The beginning

So here we go. The first post of my new direction. So we're going to start by explaining what I'll be writing about & a little run down of my book.

After a ton of research on a long list of self publishing companies you'll find online I decided to write about them. What they offer, their prices, what you get, where their books rank and much more. I'll be using my book Vineyard House as an example so you can get a clear idea of the differences between companies.

So here's a little tid bit about my book. Vineyard House is a 90,908 word count YA Fantasy Fiction novel that needs to professionally edited and published. For a YA novel it has a long word count. Most YA novels are between 50,000 & 100,000 words. 

The publishing process is the longest process of many services. You have to design the layout of your interior (inside pages) and the outside of the book which can takes months of going back and forth with designers, ideas and art. You really have to think in deep detail of what you want people to see when they find it in the book section at Wal-Mart, down to the letters on the interior pages.

Now you don't have to go through a company to edit your manuscript. There are hundreds of resources out in the world that will help you edit grammar, punctuation and even flow of your writing. There are writer support groups in almost every city across america. You can even find message boards & chat room devoted to helping fellow writers edit and correct their writing.

There are also countless books at your local library on the subject if you wish to edit your own manuscript. Be very careful choosing a how-to manual. Make sure the copy is current and easy to follow. How-to manuals have very good information in them but try to remember they also have personal opinions as well.

You could always check your local craigslist.org as well. There are countless English majors trying to make money for college or their bills on craigslist. There are even a few professional. But before you hand off your life work or masterpiece be sure the person really knows what they are doing. I also recommend if you work it not already copyrighted to give them a chapter at a time instead of handing it all off to a complete stranger you met online. Never email your full work or hand it off on a jump drive.

So there are just a few options you have. Now if you decide none of those option are right for you and you would like to go with a company for all your publishing needs than be sure to check in here everyday as I disect the big online companies.