Some of you may wonder - what's it like working with a traditional publisher? How it is different from self-publishing? What's involved in both processes? As someone who has done both, I thought that going through the various stages of each might be a good way to share information.

First, let's talk a bit about self-publishing. What does it take? What do you need? The answer, of course, depends on what quality result you're looking for. Once you're done writing the book, a good edit is in order. No matter how good you think you are, chances are your work will benefit from the eyes of someone else. Not only because we're all fallible, but because seeing mistakes in our own writing is always hardest. But if you have to save your money for one thing, make it a great cover. Why? Because research has shown that the first and strongest draw for readers is the cover. You should be able to find a fairly good quality cover for between $35 and $100, which isn't too much to spare for such an important part of your book. Be picky. Be diligent. Check out the covers of other books in your genre and don't just look at what appeals to you, but to what sells. Invest in something you can be proud of.

From there, you're on to the process of setting your book up to sell. Remember to register your copyright. TIP - if you have several books, short stories, poems, articles and/or other types of writing, register them together as a "collection" and pay one price for the copyright of all of it. You'll save a ton of money.

The rest of the process is a combination of work and rework. I'll talk about this more in my next blog post. Until then, happy writing and don't forget to take a break now and then to enjoy the journey.