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What Goes Into a Book: Case Study: The Catalyst

Publetariat: For People Who Publish!
In today’s Publetariat Dispatch, indie author Zoe Winters details the time, effort and expense that go into bringing a new indie book to market.

I was talking to a reader on my Facebook page and had mentioned a small part of the process for The Catalyst. Her reply was:

I knew that releasing a book was a complicated process, but ‘Wow’. As a  reader it’s interesting to learn everything involved in order to get a  book out, so that we can enjoy it. If more people understood everything  that it takes to get a book out into the world, there would be alot less  bitching about having to spend anything over 99 cents for one.

Since I think this understanding is so important, rather than JUST  reply directly to her, I decided to make a blog post about it to take  you through what goes into a typical Zoe Winters series book:

It’s not just writing a book and throwing it out there. In an indie  situation all time and money costs are the author’s. There are  promotional costs as well as the costs of putting out a truly  professional product that can compete with mainstream published work on  quality. On the one hand people expect indie books to be “cheap” but on  the other, they complain about lower quality. In order to GET higher  quality it takes a level of work (and often monetary costs) that require  it to not be “cheap”. For example… if I charged 99 cents (making only  35 cents per copy sold), I would feel highly resentful, given what all  goes into this both time and money wise.

Here’s what goes into the standard Zoe series book:

Rough Draft (usually I try to get this done in a month or less. Most  people can’t do more than 2-3 hours of actual writing in a day because  it’s pretty draining. Creative work is not digging ditches, but it can  still be exhausting.)

Then I do a read through and edit and send it to the beta readers.  (while it’s with the betas I’ll generally work on something else. That’s  also when I start getting stuff together for the book trailer and the  cover art and start the process for that. I consult on cover art but I’m  more involved with the book trailer. I pick music, video clips, images,  and write the text and give a basic storyboard idea of how I want it to  go. But generally I’m also working on another phase of another project  while my book is with betas or with the copyeditor. Like when Catalyst  goes to the copyeditor I’ll be writing Lifecycle.)

When it gets back from the betas, I do another round of edits, based  on feedback. Then I send it to the copyeditor. (while it’s with the  copyeditor, I’m doing other things on other projects, or getting the  book tour/promo set up and ready to go, or whatever.)

When it gets back from the copyeditor, I input the copyedits, do a  final proofread, format for ebook, register copyright, then publish and  run my promo and send review copies out to reviewers.

Then I format for print, send it to LSI and wait for my proof copy.  When I get my proof copy, I proofread the print, then approve it for  distribution. During all this I get things set up with my narrator and  audio production people for the audio book. I consult back and forth on  things such as the particular voices each main character will have and  answer any questions on word pronunciations that aren’t clear.

As recording comes back for the book, I listen to it and note any  audio errors that the editor might not have caught. A mispronunciation  here… a part that’s hard to  understand… etc. I send notes back and  re-listen to the fixed parts, then approve for distribution.

As print and audiobook become available, I promote those with a newsletter, blog post, twitter, and facebook.

Things I spend money on… like for the Catalyst:

Cover art, including audiobook cover. Copyediting Book Tour (Blog tour) Book Trailer and elements for the trailer (music, video clips, images) Kindle Nation Daily ad Audio narration Free signed copies as part of previous promos.

Total costs involved for this book come to about $5,000 (a big chunk  of that of course is audiobook narration and production, but I think the  costs are worth it to be in audio.)

In the end analysis, writing, editing, promoting, and releasing a  book takes me hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars of my own  personal money. This is why I charge $4.95 for full-length books in the  digital format. Digital is my main bread and butter. Audio and print are  small sidestreams of income, though Audio will likely grow over time  because the market itself is growing.

This is a reprint from The Weblog of Zoe Winters.

 

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But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor

5.0 stars – 3 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
Book 1: Blood Lust
Book 2: Save My Soul
Book 3: The CatalystPreternaturals Shorts:Cat Fight (short story)
Dark Mercy (novella)It started with one lost, shivering pup; it may end in a war…Panthers don’t do responsibility. They don’t do long-term relationships. They definitely don’t raise kids. But when Z discovers a young wolf in the forest, he takes him in, unaware of the powerful beings hunting the pup.Fiona is a witch who can’t leave her house; the birds have told her something bad will happen. The mailbox is as far as she’ll go, but even that may provide more danger than she’s bargained for. When a wolf pup stumbles into her garden, her safe, wrapped-up world heads for a free fall.But along with danger, the pup brings a chance at love—a chance an agoraphobic witch and a bachelor panther shifter aren’t likely to find on their own.AUTHOR’S NOTE: The Catalyst is an ensemble book that also features Jane and Cole (from Blood Lust) and Cain (from Blood Lust and Save My Soul)
Don’t Miss These Great Titles From Author Zoe Winters – Now At A Reduced Price!
Here’s The Set-Up:

All he’s asking for is her soul.After buying the antebellum home she’s fantasized about since childhood, Anna Worthington discovers Luc, a dangerously seductive incubus who has been trapped in the house by a fifty-year-old curse. To rid herself of her problem house guest she’ll call on a priest, gypsies, ghost hunters, and the coven of witches from lust bunny hell. All she has to do is resist him long enough to break the spell so they can go their separate ways. If she doesn’t, she could die. And that would be the best case scenario.

HEAT: 3 out of 5 flames.

&

Blood Lust

Kindle Price: 99 cents

4.6 Stars – 39 Reviews

Here’s The Set-Up:

It’s all about the blood…

Comprised of three novellas, Blood Lust gives readers a snapshot look at the world of the Preternaturals Series. (Future installments of the series will be novels.)

KEPT:

As a cat therian (shifter), Greta’s blood is already sought after to enhance spells and potions, but due to a quirk of her birth, her blood is potent enough to kill for. When her tribe plans to sacrifice her, Greta must ally herself with Dayne, the dangerous local sorcerer, and the only person strong enough to protect her.

CLAIMED:

For a vampire, Anthony isn’t a picky eater, but he’s drawn to Charlee’s blood more than any other. Like a fine wine saved for a special occasion, he’s denied himself this pleasure. But one night, high from the potent magical blood of another, he claims his prize and loses control. Ashamed of almost killing the one woman who means anything to him, he wipes her memory of the event. When Charlee awakens with complete amnesia, Anthony is the only one who can clean up the mess he’s made.

MATED:

Because of the vampiric blood that has run through her veins since birth, Jane has been a target for vampires who resent a human being “kindred.” She’s forced to disguise herself as a vampire groupie to appease them and safeguard her life. When she’s abruptly given to Cole, the leader of the werewolf pack, to satisfy a gambling debt, she discovers the blood running through her veins has a far greater impact on her destiny than she ever imagined.

Each day’s list is sponsored by one paid title. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them.
Authors and Publishers: Interested in learning more about sponsorship? Just click on this link for more information.

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