Hello to everyone out there, and a big "Thank You" to my cousin Becky Usry who turned me on to your site. I am a frightened 52 year-old who has finally given into the demands of my Muse and got busy on my second, yet profound attempt at a science fiction novel. I am frightened because I'm this close to actually letting my baby go and see if it flies, or falls out of the tree and breaks its neck. A lot of fear; fear which I overcome by pushing towards a finish on the novel my current bevy of friends-and friendly critics-have already gotten a taste of. (Silence murders me, though. If I send you something, tell me what you think at least!) I have a copy of Sophocles 2003 that I have been cutting my teeth on for the screenwriting format, but I will get to it after I get up and over this publishing hill I still must face. I just started following Kristen Lamb's blog on WordPress, and she's offered some advice I've taken to heart. I will say that she is not the first one to state (and I'm paraphrasing here): "If you want to be a writer, write. Don't just sit there imagining you'll write, actually write. Oh, and the world will do everything in it's power to stop you. Ignore it." My favorite quote comes from Hemingway, where he states "Writing is the act of sitting in front of a typewriter and making yourself bleed." So, I understand there is a horror contest going on, but my current project is screaming "Screw that, finish me!" One more thing: Have any of you had luck self-publishing on Amazon Kindle or CreateSpace? (Please never mention "Publish America" to me or I will vomit.) Let me know how it's gone and/or currently going for you; I'm new to the game and do not care to be ripped off. Joel Copeland, signing out!
Introduce Yourself : Ready to self-publish first novel, then back to screenwriting and stage projects by Joel S. Copeland
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I have published using CreateSpace and it is a good venue to publish. But, I'm horrible at marketing, but that's what you get when you self-publish. The format is easy; just make sure you've edited the hell out of it and found all the spelling and grammar mistakes. And continuity (I had a story set in the 1950's involving the Navy, but realized I had to set it in 1948 for the plot to work; I forgot to use the Chief of Naval Operations from 1948, not 1950; it was a bit embarrassing). Oh and the vomit comet is now America Star Books, but they are still the same steaming pile.
Thanks, Gregory, I appreciate it. I saw that CreateSpace had control over how much was charged for the book, while Amazon Kindle allowed you to put it out for free for x amount of time in order to "test the waters." I will say that I forgot to mention CeltX, an excellent screenwriting program. I believe I will use it over Sophocles when I'm ready to do the screenplays. Thanks for the heads-up on the marketing!