Can We Really Do Anything If We Believe We Can?
From the previous blog post you know that my goal was to learn how to become a published author in no time. It took me a number of days to get everything ready for self-publishing. First and foremost were the manuscripts. I needed to invest in enough time for final editing, proof-reading and checking, in case anything else needed to be polished or perfected.
Luckily, I did not need much work. There was nothing major to change. I already had two fully written manuscripts in two languages, nearly perfect and desirous to be published.
I was reading and rereading – along and across, again and again – a hundred times to make sure both versions looked great. Endlessly grateful for my perseverance and hard work at school, recalling my magnificent teacher of Russian literature and language, I was able to manage editing the Russian version by myself. I didn’t need to hire a professional editor, so as far as the English version went, my co-author proofread Girl, Taken.
The noticeable everyday progress of moving forward inspired me. The standing swamp had suddenly become a whirlpool. I was happy and proud to see my little yet consistent steps, which were carrying my dream to the place where it would soon become a reality.
Every day, I was following my plan – check mark by check mark – while clearly visualizing the progress. Manuscripts: check! What followed next on the plan (before the publication) was the book cover design. It did not take too long. I knew from the very beginning how the book covers would look like.
If I were to write a fictional story about a girl who was abducted and held hostage, I would probably use a cruel and heartbreaking picture for the book cover. Since it was my own story and I was the main character, I wanted to use my own image. I wasn’t positive that it was a winning design, and I definitely had no idea how the book would do with something different on the cover. I was certain about one thing, though: my book was an integral part of me, and I wanted to express it on the cover.
Skills of the former photographer came in handy. Luckily, I also knew how to use Photoshop, so I converted my own favorite portrait into a black and white image for dramatic effect, and then added text in the font that I chose.
I decided to self-publish my work in the form of e-books first, using two of the biggest and well-known platforms: Smashwords and Amazon.
Finally, the plan I created three weeks prior was accomplished. The Girl, Taken and Неволя manuscripts were well-edited and proofread, a cover had been designed, the ISBNs obtained, Amazon and Smashwords accounts were created and updated, and the texts had been formatted accordingly to the platforms’ requirements. My e-books were uploaded, being under review waiting for the approval to be published.
It’s amazing that I only needed a few words that I used in the paragraph above to describe such a lengthy process of preparation for self-publishing. The number of those words would never truly reflect the effort that I put in into that process. You will have a chance to figure it out for yourself when you meet my System of Actions in the book From Zero to Self-published Hero. If you always wanted to write and self-publish your own book, you will find the concrete steps that will lead you to your goal in Chapter 11.
I will continue my story next week – don’t forget to sign up here.
Do you know that I started Belka Books Press consulting company? We assist writers in the process of becoming successfully published authors. Check it out here right now.
As always, don’t forget to LIKE ❤️ this post and SHARE it on your social media to help my website grow.
Check out my book Girl, Taken – A True Story of Abduction, Captivity and Survival here
Thank you for your time and stay awesome!
#girltaken #authorelenanikitina #girltakenelenanikitina #howtowriteabook #howtowriteanovel #writingabook #stepstowritingabook #howtowriteabookforbeginners #fromzerotoselfpublishedhero #howtoselfpublishonamazon #writingabookforthefirsttime #turnyourlifestoryintoabook #howtowriteabestseller #writingtips #tipsforwriters #writersblock #howtowriteabestseller #howtoselfpublishabook