Tag: Publish

Finish Writing Your Novel Now!

Beta readers vs. ARC readers: do you need both as an indie author?

Mandy Webster

For independent authors, feedback is invaluable. But when it comes to getting pre-publication opinions on your book, should you use beta readers, ARC readers, or both? While they serve different purposes, each plays a crucial role in refining and marketing your book before publication.

There is a major difference between a beta reader and an ARC reader.

What are beta readers?

Beta readers are early readers of your full manuscript draft. Think of them as workshop partners—people who help you shape your book before it reaches the final stages. They provide feedback that might lead to deep revisions, pointing out plot holes, character inconsistencies, pacing issues, or anything else that could improve the reading experience. Because of this, beta readers are typically used before the final proofreading stage, when there’s still time to make significant changes.

Continue reading “Beta readers vs. ARC readers: do you need both as an indie author?” →
Finish Writing Your Novel Now!

Is it wrong to use AI for book covers? Here’s why the answer isn’t simple

Mandy Webster

If you’ve spent time in publishing spaces lately, you’ve probably seen the heated arguments over AI-generated book covers—and the moral panic that sometimes comes with them. The core of the opposition sounds reasonable: artists deserve to be paid. Many AI image generators are trained on existing artwork without permission. Some argue that using AI is stealing from creatives and eroding the value of real human labor. In this view, choosing an AI cover over hiring a professional designer is not just a budget decision—it’s an ethical failure.

To be considered a new, copyrightable work, a derivative work must be substantially different from the original and reflect the artist’s own creative input. Where should we draw the line when the “artist” is AI? Should accessibility be a consideration?

It’s also true that AI doesn’t yet create perfect, consistent, or always-usable art. Many covers made with AI look slick on a screen but fall apart in print. Designers bring not just visual skill but marketing savvy, genre expertise, and an understanding of composition that a prompt can’t replicate.

And yet, the conversation around AI art often lacks nuance.

Continue reading “Is it wrong to use AI for book covers? Here’s why the answer isn’t simple” →
Finish Writing Your Novel Now!

Book cover design for independent publishers: making your book stand out

Mandy Webster

They say not to judge a book by its cover—but when it comes to indie publishing, readers absolutely do. Your book cover is often the first—and sometimes only—chance to grab someone’s attention, so it needs to make an impact. Whether you’re working on a shoestring budget or ready to invest in professional help, understanding your options for book cover design is crucial. In this post, we’ll explore the pros and cons of designing your own cover, hiring a designer, or trading services to create a cover that does your story justice.

In this series, we’ve reviewed the planning, writing, evaluating, and revising steps of the novel writing process. Now it’s time to publish your novel!

DIY book cover design

Designing your own book cover can be a cost-effective solution, but it requires a solid understanding of design principles. Many publishing platforms offer cover generators, but these tools are often limited and produce generic-looking covers. I used them for my first couple of books, but I quickly realized that I wanted to represent my work more professionally. If you choose to design your own cover, keep these key factors in mind:

Continue reading “Book cover design for independent publishers: making your book stand out” →
Finish Writing Your Novel Now!

How to select the right independent publishing platform for your novel

Mandy Webster

Once you’ve finished writing your novel, the next big decision is choosing the right platform on which to publish it. With numerous options available, it can be overwhelming to determine the best fit for your book. Before diving into the platform selection process, it’s crucial to define your publishing goals. Below are a few examples of goals you may wish to achieve.

In this series, we’ve reviewed the planning, writing, evaluating, and revising steps of the novel writing process. Now it’s time to publish your novel!

Maximum reach: If you aim to reach a global audience and prioritize sales, platforms like Amazon KDP and Barnes & Noble Publish are excellent choices.

Creative control: If you want complete control over your book’s design, formatting, and distribution, platforms like Lulu and IngramSpark offer more customization options.

Royalties: Consider the royalty rates offered by different platforms. Some platforms offer higher royalties, while others may have lower rates but provide additional services.

Continue reading “How to select the right independent publishing platform for your novel” →
Editing, Publishing

If my cat had thumbs

Mandy Webster

picture of sleeping cats
These lazy bums think they’re ready to write a novel. Is it wrong that I was tempted to draw chalk outlines around them as they slept?

Have you ever wondered how difficult it might be to self-publish your novel? Let me tell you, it’s pretty easy. If my cat had thumbs, she could throw a sheath of paper on the floor, slather the pages with her paws prints, and call it a first draft. She could scan those sheets of paper into a digital file and organize them into the order of her preference, thus completing draft number two.

Do you hear something? I do believe that is the sound of cat lovers everywhere breathing a collective sigh of excitement over the announcement of Zelda Cat’s latest novel. Wait. Zelda would never truck with such nonsense. We’ll get Lulu to do it.

If my cat had thumbs, she might then upload her masterpiece to a website like Create Space, list it on Amazon, and call it published. Luckily, my cat doesn’t need thumbs to curl up on the windowsill and wait for her money to start pouring it in. Continue reading “If my cat had thumbs” →

Publishing

How much does it cost to self-publish a novel?

Mandy Webster

createspace, print on demand
CreateSpace (an Amazon company) is just one option for print-on-demand services.

I recently decided I would like to self-publish my current novel project and have been considering all of the hard work that will go into such an endeavor. For example, I am an excellent editor. However, if I want readers to spend their hard-earned money on my product, then I need to hire someone to come along behind me and clean up any errors I might miss. Who knows why it is easier to spot mistakes in someone else’s work than in your own, but it is. So an editor I must hire.

I will probably need to hire a few other people as well. I could probably figure out how to format my own book. But again, I want it done right. If I can find someone to do it properly, I will likely save my readers a great deal of irritation on the back end. One thing I have no confidence that I will ever be able to do is design a captivating book cover. The sad fact is, readers often judge books by their covers. Yes, I need to hire a professional book cover designer. Continue reading “How much does it cost to self-publish a novel?” →

Education, Publishing

How to self-publish your novel

Mandy Webster

An on-demand book printer at the Internet Arch...
Today’s print-on-demand technology allows you the option of printing one book or a thousand. | An on-demand book printer at the Internet Archive headquarters in San Francisco, California. Two large printers print the pages (left) and the cover (right) and feed them into the rest of the machine for collating and binding. Depending on the number of pages in a given book, it might take from 5 to 20 minutes to print. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yesterday I attended a seminar on self-publishing with author/publisher Cornel Rosario at my local technical college. I have been doing a lot of research on publishing recently and wanted to see if there was anything new he could teach me that I hadn’t figured out yet on my own. I am glad I did. Prior to the class, I had learned a lot about ebook publishing, but the process of publishing actual books had been a bit of a mystery to me.

Much of the information Rosario covered in this three-hour session was old news to me, as far as ebooks go. But when it comes to printing actual books, he was a wealth of knowledge on both old-fashioned printing and print-on-demand. I also learned a lot about the costs associated with publishing your own book. Continue reading “How to self-publish your novel” →

AWP, Conventions & Conferences, Education, Novel Writing, Uncategorized, Writers on Writing, Writing Programs

AWP 2012 | Now That’s a Novel Idea: Marketability (Gasp!) and Creative Writing Programs (Part 4)

Mandy Webster

Novel & Short Story Writer's Market
Image via Wikipedia

Welcome to Part 4 of my blog series on the 2012 AWP Conference session titled, Now That’s a Novel Idea: Marketability (Gasp!) and Creative Writing Programs. I’m assuming you’ve at least read my introductory post, so I’ll just jump right in today and talk about the panelists’ views on query letters and agent-hunting.

First of all, what is a query letter, and why do you need one? Well, these days most publishers do not want to see your entire novel manuscript if they don’t already have a working relationship with you. In most cases, they want nothing more than a query letter, and possibly a short synopsis. The publisher will then use that information to decide if they think it’s worth their time to request a copy of the full manuscript. So, it’s important to write a query letter that really sells your manuscript.

Our session panelists provided the following tips for writing an effective query letter: Continue reading “AWP 2012 | Now That’s a Novel Idea: Marketability (Gasp!) and Creative Writing Programs (Part 4)” →