My 6 Step Draft to Published Workflow

I've been sort of winging this whole indie self-publishing thing but I may have developed an easier workflow that I'd like to share with people. It's pretty simple and straight to the point, really, but being able to follow a list can make things run a little more smoothly. If you're doing all of this on your own, you basically have to be an Author, Designer, and Marketer. This is what I have so far, I may revise it but it seems to be working for me:

1. WRITE
Yes, easy right? This step might be the absolute most important part of it all. If you're planning to get a book out, you NEED to prioritize this. Get as many words as you can per day, just spill it all out of that head of yours. Get it down, do it. Time's ticking.

2. Edit
Remember that word that you used over and over and over and over and over? Well, yeah, go fix that. Add some punctuations while you're at it! Maybe hand it over to a friend and see if they might be able to catch any mistakes. Pay an actual editor if you have the money. Just make sure people can read it without getting angry!

3. Compile
This can be a whole post on its own. Figure out the format (.epub, .mobi, .pdf, etc.) and compile it. I personally use Scrivener and it lets you select which format you want. If you're still uncertain about how to do this, just do a little research online and you'll definitely find very detailed tutorials!

4. Design Book Cover
"Don't judge a book by its cover," is what people tell you but in reality, the cover is what stands out! It's the first thing people will see and if it doesn't catch their eye, they'll just skip it. You may have the best book ever but if your cover looks like crap, people will never know! Put a lot of thought into your covers and try to look at other book cover designs within your chosen genre to get ideas on what's working. I suggest using Adobe Photoshop but if you can't afford it, there's free programs like Gimp or Paint (slightly joking, but do what you gotta do).

5. Publish
You got all of the hard stuff done, good for you! Now you need the world to be able to read your book in all its glory. There's a few places online where you can publish your book(s) like Amazon (KDP), Barnes & Nobles (Nookpress), Smashwords, and a bunch of others. Make sure your blurb attracts readers!

Done, right? NOPE. There's one more thing you have to do and you'll have to do it MULTIPLE times.

6. Market!
That's right, you have to sell your book. Just because it's available at stores doesn't mean it will sell! People need to know it's available, people need it in their faces that your amazing book is out there! Take advantage of all the Social Networks like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, etc., and tell your friends, family, neighbors, email lists, ex boyfriends/girlfriends, everyone! Join online communities like forums, make videos, write blog posts, provide special offers. I know it may seem weird at first but how else will people know that your awesome book is available?! Be careful to not do it too often or people might think of you as spam -- just not as delicious.

That's basically it. I'm not going to lie, it's a lot of work but with this guide it should make things a lot simpler. Once you've finished everything, go celebrate! Good luck!

Have anymore tips? Share them!

FREE BOOK & New Book & NaNoWriMo

Hey everyone! It's only the 10th of this month but it feels like so much has happened these past few days. As I said in my previous post, I joined National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and it's been a blast. If you've ever thought of writing a novel or just getting a lot of writing done, I HIGHLY suggest participating! There are lots of helpful people and the vibe of it all just makes you want to get a lot of writing done which is really helpful for someone who procrastinates!

I released the second book from the My Personal Trainer series called Heavy Weightlifting. As a bonus, I made the first book FREE! It will only be free today (November 10) so grab it while you still can! They're both short reads (a little over 3k) and for mature audiences only.

Book 1 (Free on Nov 10)

Book 2 ($2.99)

These are ebooks designed for Kindle but if you have an iPad or something, just download the free kindle app and it should work just fine.

I originally planned to create 30 different short stories for NaNoWriMo that are around 3k words, so basically one a day. But after the math, that would lead up to 90,000 words. For NaNoWriMo you only have to do at least 50,000. On top of that, I need to get 30 book covers created and think of 30 different plots as well so it's a lot more work than I expected (sad face). Of course, this doesn't mean I won't try! I've done pretty well so far so I'll be glad if I even get 20 done.

I should get back to writing now but I just want to say thanks to everyone who has supported me so far and good luck to all of you participants out there!

Quick update (Book sales, writing, new book, plans)

It's been a little difficult adjusting to the whole writer/author label. As someone who HATED writing 5 page essays for class, I feel like this is a huge step for me.

At the moment I'm currently attempting to write a minimum of 2.5k words a day for the entirety of November. It seemed really difficult at first but I'm starting to get the hang of it. You just really have to push everything aside and get it done. I've signed up for http://nanowrimo.org/ (National Novel Writing Month) to further motivate myself. If you ever wanted to write a book, now's the time!

On another note, my book sales for The Man at the Airport exceeded my expectations! I want to thank each and every one of you out there who helped make that happen. I wish I had a few more reviews but I'm thankful for that one negative one and the multiple great ones given to me via Twitter & Facebook!  I don't think many people are familiar with my previous work (which isn't published, there's pretty much a 0% chance anyone will ever find it) so I'm glad that I have a few new readers!

For those wondering: the second part of The Man at the Airport should be released sometime this month. I've been working on other projects at the same time so bare with me!

I also released another short book today called My Personal Trainer: Heart Racing Cardio Edition on Amazon for $2.99! I had a lot of fun writing this book so I hope my readers will enjoy it as much as I did.

As for this blog, I'm still not entirely sure what direction I want to take it. I'd like to help indie authors like myself with all of the basics, from writing to publishing and even a bit of marketing. I guess we'll see as things progress!

Also a quick shout out to my email subscribers! I hope you like your gift ;] If you aren't already subscribed to my email list, feel free to do so HERE. I usually post updates and occasionally give away freebies at any moment so if you're not already subscribed, you're missing out!

I hope all of you had a great Halloween, don't forget to brush!

That's all for now, have a great day/night everyone!!

-Trace Dex