Ask the Author: Corrie Garrett
Answered Questions (2)
Corrie Garrett
Sure, no problem!
Corrie Garrett
Hi Michael! Sorry I didn't see this right away, but thanks for asking! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the Alien Cadets!
So, in all honesty, no, I didn't pay an editor for my first book. My first Alien Cadet book, Manipulate, was my second book, and I didn't pay an editor for that one either! In retrospect... that probably would have been wise. But was it absolutely necessary? No. I've gone back to proofread that series multiple times, and I still find grammatic/punctuation mistakes that make me cringe. :-( On the other hand, just publishing it allowed me to move forward and keep writing which is the KEY to being an author. :-) Now I have a great editor who copyedits everything I write. She has raised her prices over the years, but has allowed me to stay at her older rate, which is also really helpful.
So, my advice to new writers is usually (if you have any budget at all) to find a new editor who isn't charging a lot per word, and have them look it over. Even if its just a proofread (which is less extensive and usually less expensive than a copyedit) it is SO helpful to have somebody else look at your work. I've found three different editors here: https://www.kboards.com/forums/writer... and eventually stuck with the one that worked best for me.
The other part of your budget for each book (if you have one) is to get a good cover. Indie publishing is getting more competitive, so having a good, eye-catching cover with great title treatment is really important. You can definitely learn to do this (many authors do), but it's got to be pretty good.
After that, as far as getting a first book to sell as a totally new author, the best answer is to write another book! Most first books just don't sell a lot, but every time you put something new out, the chances of people stumbling onto your book(s) goes up! A lot. Also, Amazon and other online retailers push newer books more, so whenever you have a book that's new, the algorithms work better for you.
Sorry, I hope that's not daunting! If you like to write though, it can be good news. I sold maybe thirty copies of Manipulate the first two years it was published, and then when I wrote two more books in the series, it began to sell more.
Best of luck Michael!
Corrie
So, in all honesty, no, I didn't pay an editor for my first book. My first Alien Cadet book, Manipulate, was my second book, and I didn't pay an editor for that one either! In retrospect... that probably would have been wise. But was it absolutely necessary? No. I've gone back to proofread that series multiple times, and I still find grammatic/punctuation mistakes that make me cringe. :-( On the other hand, just publishing it allowed me to move forward and keep writing which is the KEY to being an author. :-) Now I have a great editor who copyedits everything I write. She has raised her prices over the years, but has allowed me to stay at her older rate, which is also really helpful.
So, my advice to new writers is usually (if you have any budget at all) to find a new editor who isn't charging a lot per word, and have them look it over. Even if its just a proofread (which is less extensive and usually less expensive than a copyedit) it is SO helpful to have somebody else look at your work. I've found three different editors here: https://www.kboards.com/forums/writer... and eventually stuck with the one that worked best for me.
The other part of your budget for each book (if you have one) is to get a good cover. Indie publishing is getting more competitive, so having a good, eye-catching cover with great title treatment is really important. You can definitely learn to do this (many authors do), but it's got to be pretty good.
After that, as far as getting a first book to sell as a totally new author, the best answer is to write another book! Most first books just don't sell a lot, but every time you put something new out, the chances of people stumbling onto your book(s) goes up! A lot. Also, Amazon and other online retailers push newer books more, so whenever you have a book that's new, the algorithms work better for you.
Sorry, I hope that's not daunting! If you like to write though, it can be good news. I sold maybe thirty copies of Manipulate the first two years it was published, and then when I wrote two more books in the series, it began to sell more.
Best of luck Michael!
Corrie
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