this order):

• Back Cover - 5.5

• Spine - 0.75

• Front Cover - 5.5 

Therefore the equation would approximately be 5.5 + 0.75 + 5.5 x 8.5.

You need to allow 1/8 inch off all four sides for bleed.

The bleed is if you want any picture or border to go right up to the edge of the book, you need to provide a few mm extra and above your picture to avoid it being cut to the final size.


If you are working in Fireworks, your dimensions would approximately be:


1899 + 457 + 1899 x 2912 - with the 1/8 bleed


I have used the bleed as my images and borders do go to the edge of the book, however, if you have a simple cover with no borders and your image is central, then your calculation would be:


1688 + 406 + 1688 x 2588 - without the bleed


There are templates available and I have found one on CreateSpace, which you can download and use. Covert the mm into pixels if you are creating your cover in Photoshop or Fireworks. Here it is (I have cropped the excess page):

Hope this helps all my fellow authors!

Writing Competition Scams

We would all love to enter a writing competition and win, especially if there is a great cash prize at the end or even better...a contract with a literary agent!


However, with so many wannabe writers out there, it was only a matter of time for people to start cashing in on other's desperation and exploit this.

There are ten rules I live by before I think about entering any writing contests and these rules have been devised by past experiences with these competitions and researching other writers experiences.

My top ten rules before entering a writing competition are:

1. Who is hosting the competition?
2. Do they charge a fee?
3. Does this fee include a subscription?
4. What is the prize? (is there more than one?)
5. Have you heard any complaints about the judging process?
6. What about residencies, Grants and Fellowships?
7. Does everyone get published?
8. Is the contest a ploy to get writers to use a service?
9. Are there any typos in their promotional material?
10. Final Thoughts?

Who is Hosting the Competition?
Many of these competitions charge a fee, however they are usually quite evasive about where the money is going?

Do they charge a fee?

We all love free contests, however there are not many of them around! Usually, all free contests gets a thumbs up for myself, unless something about the competition or the competition website is unsuitable for younger readers.

Does this fee include a subscription?

If I was entering a free contest I wouldn't expect a huge prize at the end as for a free competition, you should be using it for a little publicity as this will be ample award. But if you are paying to enter, some of that money should go to the winner in the form of an advance or monetary prize. 

With regard to book contests especially, authors will have spent years of their lives on their manuscripts: they deserve some monetary compensation.

What is the prize? (is there more than one?)

If I was entering a free contest I wouldn’t expect a huge prize at the end as for a free competition, you should be using it for a little publicity as this will be ample award. But if you are paying to enter, some of that money should go to the winner in the form of an advance or monetary prize. 

With regard to book contests especially, authors will have spent years of their lives on their manuscripts: they deserve some monetary compensation.

Have you heard any complaints about the judging process?

Do your own research of the contest providers to see if they have done any contests in the past and what the feedback is from those who have entered. Do not look at reviews on their website as they will obviously favour the provider. Look on independent websites to see the truth.

What about residencies, Grants and Fellowships?

It's easy to check to see whether or not the contest is affiliated with a non-profit organization. Again, check on there websites to see if they mention or have other organisations logo’s on their pages and if they do, take note and look into this association.

Does everyone get published?

This is a funny one as some people think if they read that, ‘everyone gets published’ they should enter as it’s a win – win situation, however this is just a marketing strategy to get you interested and to pay the fee. 

Also, if that was the case, what would be the point of entering a contest as you would not be published based on your talent as everyone would be getting published anyway. Also, what would the quality of contract be like? What would the quality of your books be like when there published?

Is the contest a ploy to get writers to use a service?

Some contests offer writers criticism and then when they have completely ripped your work apart they work on these negative points to pitch opportunities to receive more for a price. Also, never pay a literary agent to read your work, through a contest or otherwise.

Are there any typos in their promotional material?

When you are researching a good writing contest to enter, read all the materials, including the website, carefully. If they're in the business of publishing writers, they should have impeccable English. 

Misspelled words, grammatical mistakes, and sloppy design can signal scams, as it shows how quick they have set up the organisation for quick money. These sloppy mistakes are also a good indication of how your own work will be treated. Even if the organization is perfectly legitimate, you can still feel embarrassed, rather than proud, when you see your work in print. 

Do you trust this association to care for your work? Do you like how they've presented themselves? If not, then think twice about being represented by them!

Final Thoughts?

Remember it is not just your money you are parting with, but also your work so think carefully before parting with your money. Consider how the organization might be manipulating your desire to see your work recognized. 

Do some research and post queries in forums to see if others have experience with a contest. A little time spent with questions like these will save you disappointment later.

So you've published your first book...how do you get people to buy it?

In one of my Facebook groups, this question came up and although I answered it with a brief answer, I was a little shocked at her following comments.


She had spent all her time and effort into creating this fantastic novel, however, that's all she did!

If she was going to give the book away for free I could understand her relaxed approach to advertising the book but she actually expected to sell it without doing any marketing along the way.


I explained that before she even published the book, she needed to have people interested and eager for the release of the book by making sure she had done the following:

• created a great website which didn't overload the visitor but was eye catching, informative (without giving too much away) and the navigation would be easy to get round the website, even for the most novice computer user,

• take advantage of all the popular social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and make sure your profile picture advertises your book and directs people to your website,

• use different types of media to make people aware of your work (e.g. video's, audio of chapter one, give chapter one away as a 'freebie' on your website to entice readers to come back for the rest of the book),

• be known in a few writers forums not to spam users with your work but to get involved in discussions, and;

• have a blog which does not just advertise your work but to keep people updated with your highs and lows and link with other popular blogs to, again, make yourself known and to learn more about the self publishing world.

After she has published the book, all she needs to do is:

• inform her followers that the book is ready for purchase, 

• make sure your website is updated on where people can buy the book from,

• occasionally mention her new book in the forums if others ask to be recommended some books in that particular genre and; 

• continue to promote yourself in the social networking sites and on your blog to attract new customers.

Unfortunately, I think it was information overload and although she thanked everyone for there advice, I think she still expected people to find the book by chance and it would be an over night success, however, there is a great quote I love when thinking about self publishing, which is, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work” Thomas Edison 

LinkedIn Continued...

Well, after being told numerous times to persist with this networking site, I agreed and realised my initial thoughts seemed to be wrong.


At first, I didn't really see the point of LinkedIn, mainly due to the user format not being to my liking but after I updated my profile, created a group for 'Authors of Women's Fiction' only and started to get connections, I could see it was the more professional version to 'Facebook's Branchout' app.

Like Twitter, it felt great to get my first view connections and after that it felt especially rewarding as they were all people with the same passion as myself and with their hints, tips and experiences, were able to help me with problems I didn't even think about occurring.


What I also like about this site is that it can link all messages with your Twitter account automatically and although other social networking sites do this, LinkedIn seems to do this easier because as soon as you put your Twitter username on your profile, it doesn't need to keep asking you for your details and at the moment it seems to link all your messages and not leave some out (like Facebook has been doing on my fan page which is very annoying!).


All - in -all, if you are on Branchout or want to connect to more influential people in the writing world, I would recommend this website as it is (now) easy to use, gives you many ways to promote yourself and your work and it's reputation proceeds the others at the moment.

How to find a good Proofreading Service?

As a self publisher, who wants to be taken seriously, I have realised that in order to get positive reviews, I need to not only have a good storyline and allow my readers to bond with the characters but I also need to make sure the spelling, grammar and layout is near enough perfect, otherwise these little things can build into major problems, which will irritate the reader and put them off from reading further.


After looking at a few self published authors's books and read the reviews, it was clear some didn't value this as high on their priority and many of the negative reviews came back to them needing a proofreader as it spoiled the readers experience when they kept being confronted with basic grammar mistakes.

In one of my previous posts, I talked about the range of prices a proofreader can charge, however, I didn't go into detail about choosing a service.


When I first completed my novel, I was put off from getting a proofreader, due to the prices, but when I thought about it, I realised, I invested all this time writing the book so to cut corners at the final stages on something so important would not be doing myself or the book any justice.


I don't want my books to seem like I am just churning them out like a robot just for a profit, I want the reader to come into the world of my characters so they will invest their time and money in the sequels.


Like a holiday, when I started to research proofreading services, I looked at the following:

• Where in the world these companies were based? (e.g. if I had a problem with the service, I wouldn't have a problem calling them as they would be a UK based company with a UK telephone number and address)

• How much they charged? (Everyone has a budget!)

• What type of experience the staff had? (If my book is being proofread by anyone who is not a native English speaker and does not have more than 3 years proofreading experience then I would be wasting my money. However, what they tell you and the actually truth you may never know!)

• How long would it take? (If it's more than a week for a novel less than 100k words then look somewhere else as it shows that they either don't have enough people for the amount of work they are getting in or the staff are inexperienced and need extra time)

• What the reviews were like from people who had used their services? (type in the name of the proofreading service into Google and look for reviews from independent websites to get a better idea of what you could expect)

Even with all these checks, I only managed to find three and after doing the final check (the independent reviews), it was very easy to short list the favour three to one company.

I have yet to send my work to them but when I do, I will be either recommending them on this blog to encourage more authors to use them or I will be telling you to steer clear!

Making the most of your Facebook Groups

Anything you do, which relates to your book should be done professionally, constantly updated and you should try to interact with those who have taken the time to look at your work or join your ventures as this will only enhance your followers and increase your networking chances.

As a self publisher, if you are like me, everyday you are constantly thinking about what you need to do for your book!


Whether it's finishing a chapter, trying to keep up with your Tweets, updating your Facebook account or thinking of new ways to improve your marketing chances, it can get overwhelming.


I always wondered how people, who made these Facebook groups, got so many members and unlike Twitter (where it has been known that some individuals will go to the extend of buying people to ensure the 'Trends' they have created succeed!) it's quite simple:

• You need to post messages everyday, 

• Be interested in your group members and there work, 

• Make it slightly more personal by posting pictures and telling them about your highs and lows about your writing experiences, 

• Post helpful hints and tips you have come across, 

• If a member is posting something which offends or is going against the tone of your group then removed them, then post a message to ensure your group members understand what will not be acceptable in your group and;

• Make your group look professional by taking a few minutes to create a 'Cover Picture'. This picture should be in tone with the theme of your group, be eye catching and attract potential new group members and make the name of the group clear.

I created some cover photo's for my Facebook groups and although I will probably update them every few months, it shows that you are taking the effort to make your group succeed.

In Macromedia Fireworks, I created my cover picture by getting a nice background image and using a good font generator to create the title and this is the finished product:

This is my first group I started on Facebook. It allows authors to discuss there experiences of self publishing and offers the members a place to offer advice and helpful hints and tips based on there own experiences.


The Self Publish or Wait in Hope Group - http://www.facebook.com/groups/219185778188759/

This is the second group I created on Facebook. This group allows authors to have their say on how they have found these groups and give hints and tips on how to successfully use these websites to enhance your chances of success with the work you are publishing.


The CreateSpace? Lulu? Kindle? Group - http://www.facebook.com/groups/333302013385928/

This is the last group I created on Facebook and is probably the most dearest to me as it allows the members to discuss all things 'Chick Lit' and all there women's fiction experiences. This group has recently been revamped as I found myself spending more time on the other two groups as more members began to join.


The Chick Lit Group - http://www.facebook.com/groups/156066371136923/


All groups also allow authors to promote their own work as well as speaking to other members who maybe in the same genre as themselves.

It does take time out of your day to compete with similar groups as you are constantly updating the groups, replying to messages and doing the general up keep but just like most self publishing tasks, you have to put in the work yourself at first as you don't have an agent to do it all for you just yet!

Good luck xoxo

Twitter Hashtags

As I am now an official Twitter addict, I have researched a few of the techniques that will help me not only have fun on the social networking site but also, how will it help me promote my books?


Along with my battle of getting followers (the right followers), I have also had a battle of what to write and where to write it?


Of course, I could just write messages and post them but then they would just be going to my current followers and I want more.

So, I recently learnt about 'hashtags' and I must admit, they have helped me steadily get more followers from similar literary backgrounds.


The whole point in using Twitter (along with the other social networking sites) is to promote my work.


Now that doesn't mean my every post is about a book I have just written (as I don't want to use my account to spam my followers) but my profile picture is promoting my work and the 'hashtags' I use, in my messages, make sure my posts are being seen in the right circles and by the people I need to see them.


Twitter 'hashtags' are symbols you put before a word to make sure your message is seen in a certain message group.


For example, if you are a budding artist and you are using Twitter to promote your work, you would look for people who are interest in the type of art you produce.


Once you have found these people, you would research where they post there messages and follow their lead, e.g. you may have a particular piece of art you would like people to few on your website so you may post the following message, '#artlovers I love Damien Hurst's recent piece of work and have taken inspiration from this for my own design'.


Now without spam or over publising your work, you have made yourself known in the right circle, you are discussing a topic they are already talking about and you have spoken about your work without shoving it down there throats.


For my fellow self publishers, I would urge you to research essential Twitter 'hashtags' for writers and start posting some messages, such as your progress with your current written piece, the highs, the lows, ask questions in these circles, discuss books you are reading at the moment and reply to other tweets in the circles, as this will surely get you noticed.


Here are a few 'hashtags' I am using at the moment, which have not only helped me gain new followers but answered some questions about self publishing which really baffled me:

• #selfpub
• #indiepub
• #authors
• #amwriting
• #editing

Hope this helps and keep checking this blog for more helpful information on all aspects of Twitter, other social networking sites and self publishing.

How important Twitter is to your book?

I was never a fan of Twitter (mainly because I didn't understand the point of it and...I didn't really understand how to use it effectively!), however, I am now addicted.


Any social networking medium is going to be beneficial to anyone wanting to market themselves but what I have found out is, the way you fail is not understanding how to use it to it's maximum potential.

I used to dabble with Twitter but never really knew what to write and always wonder why some people had over 5k followers and some only had 50?


Then I started to do my research.


I was happy and comfortable marketing my books through YouTube and Facebook but realised I needed to 'up my game' and get on board with Twitter so I started following fellow authors and looked at how they conducted there accounts.


Without overloading their followers with information about their work, instead, they posted quotes, got involved in trends and set up automated messages, which would allow new followers to feel special as it sent them a personal message thanking them for taking the time to follow the individual.


Feeling confident with my first stage of research, I amended my account, started following some fellow authors, published messages in the trends which were primarily about writing and authors and took full advantage of the trends in influential countries (e.g. UK, USA, India, etc).


Now my followers are rising steadily but I'm also (finally) having fun with my messages as I'm not bombarding anyone with my work or trying to sell myself constantly, I am building up a contact base to learn from my fellow authors and to get my name out there by taking an interest in my followers and what they have to say, instead of forcing my marketing down there throats!


More to come about my Twitter experiences!

Back to Basics

It's so simple to get lost in writing a book.


You forget the character's names, location, who's point of view you are writing it from, if you have a break from it, and that's exactly what happened to me.

It's sounds like common sense but on some books I have read from new authors in my field, it seems like they hadn't made a plan of their chapters as one minute there in England and the next they are using American slang.


I always make an outline for each chapter of any new book I start to remind me what I need to do, what characters need to be introduced and to keep me from going off on a tangent.


I then make a character plan by giving each character a name, a personality and purpose in the book.


This really helped me as if I didn't do this from the beginning my story would be all over the place which is really distracting to the reader and takes away some of the enjoyment.


I'm not saying I stick to these plans rigidly, as if I want to change some parts I will but it really helps me as a guide as I can half a million ideas and try to cram them into one page and forget about the ideas I had a day ago.

Monthly Deals from Self Publishing Websites

I love to ask questions!


Especially if I am parting with money!


I want to know it all before I agree to anything and many times when a deal seems too good to be true it usually is!


I am in the final stages of publishing my first book and although I have done my own marketing, I am at the final stages of proof reading it (even though someone else has done this but I'm a perfectionist! It's my flaw! lol) and have created my own website, I still need a little help with the front cover, so I contacted a self publishing website to see what they do for the price they quote on there website as it is quite expensive (I think).


So, I emailed them and the answers were quite vague, so after approx three to four emails, I found that the same woman who was providing me with the information had changed her tone in the emails.

In the beginning, when I told her I was very interested, her emails were upbeat, friendly and quite informative, whilst also giving my the sale speech.


However, the last two emails were quite diluted, they went back to being vague and in the beginning she used to send a reply straight away, however the second to last reply was a few days late and I am still waiting for my last reply.


I am slightly nervous to spend over £100 for someone to tweak my front and back cover as I have done most of the work myself and I am still unsure on how they justify there fees.


I am going to go onto their forums to speak to some other users of this site, however I have learnt that when they want your money and think your interested they are very quick to keep in contact and give you all the information about these fantastic deals they have, however, when you want to delve deeper it's slightly disturbing that they go quiet like there is something to hide.


Just a thought!

What Type of a Self Publisher Are You?

Having friends who are also writers is really interesting.


Some have published books already and some are new writers like myself and are still doing there research, however, I have found that there are three different self publishing writers.

The three different types of self publishing authors are:

• Firstly there are the ones who have completed their work and are ready to publish it. They have done some research, have a marketing plan and have made firm decisions on who there target audience is, built up a marketing strategy on how they will reach them and will put their books in more than one outlet.

• The second are the ones who rush to write their books, haven't necessarily done their research, put their book on one website and hope it will become a hit. They don't have a firm target audience and have no marketing plan. 

• Lastly, there is the writer, who after five years they are still editing their manuscripts and although they have Facebook and are doing some marketing, without a complete book, it is wasted effort.

I am not preaching as I have been person two and three but I am firmly on my way to being person one as through my highs and lows of writing, I have realised the following:

• Proof reading the work myself is essential,

• The book's front cover is a major part of the marketing and I should put some money aside if I need to pay to make it fantastic,

• I need to spend at least an hour a day catching up with emails (about the book), post messages and add friend's in the social networking sites I am registered with, to stay present and relevant, and;

• Don't be scared to publish it! This was the biggest hurdle I have to get over! With any writer, they work is their baby so to have some negative criticism would be heartbreaking but not everyone has the same taste! So I've got to learn to read them, take the advice and dust myself off and continue.

Lighten Up Authors

Ok, firstly can I say I'm not too sure about this new Blogger upgrade.


I don't mind change but it looks more sterile and a lot harder to find even the basic features (put it back please!!! lol)


Secondly, whether it's reviews of new books, comments on pics and statuses in social networking groups or posts on blogs, I have found many authors to be very uptight about the smallest of things.


For example, I found this picture and liked it immediately so I posted it in a few groups on Facebook but I don't necessarily agree with all the points but I thought it was a fun read for my fellow authors.

Bad idea!


Straight away I got a comment back from a stuffy author who took offence from the picture and urged the readers not to listen to every step!


I was gob-smacked!


Obviously, with too much time on her hands, she clearly didn't see the funny side of it and proud to say I didn't reply to her silly comment, it got me thinking.


All the successful authors seem to be the ones who are:

• Serious about their work but know how to laugh,

• Take all criticism and work on it without being offended,

• They are flexible and don't jump on everything they see to make their opinions known.

I've also found that, like any other industry, authors are competitive and some will do anything to see you fail if they are not gaining success.

Very much an eye opening experience!

Facebook Groups

Having experience some very cynical authors, I have decided to rant on here.


To give you the background to my rant, I set up some Facebook groups to discuss topics I found interesting and to let fellow authors promote there work.

When I started to get new friends, I would automatically add them to the group in case they were interested.


Now, bare in mind I took no offence to people wanting to leave the group, I received three messages from individuals who found it rude and against Facebook etiquette to automatically add them without their permission.


I must admit I did find this insulting as my reasons for adding them was purely positive and to have it thrown back in my face by writing such silly comments on the pages, was immature when it only takes a few seconds to remove yourself from a group and it takes longer to write such a negative response.


Needless to say I did write a 'lovely' response and removed them for the group but is it so difficult to believe that a fellow writer is trying to do you a favour? Or have you had so many bad experiences in the literary world that you are cynical of everyone in it?


Well, if someone wanted to add me to a group, the only reason I would leave would be if:

• The group had no relevance to myself,

• The admin were just bombarding me with their work and;

• If I was getting negative comments

Otherwise I would be grateful to meet fellow authors and see their work as it could help me with my own projects.

Pen Names

Not wanting to pigeon hole myself in one genre, having more than one pen name appealed to me, as I didn't want to use one name all the way through my books.

Having written women's fiction, paranormal books and real life stories, I didn't want to confuse the reader (when I publish them) if they get used to just reading my women's fiction books.


The difficulties I found that would arise from having numerous pen names were the face to face advertising, for example, book signing events.


Although, many people would understand my point of view, many would believe it was dishonest and maybe they would have less confidence in the authors work.


Pen names, to me, are not to deceive the reader, as it has been happening for years, but I feel it is to show that a writer doesn't have to be one dimensional and can delve into other genres but using a pen name maybe easier to get the author into other genres without the reader prejudging them on their name.

Readers Expectation of Self Publishers Work?

Having read the reviews on some self publishers work, it's not hard to believe that many of the negative reviews are to do with poor grammar and spelling.

Writers decide to self publish there work for many reasons, such as:

• They have more control over their work,

• They get to keep more of the profits, and;

• They do not have the start up costs needed to keep looking for an agent

The last reason was the deciding factor for me realising self publishing was my way forward.

Researching books in my genre, to gage what price I should sell my books at, gave me the opportunity to read some of the reader's reviews and I decided to concentrate on Amanda Hocking's range of books.

Most of the positive reviews complimented her storyline, however many of the negative reviews mentioned the same thing, which was she needed a proof reader to look at her work before she published it, as there were too many spelling mistakes, words missing and the grammar was poor.

However, for a book of approx 65,000 words, priced at $0.99, what is the reader expecting?

Do self publishers get a little bit of a break for little mistakes like grammar, incorrect spelling and missing words due to the reader knowing that one of the reasons the writer maybe in self publishing is due to the lack of upfront funds and therefore does not have the money to pay a proof reader? Or does it ruin the read when the reader sees these mistakes?

For myself, if I found numerous spelling mistakes and bad grammar, it would put me off continuing to the read the story as I would want to get my red pen out and start making the corrections but if it was for $0.99 what more could you ask for?

How to set up a Fan Page on Facebook

Okay, so maybe I am slightly stupid or just looked in the wrong places, however, how hard is it to set up a fan page on Facebook, without looking outside the site for help?

Well that was the problem I was facing!

With fellow authors sending me emails to 'like' there fan pages and then asking me the embarrassing question, 'where is yours?' I thought I should share this help in case many of you find yourself in the same situation.

Fan pages on Facebook are just another form of advertising yourself (and your work) which is free so why not do it???

After searching on Facebook I finally found out how to do it:

Step One

You need to set up a Facebook profile page (if you don't already have one, go to: www.facebook.com and sign up)

Step Two

Set up your fan page (this is the part I struggled with finding out where this information was) by going to: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php 

Step Three

Add a profile picture or logo by clicking.  Upload a picture from your desktop.

Step Four

If you have a blog, you can add content automatically to your Fan page by importing your blog through the notes section. Click here for directions:  http://www.jeanobrien.com/2009/06/11/how-to-import-a-blog-into-a-facebook-fan-page/comment-page-1/#comment-7796 

Step Five

Add a Fan Box to Your Website or Blog to encourage your website visitors to become fans.  Click here for step by step directions:   http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Fan_Box 

Hope this helps and good look! :)

Selena Kitt

Selena Kitt is a bestselling and award-winning author of erotic fiction.

She is one of the highest selling erotic writers in the business. With half a million ebooks sold in 2011 alone, she is the crème del la creme of erotica!

Her writing represents everything from the saucy to the scandalous, but watch out-this temptress also has sharp claws and her stories often include exciting edges and twists that take readers to new, provocative depths.

When she's not banging away at her keyboard, Selena runs an innovative publishing company and in her spare time, she devotes herself to her family, husband and four children.

Her books EcoErotica (2009), The Real Mother Goose (2010) and Heidi and the Kaiser (2011) were all Epic Award Finalists.

Her only gay male romance, Second Chance, won the Epic Award in Erotica in 2011.

Her story, Connections, was one of the runners-up for the 2006 Rauxa Prize, given annually to an erotic short story of "exceptional literary quality," out of over 1,000 nominees, where awards are judged by a select jury and all entries are read "blind".

Stephen Leather

Stephen Leather is one of the UK's most successful thriller writers.

At university, he attempted to write, however he found this difficult and put it down to lack of life experience.

He didn’t start to write again until he was in his late twenties and started to work as a journalist.

Although, he studied biochemistry at university, he decided against that career path and went to train at the Daily Mirror on their Graduate Training Scheme and trained to be a journalist.

He wrote his first book, which was bought by Harper Collins and he never looked back!

His career to date stands as follows: he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shoveled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant and worked for the Inland Revenue.

Throughout his life, he has traveled around the world, had more jobs than one average person has in a life time, however he has always had writing as his passion.

From being a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong to being a bar man, he has led an interesting life so far.

Although he has always had writing in his life, he began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages.

He has also written for television shows such as, 'London's Burning', 'The Knock' and the BBC's 'Murder in Mind' series.

Amanda Hocking

Amanda Hocking

Twenty-six-year-old self-publishing sensation Amanda Hocking made headlines earlier in 2011, when it was revealed that the then-unsigned author (she now has a contract with St. Martin’s Press) had managed to sell more than a million copies of her paranormal novels, which were once rejected by publishers — as e-books.

Starting her first book in 2009, Amanda went into overdrive and the start of 2010, she had a grand total of 17 unpublished novels, all gathering digital dust on the desktop of her laptop.

After receiving rejection letter after rejection letter on April 15 2010, Hocking made her book available to Kindle readers on Amazon's website in her bid to raise the cash for the Muppets trip, she desperately wanted to go on. Following tips, she'd gleaned from the blog of JA Konrath, an internet self-publishing pioneer, she also uploaded to Smashwords which allowed her to gain access to the Nook, Sony eReader and iBook markets. 

It wasn't that difficult. 

A couple of hours of formatting, and it was done.

Within a few days, she was selling nine copies a day of My Blood Approves, a vampire novel set in Minneapolis. 

By May, she had posted two further books in the series, Fate and Flutter, and sold 624 copies. 

June saw sales rise to more than 4,000 and in July she posted Switched, her personal favourite among her novels that she wrote in barely more than a week. It brought in more than $6,000 in pure profit that month alone, and in August she quit her day job.

By January, last year, she was selling more than 100,000 a month. Being her own boss allowed her to set her own pricing policy – she decided to charge just 99 cents for the first book in a series, to attract the  readers, and then increase the cover price to $2.99 for each sequel. 

Though that's cheap compared with the $10 and upwards charged for printed books she gained a much greater proportion of the royalties. Amazon would give her 30% of all royalties for the 99-cent books, rising to 70% for the $2.99 editions – a much greater proportion than the traditional 10 or 15% that publishing houses award their authors. 

You don't have to be much of a mathematician to see the attraction of those figures: 70% of $2.99 is $2.09; 10% of a paperback priced at $9.99 is 99 cents. Multiply that by a million – last November Hocking entered the hallowed halls of the Kindle Million Club, with more than 1m copies sold – and you are talking rolling in the money!

Although, Hocking is a self publishing success, in the end she became so burned out by the stress of solo publishing (having to do all the editing, formating, designing the book covers, keeping up with the constant marketing and making sure she replied to her fans emails) that she has turned for help to the same traditional book world that previously rejected her and which she was seen as attacking. 

For $2.1m, she has signed up with St Martin's Press in the US and Pan Macmillan in the UK to publish her next array of books. The deal kicks off this month with a paperback version of Switched.