Make a decision: Are you going to be a traditional author or go indie? Both have their advantages and disadvantages. If you have specific questions, send them to me at [email protected].

Beware of these sites that tell you they are publishers and will make you a New York Times best seller in six weeks. They can’t and they won’t. These predators pray on new writers and are chiefly responsible for people getting out of writing before they have had a chance to really do any real work. 

There are all kinds of things you need to do to submit, but I will tell you that there are literally tons of sites out there who deal with how to prep a manuscript for an agent and how to write a letter to the agent. 

Instead of trying to walk you through all the rules, I am going to send you to a couple of useful websites. https://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-10-dos-and-donts-of-writing-a-query-letter and https://www.janefriedman.com/query-letters/. Both have some great information.

Remember that. An agent works for you in the sense that they get a percentage of what the book sells for. 

You need to make sure your manuscript is in whatever format the agent tells you to put it in. Agents get a gazillion submissions and they don’t have time to waste on a manuscript where the author demonstrates they don’t want to follow the rules.

Indie publishing is a whole different taco. You are in the driver’s seat, and responsible for the success or failure of your work. It pays to keep a weather eye on everything you do.

Go to Amazon and scroll all the way to the bottom you will see a link to Kindle Direct Publishing, or KDP. There is a reason Amazon is the big boy on the indie stage right now. They made it easy. I won't post a link to Amazon.

Draft to Digital is another big one out there. https://www.draft2digital.com/ They will not only allow you to upload your books, but they will also distribute them to more than just Amazon. However, the downside is that they don’t do hard copy. KDP will and that is a big seller for them.

A big competitor with Amazon right now is Ingriam Spark. I have only had limited experience with them. They charge a set-up fee for each book. I can only say that a lot of people use them and seem to be happy. https://www.ingramspark.com/

Before posting though, consider using a professional formatter. I use one because I am not very good at it. 

My formatter charges thirty bucks and ten for revisions. I have been super happy with her over the years. Her name is Michelle Macqueen and she is an author of Young adult. Her website, if you want to contact her about her raft of services is https://michellelynnauthor.com/

But it all comes down to you as an indie. There are no shortcuts in the world of writing whether you go the traditional route or the inide. Do your homework and make sure you do your best writing. Most of all, remember why you got started writing in the first place.  

If you liked this podcast, consider subscribing so you can stay on top of whenever a new podcast comes out. If you heard anything which piqued your interest and want to know more, you can contact me at 

[email protected] 

www.bryannowak.com 

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