Earlier this year I released my first book on Amazon titled Cloud Atlantis, it's an interpretation of human creation through a dystopian, fictional novella. The experience taught me a lot about the writing process and independent book distribution, so I've collected a few of the most important lessons I learned!
Make an Outline!
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When conceiving a book, most authors come up with an ingenious beginning or ending to a story. Whether it's elaborate or in its earliest stages, this initial idea almost never consists of the story as a whole, only a small part of it. One of the most important parts to dedicating oneself to writing an entire book is making sure that book actually has a plot, and that means making an outline and understanding which characters appear when, what's going on, and simply establishing a general concept of what is happening so that as you write your next best seller you have something to reference.
Don't Slack Off in the Middle
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Following the theme of the first point, the beginning and ending to a story are usually the most interesting parts. Painting the picture of the world you're creating and reaching the climax of the plot are the two most exciting aspects of literature to write, but that does not mean that you can lose passion in the middle. This ultimately leads to one of two things happening: you either give up on writing the book halfway through, or your audience gets bored and doesn't make it to the interesting parts at the end. These are both extremely detrimental effects for any author, and you want to avoid them at all costs.
If You Can't Advanced Edit PDFs, Find Someone Who Can
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Oh my goodness. I legitimately spent multiple hours every day for three weeks trying to format my book on my own. I ended up figuring out how to do it properly, but please, if you aren't educated in editing PDF files or exporting them in specific sizes, do not put yourself through the pain of formatting the cover of your book and each individual page on your own. Ask for help.
KDP Select is Your Best Friend
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KDP Select is one of the most glorious distribution deals to bless the world of self-published writing. If you're selling on Amazon and looking to get your book in more hands (and ultimately make more money), the publicity that you get through KDP Select is going to be your best option. Take advantage of it!
Judge a Book by its Cover
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We've all heard the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover," but we also all know that most people are going to judge actual books by their cover. Don't be afraid to invest in yourself and hire a digital artist to create a cover for you! You also have the power of Canva (a free digital cover editing website) at your fingertips. Also, make sure that your book's cover matches its theme because no one who picks up a book at Barnes & Noble with a cup of coffee and a croissant on the cover is going to expect to be reading an interpretation of a religious text.
