Navigating the Navigation Charts

Post: 6
Books Sold: 0 (currently unpublished)
eBooks Sold: 1
Pages in Jumble: 110

So while tied to the shore, but unwilling to leave the Captain's Cabin, I pour through information while attempting to chart the course. In this case, it means I've started the Kindle eBook Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author by Zoe Winters. I would like to thank her for her book. She is a practiced author and it shows in her work. It means that I not only have high hopes for the information itself but also high hopes to be entertained and instructed in the art of authorship. Here is a break down of what I have learned about me and my efforts so far:

• Chapter One: Starting With the Right Attitude
• The New Viability of Self-Publishing
• The author has quite a way with words and is a delight to read. But I haven't really learned anything here that I didn't already know from my IT experience. The following items are things I was reminded of.
• The instant access the Internet provides has long changed so many aspects of our life that it's difficult to remember how it was "back in the day". Self-publishing is no exception.
• Whether it's the description in The Secret or any of a variety of books on business management or being an entrepreneur, you must have a vision of what it is you want to accomplish. I have this vision and have even created a picture of it. I have shared the vision and picture with my family. Authorship is only one important part of it.
• Failure is Part of the Process
• My wife, at the end of my last stint of unemployment, informed me that in our nearly 14 years of marriage, we had been unemployed for a total of 44 months. I didn't view that as a failure, but instead as a trial. There were things I needed to learn and I hope that I have learned them.
• At this stage, I am not worried about rejection. I have been rejected by potential employers (AKA: Not hired), current employers (AKA: Fired), students (in student surveys), and numerous other situations. Rejection and failure are stepping stones. The thing that tends to make them scary is that those stepping stones are frequently suspended in midair above a gaping maw of a chasm. Having been bounced around, I know I can survive the crossing, one way or the other.
• As much as the author successfully espouses the virtues of being an independent publisher, an "Indie", I would still rather make it in the traditional route so I can have the background support of a team than trying to assemble a team myself. If it were an analytical chemistry lab that needed a team and I was to assemble it, that would be different. That team I'd like to put together and be responsible for. But an editor, a cover artist, graphics designer, etc. That team would need to know more than I do and I don't know how to determine that they know enough to trust their decisions. Does that make sense? Here is the author's viewpoint:
  
  By this point, I have a complete cognitive disconnect when it comes to the idea that an outside corporation should determine which creative endeavors should or shouldn’t reach the general marketplace. The concept doesn’t even make sense.
  Winters, Zoe (2010-11-05). Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author (Kindle Locations 118-119). IncuBooks. Kindle Edition.
• Fortunately for me, and this was another important reminder, I am secure in myself and what I am doing that I know that failures are a part of getting through life.
• The 150 Copies Boogeyman
• This was a completely new concept to me. And if I had skipped this section, I would have been the better for it. I had no idea that there is a living rumor that 150 copies sold marks some measure of success.
• Being a numbers guy, I have no intention of using some magical moment in the number of books sold to say that book is a success. Authorship is an ongoing process. I'll measure success by things like being able to focus full time on authoring. For a given book, I will consider receiving ten times as many good reviews as bad reviews as an outstanding success. Three or four times as many good reviews as bad reviews as a success. I enjoy the writing. I look forward to the challenge of going from completely unknown to slightly less unknown. I want to be able to have a steady flow of publishing and purchases. 150? Really?
• Developing Realistic Expectations
• In this section, I developed the suspicion that I have been working backwards. I worked to develop as many quality chapters as possible and then ran out of time for my own personal deadline. I had decided that I needed the book published (if not thoroughly finished) prior to marketing it. This is not the point of this section of the first chapter, but that is what it hinted at.
• Other than that, my expectation is that publishing would require a great deal of effort.
• The main thing I learned from the intent of the author is that there are ways to publish your book and you cannot expect great success quickly. There are many steps involved in publishing that include involving others around you. The number of books sold is not a good measure of success. The input of others is also not a good measure of success. More to follow.
• Chapter Two: Success Predictors in Indie Authors (As far as I've read so far)
• Being an author is being the head of your own business. I like this idea very much. I want to be my own boss. And there is no mystical, magical way to accomplish this.
• You need to be a good writer
• Because good is subjective, the author needs to develop proficiency. While I believe I have achieved some level of proficiency, I am still waiting for feedback to that effect. And towards that end, I have created a review version PDF to be able to provide to people. More to follow.
• Zoe Winters brings up non-fiction at this point which served as a reminder that I should probably get working on non-fiction book ideas as well from H.P.'s suggestions.
• At this point, she makes some interesting points about reviewers. I will discuss this more when I discuss the review version PDF.
• The author recommends finding reviewers:
• Authors at least one step above you in writing proficiency. This will wait for now.
• Members of the target audience. This will be easier since I can provide my oldest kids with copies to share with their friends.
• Agents and editors in the hopes they provide a personalized rejection letter so that you can grow from the experience instead of a rejection form letter. This, too, will wait for the time being.
• You need to have the ability to separate yourself from your work
• Need to locate the right gate keepers to be able to determine when the book is ready to be released. Not sure who that will be for me at this stage.
• I know I am not the best person to be proofing my work. While I do employ the draw manuscript technique, I can miss many of my own mistakes. After all, I made them in the first place, there's no reason why I can't make it again, this time while proofing.
• I like her idea to assume that there are problems with your work and find someone that can bring light to those problems.
• You have to be a self-starter
• I have to work aboard the Author-Ship every day. At the very least, there is writing and editing to be done.
• I like this one because I like making plans and lists and I know how to keep to them.
• You have to be organized
• Track responsibilities. I'm big on personal journals or Outlook tasks. I've made my own personal journals in Excel to help me track steps and the like. You should see the one for job searching with it's multiple tabs for tracking people, positions, resume templates, deadlines, and more. I'm thinking of switching to Project to better track steps towards goals. Now, if I could just locate my installation disk for it.
• I like the reminder that disorganization could lead to lost opportunities. That means being thoroughly and thoughtfully organized has even more power in my life. Just ignore the piles of papers on either side of the computer. That's not disorganization, that is a personalized form of organization.
• You have to be in it for the long haul
• This is very good advice. There is no quick riches.
• Keep working. Get involved in the Indie community.
• You need the ability to blaze your own trail and forget the naysayers
• Blazing a trail, been there, done that. Most of my failures here came from not mapping out the pathway very well. Uncertain terrain and unexpected changes led to early defeats that wasted too much time and too many resources. Knowing this, I am eager to learn while pushing forward at the same time.
• And I'm not worried about any of the naysayers except the one in the back of my mind. Sometimes, the external naysayers give me the strength to overcome the internal naysayer.
• You need to be a good money manager
• This one is one with mixed success. I've been having trouble making ends meet, but doing okay. Then our fridge died. So I borrowed some money from my mom, added in my own money so I could buy a display model fridge. Only when it was all said and done, I'd spent too much. Turns out that the majority of the bills in any given month are due between the prior paycheck and the next paycheck. Bad planning. This advice is going to be important, especially since the time behind the authoring is a valuable investment. I'll need to protect myself and my family.
• I learned that there is an expectation of needing to spend money to become published. This is interesting.
• I like the advice that when there is money to spend, spend according to realistic expectation.
• You need the ability to determine the difference between quality and crap
• This was very important because it referred to not only the author-ship, but also the reviews. As the author puts it:
  
  And while you have to be able to take criticism and advice, you also need to know when someone is trying to rewrite your book as they would have written it, ignoring your voice and style in favor of their own.
  Winters, Zoe (2010-11-05). Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author (Kindle Locations 332-334). IncuBooks. Kindle Edition.
• What has me worried on this is not whether I can see quality, but the level of quality I will have access to me, from me and from those assisting me directly (like my cover artist) or indirectly (like CreateSpace).
• You need to have passion (I haven't finished reading this section yet)
• Before I read this, I didn't think that the process of becoming a published author as a combination of creative ability and business acumen.
• I like the idea of being involved in all of the details of the business and the authoring. I am very much looking forward to this process.

So that is where I have read to so far. I am hoping that these notes will work as a measure of how far I have to go and a source for easy review so I can remind myself of the steps I am performing, the steps I have performed (not necessarily completed), and the steps I will be performing soon. I do hope that this blog will one day be a means of communication for the readers that want to read more of what I've written. But the reality is that I have a readership of one, me. And in the nature of the advice Zoe Winters has provided, I am seeking this online tool as part of the organization.

And as another part of the organization, I have taken the time to create a review version PDF. The idea is that I can quickly get this into hands and hearts of willing reviewers by electronic means. I am hoping to be able to afford to print it as well so that people can make notes directly on the manuscript. We shall see.

The stiff breeze of optimism still pushes against the bare masts, begging for the sails to be unfurled. I am eager to proceed, but there is more to glean. Plus, the Captain's Wife has asked for the playroom and parlor to be rearranged. Can't do that while I'm at sea, now can I?

Armoire Ahead! Steer to port! Avast! We are caught in the Straights of Loose Toys, whose current carries us between the island of Tonka dump trucks and the atoll of Legos. All Hands On Deck! Prepare for Action!