Timeline: From Idea to Publication

With great pleasure I introduce guest, Maria Zannini, as she blogs about how long it takes to bring a book to market.  You can join her on her roadshow as she celebrates her new release, The Devil to Pay.
Timeline: From Idea to Publication

How long does it take to get from idea to publication when we’re talking Indie? You might as
well ask how long is a piece of string.

I won’t swear on a stack of bibles because honestly, I didn’t time myself. But I have a fair idea of
how many months, weeks, days, hours it took me to get from idea to publication for a novella.
The idea

I’ll have to take a gimme on this one. The Devil To Pay was already a done deal. I had even
written a draft, and then rewrote it so I could submit it to an anthology. First draft: 3 weeks
Note: At the time I wrote this, I had no intention of self-publishing.

The writing/editing

Once I decided it was going to be self-published I had to give it a hard look and determine if it
was any good. Usually, the editor or agent tells you this. But since I didn’t turn it in anywhere,
the ultimate decision was mine. Was it crap or could it do a little devil dance for me?
I polished it again after my critique partners returned it to me. Then I sent it to an editor. All in
all it took about 10 days before I got back all my feedback.

After that it was time to polish. Again. Add another ten days.

Total: 20 days to write and rewrite a novella that had grown from 23K to 29.5K.

While I was waiting for feedback, I started searching for cover art. I was an artist in my last life
and I pulled out all the stops. This was no longer about my story, but my cover as well. I didn’t
want my fellow artists to point and laugh at me.

The cover art

Since I started searching for art simultaneously while waiting for feedback, I’ll deduct the
overlap. For those of you keeping score at home though, I spent approximately twelve days to
find and finesse the final art you see.
Six days to pull all the art cuts I liked. Two days to try out various layouts and models. One day to find fonts.

Three days to ‘fix’ the model I eventually chose. The poor girl needed hair, cropping, scars
removed, hair accessories removed, skin smoothed, the background removed, and shadows
created. She had a real makeover. :sigh: If only I could do that for myself.
Note: Except for searching for art, most of those days were 2-4 hours per day. Only the initial
art search took 6-8 hours per day. I looked through three databases, finally choosing one and
began the arduous task of seeing what they had to offer.

Total time not counting the days I used while waiting for feedback: Two days

Total time overlapped with editing: 12 days

Formatting

Let me state right now. I hate formatting. It’s tedious, mind numbing work. It felt like it took
months. In truth, it only took a couple of hours from start to finish.

Total Time for each format, Smashwords and Kindle: Four hours

Total (perceived) Time it sucked the life out of Maria: at least three years.

Add everything up all together and from idea to published novella it comes to 43 Days and 4
Hours.
I am hoping now that I have a better grasp of what kind of stock art is available, the cover will
go faster next time. But there’s nothing I can do about the life-sucking hours of formatting. If
you’re going to do it yourself, you’re going to have to donate your brain cells to the underverse.
So what do you think? Did my timeline give you any surprises? How long do you think it would
take you?
***

I hope you’ll follow along with the rest of the Indie Roadshow as I share the things I learned on
my road to self-publishing.

The Devil To Pay is available at Amazon and Smashwords for only $2.99. It is the first book of
the series, Second Chances.

Synopsis: The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and bad tequila. Shannon McKee finds
herself at the end of her rope, and she bargains her soul in a fit of despair.

Shannon’s plea is answered immediately by two men who couldn’t be more different from one
another. Yet they share a bond and an affection for the stubborn Miss McKee that even they
don’t understand.

When Heaven and Hell demand their payment, Shannon has no choice but to submit. No
matter who gets her soul, she’s not getting out of this alive.

Bio: Maria Zannini used to save the world from bad advertising, but now she spends her
time wrangling chickens, and fighting for a piece of the bed against dogs of epic proportions.
Occasionally, she writes novels.

Follow me on Facebook or my blog.

Thank you for visiting Maria.  Good luck with your release.

How Do I Get There?

More and more authors are investigating the self-publishing route.  I only know a few bare bones about it, but tomorrow I'll have a guest who really knows what she's doing.  Maria Zannini will be my guest expert tomorrow.  I hope you'll visit while she shares a timeline from idea to publication.  How long does it take to do all the preparation and then get that book up on Amazon?  Maria will tell us. You'll also get a look on the book she worked so hard to produce, The Devil to Pay.

Have you self-published? How long did it take you?

Feedback

Finally.  I put aside all the duties of family and made it to a meeting of a group of local writers.  They meet the last Wednesday of every month.  A few members of the group have invited me in the past but the timing never worked out for me to make an evening meeting.  Since I dropped my membership in RWA at the end of last summer, I've missed meeting with fellow writers face to face.  Thank you to Don Helin for inviting me.

The group met at the local B&N since Borders closed. Even though it's about a 35 minute trip in heavy traffic, I felt I really needed some person to person connection.  It was great.  Twelve writers attended, a multiple of genres represented, and together discussed where to go for the next meeting.  B&N didn't really want us there taking up space in the cafe.  Scrooges.  Next month will be in a local library.

After getting the organization items out of the way, the group hunkered down to the real purpose of their meetings.  A number of the attendees had brought up to five pages of a piece of work.  They passed around hard copies for everyone.  We took a few minutes to read and mark, and then went around the circle and gave feedback.  One of the rules is for the author not to respond to what is said.  It was very friendly.  The scope of knowledge and professionalism makes me regret not getting to this group earlier.

So what kind of feedback should one give?  I think it's important to start with the positive.  Good dialogue, great characters, interesting setting or perhaps an engaging plot.  But you don't really help anyone if you're only positive. 

At least one of the things shared was not of a genre I like reading so I tried to only pay attention to the words on the page.  If I felt I couldn't relate to the characters or their behavior, I kept my mouth shut unless I could specifically say what didn't work about them.  If I thought the pacing too slow, I searched for where the writing could be tightened.  It was my first time giving feedback in such a setting.  Usually I do this sort of thing online and not in real time so I have more time to figure out the words that are constructive rather than destructive.  I did know enough to try and end with a positive observation.  Writing is tough and anyone who can stay at it deserves some pats on the back.

Fortunately, the group gathered made few grammatical or punctuation errors.  Do you ever do face to face critique sessions?  What is the most important feedback you feel you can give or receive?

Rules of Writing

I'm going to guess most writers have some brand of style book hovering around near their writing desk.  You can even find style books online.  In them and in any other number of reference sites, books and classrooms, you can learn the 'rules' for writing.

This quote was in the monthly newsletter for Pennwriters:

"There are three rules for writing the novel.  Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." - W. Somerset Maugham

The longer I'm in the business of writing the more I believe in that quote.  I'm not sure when I realized ending a sentence with a preposition isn't really a sin though lots of editors don't like it.  Let's face it though, when we speak we end sentences in prepositions all the time.  Some sentences sound better with the preposition at the end.  How many of you have had editors who insist you don't have a single of, from, or whatever before the period.

I had an editor who insisted I remove every 'being' from my manuscript even the ones like, 'human being.'  She frustrated me a little.  Another editor insisted throughout an entire 450 page book that I should refer to the horse in my book as 'he.'  She wanted the stallion to always be called 'it.'  I threw a few things when I worked with her. 

How about not starting a sentence with a conjunction?  But I do this all the time.  And so do lots of authors, many of them very successful.  Because sometimes starting with a conjunction conveys the meaning the author wants.

So what 'rules' of writing do you break on a regular basis?  Which rules don't you like to see broken? Have you ever had an editor or critique partners who insisted you break no rules?

Wish List

I guess most writers have becoming a bestselling author or having one of their novels made into a movie.  Those interviews on the morning 'news' shows would be great stuff when our publisher flies us to New York.  Ahh, dreams. 

But besides those biggies I have some things on my writer's wish list I intend to make happen.  One of these days, maybe even next year, I'm going to attend BEA and grab up lots of goodies and meet some of my favorite authors.  I've heard you can get lots of freebies, T-shirts, pens, candy, totes and BOOKS! I'm going to do it.

I'm going to attend one of the big 'cons' like the recent ComicCon.  I think all my children would love to go along to one of those.  That wish is a little further in the future but I'm still going to do it.

Not next year but perhaps the year after, I want to go on a writer's retreat.  I'm not sure where or when, but I do know what I want.  Writers, a private room, a peaceful outdoor setting for long walks, someone to fix meals and make coffee, and time to write, write, and write.

What things are on your wish list that you can make happen rather than just hope they some about someday?  Have you even done a writer's retreat? Where? 

Where Do We Go Now?

I know many of you are mourning the loss of your local Borders store the same as I am.  I don't have the fortune of having an independent book store near me.  There are two used book stores not too far away but one is inconvenient and the coffee out of the range of even an addict like me.  The other is so tightly packed with books one can't move let alone relax and browse.

My daughter and I visited our beloved Borders yesterday as they started their clearance sale.  The cafe and even the bathrooms were closed.  All the tables and chairs, even the soft ones scattered throughout the store, were gone. The things I usually buy in Borders, fantasy and mystery, were only be offered at 10% off, so I didn't pick up any books.  I thought to look for a new planner for 2012 or a great calendar but they were no where in sight.  The special coffees and really cool mugs were also missing. I guess those poor overworked souls who usually hustled around behind the counter in the cafe were the first to lose their jobs.

My daughter picked up three books, two she needed for her AP classes in the coming school year.  The only great buy was 40% off of magazines.  I picked up one fitness magazine, one cooking magazine and three for writers.  My daughter found three for herself. 

The man who checked me out has worked at the store as long as I've shopped there.  I gave him my sympathy for the loss of his job.  He told me our store was actually a great money maker for Borders but it was going down with the rest of the ship.  He also gave me so hope by sharing the rumor that Books A Million might move into some of the stores spot that have had great performances. 

As we walked to the car, my daughter talked about how sad it was.  We can still drive for 25 minutes over crowded highways to visit the nearest Barnes and Noble but it won't be like having the bookstore ten minutes away.  The B&N has always been crowded and will be even more so now.  I won't retreat there to work on edits or my blogs when the homestead proves too distracting.  There are no coffee shops I know of to use as a quiet though public office.  It was sad.

Are you losing your local Borders?  Do you have a bookstore you visit for no other reason than the wondrous feeling of being surrounded by books?

Book In Hand

Most authors remember the thrill of holding their first book in their hand.  The UPS guy delivers that box packed with unmarked, perfectly new and untouched books with your name as the author.  They even smell good.  It was thrilling.

Today my sixth fantasy romance novel, Tiger's Mate, was released in ebook in April and today it came out in paperback.  I'm thrilled to have another one of my books in print and I'll be ordering some copies for myself tomorrow.  My publisher, New Concepts Publishing, is a small, but successful and well-established publisher.  Like most small, independent publishers, you won't find their books in the big stores.  Borders (if they're even in business later this week)  won't set up a signing for my romance novels.  With independent bookstores on the endangered list, it's more and more difficult to find venues to sell my print books.  That used to bother me.

I've grown past my need to see my book gracing the shelves in a bookstore, though I still love that, and come to the realization I make more money off the sales of ebooks.  And I don't need to search across three states to find a bookstore willing to set me up at a table inside the front door. The number of print books I'll sell won't pay my son's college tuition next year but each one is an extra little treat. I hope some people put it on their 'keeper' shelf.

As an author, do you see more of your earnings from ebooks or print?  Do you have a 'keeper' shelf for the books you want to keep and reread over and over again?