A misconception common to aspiring authors is that once you secure a traditional publishing contract, the publisher does all the work while the author sits back, relaxing as the money starts rolling in. This is not true. Even traditionally published authors are roped in to boost the marketing of their titles. The difference between traditionally published authors and indies is that the publisher formulates the strategy for marketing. The author nonetheless becomes and remains part of the execution. So, if you are looking to publish, best learn to market yourself and your titles, because sooner or later you will need to do at least part of it yourself.

Selling books calls for extensive marketing, for sales do not happen overnight. It takes time and effort, trial and error to discover what works best for you; time management, effort and budget must all form part of your marketing strategy. And marketing can cost money. But look at it this way: 99 cents spent on making a one-dollar return means you’ve made money. Obviously, you would like to make more. And that is why you need to ensure that you have a brilliant product, a fantastic marketing strategy, and the will to execute it.

Writing costs money. Marketing is just part of it. Do not think being an author is cheap. While you write you must live: eat, sleep, drink, socialize. While writing a book you must be able to afford the weeks, months, and sometimes, as was the case with me, years of research. Along the way, you will incur the cost of professional services as already mentioned; even then you are not assured of success. Then, when you think you’ve paid for it all, you start to market and believe me, this can be where much of the money is spent! Hopefully your book is a success; otherwise your money will flow like water out of a bath tub with no plug.

My advice to aspiring authors is that you make sure writing is what you want to do and have a job, income or capital you can tap into while you write. You will need it. And, of course, don’t forget to leave a fair amount for marketing. Becoming an author is like making an investment—if it comes off you can reap the rewards. You could make a loss, I know. But don’t worry, you’ll become a better person in the process. So, why not give it a go?

Any marketing begs for a marketable product, which in this case is a good book. And since everything you write will one day be up for scrutiny, marketing starts with the first word you write. Inadequate writing just won’t sell. Readers read, scrutinize, judge, talk about, review and rate books. If your writing is not up to scratch, they will punish you. Readers do not want you to waste their time. Putting a well-crafted book on the market: well written, meticulously edited, perfectly proofread, professionally formatted and with an outstanding cover design is a must. No book is flawless but striving for the best will serve you well.

Hard on the heels of digital, internet and cellular technology came social media, which is huge. While you write, join social media networks. Create accounts and profiles. Let people know you are an author and writing. Keep them posted on progress. Give them teasers. Get the word out. Create a vibe. Even if you only use your profiles later when you’ve published, there is no harm in having social butterfly wings flapping in advance.

Social media can be an asset; it can also be a curse. Most people are skilled at social media. For those who have not tried it yet, plan before you get involved. Have material ready before uploading for the first time—at least five to ten posts. Keep participating or people will stop engaging with you. Be sincere and make meaningful contributions. Not all social media works for all people. Try as many as you can. See which work for you. Remember, social media can be all consuming. It is impossible to engage your social media all the time and still write, publish, and market your books effectively. Since social media is distracting, somewhere along the line you will have to knuckle down and concentrate on what you are really doing, which is writing. Update your profile regularly. Nothing is worse than a poorly maintained site. Don’t get up to anything stupid either. Shooting from the hip is a sure way of getting into trouble, which in turn could turn potential readers against you.

Social media to consider:

Facebook: a social networking site to connect and share with family and friends online.

Twitter: an online news and social networking site.

LinkedIn: the world’s largest professional network.

Google+: a social network that builds off your Google Account.

Amazon Author Central: Amazon’s place for customers to learn about you.

Instagram: a social networking app for sharing photos and videos from a smartphone.

Before editing your manuscript, you might appreciate an opinion on your writing. Premise, genre, plot, structure, style, characterization, dialogue, setting—are all aspects which makes for good writing and is critiqued for its quality and worth. Established authors who have mastered the art of novel writing probably don’t need this anymore, but as a first-time novelist, you should consider having your work assessed in this way. Having family and friends read your draft is not a bad thing, but hey, they can never be as unbiased as professional assessors who have never met you and are qualified to judge your work.

I’ve had Blood Symbols professionally appraised three times; each time by a different assessor. The first draft was slated and rightly so. But that is partly because it was a first draft. It does not have to be a finished product before submitting it and having it assessed. The second came back with less harsh criticism, which in assessment terms is a sign of progress. You can expect as much as a twenty-page report. For most, it will be what is wrong with your writing. If you’re lucky, you might find a compliment tagged in there somewhere. Don’t hold your breath though. It can be demoralizing, but don’t let it get to you. It is just a learning experience informing you that you are not quite there yet.

Only when the third assessor gave me the thumbs up, did I move onto the next step of editing. A comment on the assessor’s opening page blew me away: “I assess a lot of manuscripts professionally every year and very few are as competent as this one.” Reading that I knew it was time to move on. Make no mistake, the book was not complete yet. I still had stacks of critique to dissect and implement.

Assessments are costly, I know, but they are worth every penny.

While manuscript assessment is on the go, why not finish your biography. Since a bio is a vital part of marketing, it also requires editing.

Most writers shy away from writing a biography. Next to a cover letter and synopsis, a bio is possibly one of the most difficult things to write. Anything that kaleidoscopes the events of years is challenging to write. Your bio is as important as your synopsis and blurb. Being so close to the material you must write is what makes it taxing, but that is just the nature of the beast. Take the time to write a decent bio as not only will you be aiming to win over an agent with it, but it will also appear in printed books, eBooks, websites, and social media, as well as the sites where you promote and advertise your work.

With biographies, less is more. Make sure that what you write inspires. Avoid being boring, which can be difficult with something brief and ‘to the point’. Don’t overly sell yourself. And never come across arrogant. Unless you are famous you will not be known to readers. People will mostly only become aware of you when they find you on the web. When that happens, it is quicker for a potential fan to read your bio than to read a sample of your book. An author biography can boost sales and reputation. Even if you are not a recognized specialist in a field, listing your experience can build trust and a credible reputation. Coming up with a good bio is crucial.

The biography should include the most important aspects of your life and the things that have made you the author you are. Writing experience, study, journalistic experience, awards and credits are all signposts along the life path which has made you an author.

Also needing editing are hooks and blurbs, which will appear alongside your biography. Cover design ignites interest, biography informs, and a blurb converts a potential client into making the leap of faith to purchase your book.

Hooks and blurbs are strong, creative descriptions consisting of a few words or lines to arouse a reader’s interest in investing time and money in your book. Hooks are almost like pick-up lines; you know how it is when you want to raise a smile or perhaps get to buy the lady a drink? Same thing—it works best when you come up with something striking and original. A blurb, on the other hand, is a sales pitch. Once your title, cover, and/or hook have tweaked the interest of a reader, the blurb should motivate the person into purchasing your book. After the book cover and title, hooks and blurbs are arguably the most important selling tools you can use to entice the reader.

Hooks feature on your website, advertisements, promotional websites, blogs and more. Blurbs can feature on the back cover of your book, your website, retail sites where the title is sold, book clubs and marketing sites. Since hooks and blurbs are designed to leave the readers craving for more, make sure they are the best possible. And, don’t forget to have them edited. Yes, they might seem short and insignificant, but hooks and blurbs need editing too; even better is for them to be written by professionals.

Summaries and descriptions are difficult to write. Yet, they are so damn important. I would encourage indie authors to let the professionals who specialize in hooks and blurbs do them for you. Having conversations with many characters entangled in multiple plots and traversing different countries involves you in your story to such an extent that to condense it into a hundred words is well-nigh impossible; believe me, I’ve been there! Eventually after the hundredth attempt your mind will go numb. When fatigue takes over, give up; you will be unable to write a description worth using.

Example of a hook:

When a New York journalist uncovers evidence that challenges the Vatican’s apostolic succession it could start up her career—if she doesn’t die first!

Example of a blurb:

Halfway through her Ph.D., Jennifer Jaine’s faith has been shaken. She has become convinced that the Catholic church’s authority is based on a lie. Desperate to prove herself wrong, she goes to the Vatican, only to be caught up in an international hunt for the truth about the church, the Pope, and how Jesus intended his followers to live their faith.

A stolen artifact, a mysterious murder, and an escaping intruder lead Jennifer from the Vatican to the streets of Rome to the Cave Church of St. Peter in Turkey, where she discovers a secret that could delegitimize the Pope. Chased by scheming cardinals and the trigger-happy head of Vatican security, assisted only by an elderly professor, the son of an Italian Mafioso, and a mysterious—but handsome—Turk, Jennifer must decide whether to become complicit in the church’s duplicity or shake the foundations of the planet’s most dominant religion.

Having a trusted editor who works with you all the time is beneficial. Your resident editor, so to speak. Not only is it convenient, but after a while they get to know your work, your writing style, typical mistakes you make, understand what you are trying to say but did not quite make it. They get into your head a bit, which is a good thing, but it can also be a curse. If they get too close to your work they might get a bit too familiar, almost complacent. And that is why you need more than one editor.

Not all editors do every type of editing. It is like authors that don’t write all genres—they specialize. Some editors are better at editing British English, others prefer American English. Some are good line and content editors, while others make for good copy editors. In Blood Symbols my protagonist is a New Yorker. I therefore wanted an American for the final edit. You would be amazed at the number of changes and recommendations an editor from another country can come up with.

Of course, editing is costly, but a thoroughly edited book is a must. If you can afford three editors, then go for it. Several edits ensure a better product. In any case, editors make suggestions, which lead you to make corrections, which spells improvement. Sometimes you even rewrite parts, so more editing. Only when you are satisfied do you proofread. Editing is of your biggest expenses, but do not skimp on it, you may regret it later.

There are many internationally recognized editing companies to be found on the internet. Do your homework and select one which appeals to you. They should give a breakdown of costing, so you know exactly what you are in for. Fixed rates per word and length of document apply, and a timescale for completing the edit should be indicated. You have a say on which style of editing and language you favor, and once you’ve accepted the quotation, loaded the manuscript and paid, you can sit back, take a break and wait for what hopefully will be a great edit.

Editing packages can include manuscript critique, editing, proofreading, formatting and query packages which include a letter to agents, short and long synopses and an outline of each chapter.

Once editing is complete, your next step is formatting. Indie authors have the option of eBook and paperback, and if you’re lucky, and in the case of Amazon’s ACX living in the US, you may consider converting into audio as well (later about audio though).

Just to complicate matters, different retailers require different formats for each type of book. To clarify: the same eBook requires different formatting for retailers such as Amazon and Smashwords. Each has their own program that converts your formatted manuscript into their own format. You must master both, or your book will be rejected. And even if it does go through, mistakes are passed onto the reader—something you cannot afford. These companies offer ample assistance enabling you to format your manuscript to their specification. Study it thoroughly, train if need be, implement their requirements to the tee, and your manuscript will be accepted. Do not stress too much about making mistakes: they have an online reader which allows you to check the uploaded and formatted document for flaws. So, make sure you check every page thoroughly before pressing the final publish button.

What about devices such as Kindle and iBook readers? Don’t they also require different formats? Yes, they do. There are different formats for every device: EPUB, AZW, LIT, PDF, ODF and MOBI, to mention a few. This can be daunting, I know. Fortunately, though, the retailers’ programs convert it for you. Once you’ve loaded your formatted version correctly, they convert it into the formats for the different devices.

eBook format is different from print format. Being digital, it adapts to the varying shapes and sizes of eBook readers, and since paging and text size is variable, traditional pagination of book format becomes obsolete. Its ability to adapt makes for a more complex format. Anyone creating an eBook should therefore understand eBook format before formatting the document. It is not for everybody, I know, but with travail you will make it happen.

There are programs which convert a document into an eBook format, but they must be mastered before you can use them. And sometimes mastering the program is more difficult than learning to format it from scratch yourself. You must learn how to use their program and then choose from several programs: Kindle Create, Atavist, eBook Maestro, iBook Author, to mention a few. Before choosing, you must learn how each works and assess its value, otherwise how do you make the choice? Going through the process of choosing can make you feel like you’re wasting time. Finally, read the fine print, for some insist you only use their product, work through them rather than with them, making it difficult to backtrack, opt out, or choose another product later.

With the advent of the internet and digital technology came on-demand-printing. No longer need authors have publishers printing thousands of books for them and keeping stock in storage at great expense for long periods while marketing and distributing the books as orders come in. Amazon and CreateSpace have devised methods of cost effectively printing single paperbacks and distributing such across the world in a matter of days. All the author does is upload a formatted Word document directly via the internet and onto their websites and, voila, you have a paperback publication online.

On demand paperbacks (as mentioned in my piece about publishing) have their own format, which differs from eBooks. Microsoft docx or PDF files will suffice, and although easier to manage than eBooks, still requires the document to be formatted to conform with print principles such as pagination, page layout, title page, copyright page, blank pages, different numbering for different sections, titles, headings, indentations, layout, fonts and so on. Once you have mastered all this, publishing and printing are a breeze!

Companies and individuals offering their services for the preparation of manuscripts as described are aplenty. But it can be costly, adding to the overall cost of the book. In any case, doing it yourself is not that difficult. Why not give it a go? As a first time indie you are quite likely to make changes later—after all, we all make mistakes. So, having the skills to change the writing, biography, blurb, editing, formatting, and even cover design after the initial publication is essential. You would be surprised at how many faults pop up after publication. The ability to self-correct is therefore a must!