Book formatting templates (Vellum vs Atticus?)

 I've had some authors ask if they should use Vellum to format and publish their books; it's an amazing software that makes things much easier, but only if you have a mac. Atticus is a newer program for PC users - but you *can* format a book in Microsoft Word if that's what you're used to. Check out my book formatting templates and tutorials to get started.

How to self-publish a book

 I've spent the last decade self-publishing and making a living with my writing, but it's gotten harder and more competitive. I have 3 free guides to self-publishing on my website, and the basics don't really change - you need a great cover, blurb and reviews - but it's gotten more competitive than ever. 

You can still profit from self-publishing on amazon, but it's going to take a lot of work, and investment of time and money. It's extremely rewarding - when you see progress - but demotivating when it feels like you're wasting time and spinning your wheels.

It doesn't have to be expensive, if you grab my DIY book design templates, but for real results you should consider paying for quality. However, don't assume you can just pay someone to make your book a success, that's something nobody else can do but you, and it often starts much earlier than publishing.

Common writing mistakes (editing for authors)

 Most people finish their book and begin looking for an editor or proofreader, but that's not always a good idea. Of course, you don't want any typos, but you can use Grammarly to catch most of them, and typos aren't your problem. To a great extent, the quality of the writing doesn't even matter that much. What really matters is the organization of the content, in an engaging fashion - which is mostly about withholding information to generate suspense and intrigue (what will happen next?) - that's pretty much the only thing you should be concerned with.

A quality developmental editor can help you tease out the main points of your story or narrative, and suggest fixes for plot holes, but they can't do everything, and they're expensive. You can do so much more on your own just by studying basics of plot and story structure, and avoiding the common writing mistakes most authors make.

Book Writing & the Author Lifestyle

 I forgot all about this blogger account I started a decade ago, and just found the login. I don't expect anyone is still reading this, but allow me to share a brief update: in the past ten years I've written 20 books, gotten a PhD in literature and been featuring in CNN for renting castles.

I'm currently updating my main blog with a huge design overhaul, to focus more on the kind of services and value I have to offer authors and writers. But mostly, I plan to get crypto-rich, buy a cabin, adopt a dozen cats and write fantasy novels until I quietly fade into the woods like a forest creature.