Publishing – Page 2 – Alexie Linn, the Author, and Homespun Rebel

Posted on January 12, 2024January 4, 2024 by Alexie Linn

How to Write and Publish Your Book in a Month – or Less

Did I fall and bump my head? Doesn’t it take months and years to finally sniff the ink and feel the pages of your baby?

It can. But it doesn’t have to. You hold the keys to that brand new car. That means you’re the boss. Do you want to park it in the garage and sit in it occasionally? Or take it out for a spin and let the world ooh and ahh at it?

It’s your choice.

I choose to share my fiction and nonfiction babies with the world. And I choose to share with you how I do it. If you need proof… give my method a shot and see for yourself. Ready? Set? GO!

Much of the project to publish a book a month is done…

Granted, much of the general work has been done in my head before I sit down to write. But like the fuel used to buzz around town in the car, that time doesn’t count. The general work that doesn’t use fuel or punch the timeclock is:

The what if that the story is about
The setting – the where this story takes place
The very rough outline of how it will unfold and play out
The characters that raise their hand and have a story to tell
The genre
How many words it will take to tell the story

I’ll use Sally the Loner Meets the Sourdough Kid as an example.

What if the paperwork got mixed up at the hospital-to-rehab center loading dock? And you landed at the Alzheimer’s Care Center instead of rehab…with no cellphone?
In metro Phoenix, Arizona and the middle of nowhere desert
What will Sally do? Who will listen? Who are her antagonists? Who will help? How will Sally escape both the center and the city?
Characters will include caregivers, antagonists, and sidekicks.
It’s a cozy mystery and adventure – or misadventure
And need 30,000 or more words for a fast read, feel good novella

Set up the files to publish a book a month

Given the above parameters, I sit down at the computer. I begin with setting up a ‘Sally the Loner Meets the Sourdough Kid’ folder. Within the folder I ready these files:

Manuscript
Cast of Characters
Description

I’ll set-up additional publication files when the manuscript is finalized.

Any characters who made appearances previously are copied and dropped into the Cast of Characters file for continuity. This is where a Master File of Characters comes in handy. And here is the program I use to create and maintain my Master File of Characters. I’m so pleased with the Plottr app that I have affiliated with the company to make it easier for you to ferret out. Click on this Plottr link to see for yourself and to buy me a cup of coffee if you decide it will work great for you, too.

But back to the Cast of Characters for this book.

One is Joan Freed, the rebel life coach niece of Sally. Another is Jenny Crawford, Joan’s sidekick friend with her trusty six-gun. And Jenny’s polka dot rescue Chihuahua, Patches, and so on…

Write the Description

I begin with writing the description. It will change, I guarantee, but the description steers through the conglomeration of events to stay roughly on track.

It’s time to dive into the manuscript.

Next comes the story…

First the front matter, leaving the dedication blank until the book is complete. Also inserting pagination and headers because I’ve been known to forget that detail. It’s embarrassing.

If I write 2,000 words a day – 1-2 chapters – the draft will be ready to cool for the first edit in two weeks. I use the minimum 3-day cool down time to create a cover and prepare promotional materials.

Now the Edits…

After the first edit, I get right to the grammar and readability edit with Hemingway. There are several other options for grammar and readability like Grammarly and ProWriter. But I find Hemingway to be the simplest and most streamlined for me.

I copy and paste the manuscript one chapter at a time into Hemingway; make any changes to the manuscript itself, not the chapter being scrutinized in Hemingway; and proceed with the next chapter. I’m not reading the story. I’m looking for hard-to-read sentences and overuse of adverbs or passive words.

An important note about editor apps!

Your editor app may not alert you to missing quotes. And definitely will not flag muddied speakers names. Be sure to clarify who is speaking! Dialogue without identifying who is speaking is confusing.

I once pulled down a book to rewrite and republish as a new and different book because of a 3-star review that was caused by missing quotes and unclear speakers. The reviewer liked the story but found it difficult to read.

The third and final edit – the one that I approach from a fresh reader’s eyes – comes after another cooling off period.

When all the Edits are complete…

Rewrite the description
Fill in the dedication
Add the backmatter
Format the print file
Upload the eBook and print files to Amazon and D2D

Finished! You’ve proven you can publish a book a month.

Voila! Finished within a month! Rinse and repeat for the magical experience of achievement.

But just one more thing…

Yes, there is still work to be done. Work like creating the narrator version and so on. But that’s fodder for another post. I declare this one done!

As always, email me here with your questions and pleasant thoughts.

In the meantime, get going on your baby! Daylight’s burnin’!

Happy Trails and Tales….

Behind the Scenes of a Productive Author

Does this happen to you? It happens to me.

Each time I decide what I want to be when I grow up, a picture comes into my head. The picture invariably is of me (and my team) with the shiny finished product with throngs of people lined up to buy or use that gorgeous piece I’ve created. Cash is flowing. People are jubilant and crying for more…

But is it that simple?

Hmm. Not so much.

I’ve flipped career paths several times over the years simply because of the behind the scenes demands.

Demands like:

Graveyard shifts because I’m a morning person. I turn into a pumpkin at sundown.
Working with a redneck crew that shun and torment a woman in their midst.
Micro managers that must give permission for a bathroom break when it will affect no one else on the floor.

It’s easy to block out the details of what goes into the production of a product. Especially when you have no clue until you get there; having leapt smack into the bubbling pot of goo.

So, in preparation of your leap into becoming a productive author, here’s a peak at what goes on behind the scenes to get a book from thought to publication at Alexie Linn, Author.

The Inspiration:
- Ask the question. Define the problem that needs a solution. (The reason for writing the book)
- Who are the characters that have the problem? What is each character’s quirk?Does the protagonist need a sidekick?
- Make the antagonist 3 dimensional. Why are they so darned antagonistic?
Outline the story — make a gazillion decisions:
- How does the story begin?
- What led to the problem?
- Where is the problem happening? Research places.
- What are the options to fix the problem?
- Refine the options with what happens along the way
- Research the options for suitable fixes
- Attempt to fix the problem
- Keep working the fixes until one clicks.
- Will the chosen venue work?
- Tie up all the loose ends… or leave them dangle?
Write the story:
- How much material have you to work with?
- What’s the slant? What are you selling to whom?
- Who will be reading it? A pre-schooler or a scholar?
- Average 5-letter words or 20-letter words?
- How many chapters? About how many words per chapter?
- How many total words?
  - Is it a:short story (1,500-30,000 words);
  - a novella (18.000-40,000 words);
  - a novel (40,000-150,000 words);
  - a flash fiction (300-1,500 words); or
  - a nonfiction (25,000-150,000 words)
- Decide whether to start at the beginning, middle, or end.
- Look for a publisher (write and submit a proposal) or indie publish (write the proposal for yourself or just skip it)?
Publish the Book
- Prepare the manuscript for indie publication
- Write or rewrite the description
- Select key words or phrases for search engines to snag —
- Design the cover
- Write and arrange for Pre-order ads
- Run the editing gambit (See Publishing Checklist)
- Publish to the website with available when date
- Format the MS for E-book and Print versions
- Upload to the server(s) – Phew! — Almost done…
- Prepare the narrator’s version of the manuscript
  - Remove photos and anything else that the narrator should not read or describe.
  - Compile an audition script; including character ages and voice inflections like a stutter, lisp, or an accent.Select a narratorNegotiate a contract with the narrator
  - Upload the narrator version of the manuscript
Promote, promote, promote
- Order author copies of print versions for promotion and gig sales
- Schedule book signing and sales gigs
- Post the new book to social media servers from the website often and frequently
- Write the blog
Repeat steps 1 through 5

And there you have it. A nutshell peek at behind the scenes of Alexie Linn, Author.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this behind-the-scenes journey and are now more prepared to dive into the very busy life of authorship.

The inspiration, outline, write, and publish process takes about 30-days for this author. Promotion never ends.

I’ve seen books promising you can do it all in 7-days. And I just opened an email from a homesteading blogger that her 85,000-word book is finally done. Her project took 5-years.

We each work at the speed that best suits us… or that providence allows. The most important step is to keep plugging away at it. Artificial intelligence does it faster. But it will never do it better than you. Strive for perfection, but keep going to the end.

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Alexie Linn

Guess Who Crashed Dinner… For a Free Book…

Guess Who Crashed Dinner for a free book!

Yesterday morning I rolled out of bed and promptly added my flannel shirt, thermal undies, and cozy socks before even considering making coffee.

This morning I rolled out of bed and added nothing to my lightweight nighty. Why? Because it was still 74° in my tiny house at 2 am!

Did you guess who crashed dinner for a free book?

If you guessed good old dependable Sol, you are correct! What did you win? A free e book or paperback review copy of Book 6 in the Sally the Loner Series.

What else do you have to do to get the book?

Follow my blog on alexielinnauthor.com and Email me your address of where to ship or cyber-send your book and whether you want a large print paperback or e book when it makes its debut in the next few weeks. It’s that simple.

Why am I doing this?

Besides what else can you do when it’s 98° in the shade on April 10, 2023, it’s one step in the launch process of publication.

One step in several, depending on how focused you are on sales and promotion.

This particular publication process started with the pre order sale on Amazon. You can receive all pre-publication sale notices by following me, Alexie Linn, on Amazon.

The launch of the pre-order sale commits me to a stop editing, start formatting timeline to get the completed manuscript uploaded. And it’s free advertising for us writers. Why the heck wouldn’t I do that first?

After the final edits and gazillion formats are finished, I upload the manuscript to Amazon. Then move on to D2D to supply all the other favorite retailers and library services with the story.

The final step is to add the book and more details to my website then share it to social media.

And that’s where Guess Who Crashed Dinner For a Free Book barges in…

From my Alexie Linn Author website, I can spread the word even further.

But why will I give you, on my dollar, a chance to read about Sally’s latest mysterious misadventure? I want to know what you, my peer, liked (or didn’t like) about the story, including the cover.

And, in case you missed the memo, Sally the Loner is an 87-year-old spunky woman who lives in an igloo in the desert. Things just happen to Sally.

All she really wants is to be in control of her own daily life. But is she?

In Book 6, The Sourdough Bakeoff, Sally gets roped into being the named contestant for Bobby, the sourdough kid. As with any good cozy mystery, bodies appear. And a slew of good – and not so good – characters throw wrenches – or is it sourdough — into the contest.

Learn more about The Sourdough Bakeoff here.

But if sourdough is not your thing… see all the Sally the Loner Series titles here.

There are several links to follow Alexie Linn listed below. Opt in to never miss out on what she’s up to in the publishing world.

Your like and share clicks are greatly appreciated. Yet another reason to give you a free quality read.

Happy Publishing,

Alexie Linn, et al

P.S. Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and follow me on Facebook. New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

BUT! If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

Subscribe to my You Tube Channelto not miss a fun and entertaining Book Trailer. They’re short. They’re mesmerizing. And they won’t waste your time.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Alexie Linn

How Many is Enough?

How many published books does it take to declare ‘That’s Enough!’?

That depends. What’s your criteria to be met?

Is it …

Your pen name being a household word?
Selling a certain number of books?
Publishing a certain number of books?

Not too long ago, I asked myself, “How many published books will take me over the top so I can relax and sit at the big kid table?”.

I asked Google how many books a few of my pretend mentors have published. Here’s what I found:

James Patterson has published more than 200 books, according to Wikipedia. He’s a household word in my book.
Erle Stanley Gardner – my all-time favorite pretend mentor – wrote upwards of 150 books, according to Wikipedia.
Dianne Harman – my Cozy Mystery pretend mentor – has published 153+. She’s a household word in my head.
John Grisham has published at least 31. Huh?

How many books have I published? About 35. John Grisham, what’s your secret?

Is my pen name a household word? Yes! In a select few superb households.

How many books have I sold? I don’t know. If I’m counting how many books I’ve sold, I’m not writing the one that will put me over the top.

How much promoting do I do? What? I have to promote?

Because if I’m promoting, I’m not writing the one that will put me over the top.

Is that the answer to ‘You know you’re a writer when…..’? When I’m writing the one that will move my name to the big kids’ table takes precedence over sales?

But how will I know I’ve done it if I’m still swimming in a fine kettle of fish?

So, back to the original question…

How many is enough?

For me, it’s when I say it is.

Where’s my pencil and paper…

Happy Trails and Tales

Alexie Linn

P.S. Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and follow me on Facebook. New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

Subscribe to my You Tube Channelto not miss a fun and entertaining Book Trailer. They’re short. They’re mesmerizing. And they won’t waste your time.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on March 4, 2023 by Alexie Linn

The Checklist

The Checklist?

As an indie publisher one’s hats multiply like dustbunnies. Not only must you, the author, think of the book, write it, and edit it; but you must perform or cause cover creation and precise formatting for publication to happen. And you, the all-knowing author, are the head-hauncho of it all. You will take red hot poker heat for even one egads.

As for my experience, there’s nothing quite as embarrassing as forgetting to paginate or not catching misspelled words. Why? Because Daddy would have me jailed in my room for that. And Grandpa would be the jailer.

Why does it happen? Because I get in a hurry and zip over what I think I have down pat. I do. I confess. When I’m overwhelmed my mind turns to gloppy oatmeal. When the oatmeal oozes, important details go on an adventure.

But when it comes to publishing a new book, zero mistakes is better.

To reduce the risk or prevent embarrassing and time-consuming mistakes altogether, I now use a pre-publish checklist.

It looks like this:

First edit – for tightening, flow-test, spelling, punctuation, and …
Second edit – into Hemingway (one chapter at a time) for grade level, adverb overuse, passive, lazy actions, and confusing sentences… like this one.
Third edit – for reading experience details like titling, consistency, table of contents, pagination, copyright, and credits.
Fourth edit – After the cool-down period. For page-turning prose and spelling. The final step before preparing the manuscript for specific formats.

I format for *E book, **Print, and ***Narrating. Sometimes for ****Serializing.

Different Book Formats Require Different Formats — Add to the Checklist:

Note: My experience is with Amazon Kindle and D2D.

*E Books

The original manuscript is for E books. All other formats are ‘save as’ from this original manuscript.

I go through all four edits completely before copying for different formats because… wait for it…

If you change even one period anywhere after the reproductions are made, you have to remember to change the period in all the others… It’s a time consuming and hair-pulling affair.

So, before I replicate the original manuscript for other formats, I go through one more time. This time to confirm that:

All the chapters are listed in proper numeric order within the Table of Contents. No chapter numbers are missing or out of order.
Each chapter fits on one line of the Table of Contents.
No words are misspelled unless I intend them to be.

It’s time to format.

*E-book – No changes to the original manuscript.

**Print – Paperback and Hardback – Change the paper size (or margins) to ½ inch smaller than the size of the finished book. For instance… a 6”x 9” book needs a 5 ½”x 8 ½” paper size.

Scroll the entire manuscript for visual issues and blank pages. Double check the Table of Contents for one chapter per line. Shorten chapter titles and/or reduce the font-size within the Table to make it fit – one line per chapter.

If PDF is the preferred file type, be sure to open the ‘options’; check ‘PDF-a Compliant’ to embed the fonts. Without this step, you will get an error message about embedding fonts. And it takes a lot longer to process your book for previewing. A bunch longer!

***Narrating

Put yourself in the storyteller’s shoes. Remove anything that your talented, oh so valuable, narrator cannot read… like:

Pictures
Drawings

Then it’s good to go.

Simplify web links. Instead of ‘https://www.alexielinnauthor.com’, make it ‘alexielinnauthor.com’. Make it easy for the narrator to read. And easy for the listener to hear clearly.

****Serializing

Change the ‘Chapter…’ to ‘Episode…’ at the logical ‘Episode’ divisions.

And that’s about it. Unless I’ve forgotten something.

Happy Publishing…

Alexie Linn

P.S. Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and follow me on Facebook. New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

Subscribe to my You Tube Channelto not miss a fun and entertaining Book Trailer. They’re short. They’re mesmerizing. And they won’t waste your time.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on December 16, 2022December 18, 2022 by Alexie Linn

How-To Train a New Computer

How-to Train a New Computer. Ugh!

Do you dread changing your phone and computer? Do you think you have better things to do than to crack the whip on yet another electronic device?

Me, too. That’s why step one is written in stone. Here it is, chiseled out on my new laptop…

Step One – Don’t fling it across the room!

Take a breath. Sit down calmly and play the game its way. Its maker wrote all the rules. It will play the way it was taught (programmed) until you discover its buttons and tweak it to play your way. You can do it!

When my old laptop took longer to start, open programs, and shutdown than it takes for me to write two chapters, I knew I had to replace it. It’s six+ years old. It had written and published a gazillion words with me.

It’s time for a new computer.

And it was a challenge. A mind-boggling challenge. I’m a writer. I know just enough about computers (and cars) to get myself in deep do-do.

Add technology that has raced in and flew out since I’d bought and trained my last laptop. …Size, prices, operating systems… too many and too much to slog through with confidence.

With books on the fire and deadlines to meet, I couldn’t ease into it.

Here’s what I did:

I made myself go to Walmart and snag the best Microsoft laptop deal from their shelf. I chose Walmart because I could return it fast and easy if it was defective. I wouldn’t waste days and weeks fussing with it.

Next is to spend at least one day learning the machine and its software.

Here’s what I learned about my new computer:

OneDrive is set to grab all my work and send it to ‘the cloud’. It was easy to stop it once I realized it was doing it. Google knew how. It was as simple as ‘right-click, unlink’… or something like that.
Microsoft wants to control all my downloads. It was easy to tell it to stop. Once I realized it was doing it. Simply remove the S from windows 11. Never mind that the S might stand for ‘Safety’.
Word will not autosave if OneDrive isn’t engaged. It’s easy to ‘control S’ myself to save my work. Once I realized it wasn’t saving every few minutes.
Yippee! MS Office can still be downloaded and updated to work offline. Without a subscription. That was a long-haul challenge. But it’s done. I’m free of Microsoft sucking my internet gigabytes and wallet dry.
Had I disabled OneDrive before I downloaded my files from the old computer, I may have had less hair-pulling issues finding the file I’m looking for. It’s a good thing I have a glut of hair to work with.
Browser screen size matters! The first computer I chose had too small of a browser display to preview and approve my new book. Yikes! I have to have a minimum browser display of 1200 x 600. The Lenovo Series 1 maximum size is 1028 x 768. It would not allow me to preview and approve the book for publication.

I’m slowly training my new computer to play my way.

No games, please. Just write, get email, manipulate pictures, start-up and shutdown quickly. Don’t interrupt me with notifications, ads, or draining the battery and my wallet. And keep me out of the cloud!

In summary, I and the new computer may become friends yet. Before it becomes obsolete and slower than molasses running uphill in January.

Like everything and everybody… it won’t win unless we let it. It’s up to you and me to figure out how. And we can!

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and follow me on Facebook. New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

Subscribe to my You Tube Channel to not miss a fun and entertaining Book Trailer. They’re short. They’re mesmerizing. And they won’t waste your time.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Alexie Linn

A Day-to-Write?

At last! A day off the Tilt-a-Whirl called a summer job to get my latest wip (work in progress) past the first 3 paragraphs and the initial characters built…

The laptop is open and booted; the 5 email accounts have been addressed and emails deleted; my website stats are foreboding because there’s been no time to promote and sell either. Word is open. The Description, Cast of Characters, and Chapter One stare back at me. Now what?

My eyes gaze out the window at the tall pine forest that house the pointy-eared squirrels and jays I perch among. I toss a handful of peanuts in the shell out the gaping door for them to snack on and entertain me.

I add to my list of what I must do today – my only day-to-write before the 4^th of July celebrators converge in full force.

What was I thinking? Where’s the time to write while I’m working?

I’m in it. The time is now. Right this minute. I switch gears to have a chinwag with myself, ‘This is not your first rodeo. With 30 odd books up and running – at least 80% written and published while working a fulltime managerial position – you can do this!’

Realizing this is my only ‘day-to-write’, I put this blog post on hold and switch to the Description page. Here’s the nutshell description:

Auctionhouse Murders – Description

Sally’s mother came for tea – 20 years after her death. The reason for the visit? To charge Sally with the task of clearing her mother (Sally’s Grandma Lydia) of three murders.

Then continuing with the ‘day-to-write’ attitude, here’s the opening chapter:

Sally the Loner Cracks the Case of the Auctionhouse Murders

“It’s true, Joany. She sat right there and ordered me to go solve those 75-year-old murders!” Sally leaned on the broom she was torturing with vigorous sweeping. “It makes no sense! But, my mama, the drama queen and director, will have her way.” She choked the broom handle and attacked the dust-free tile again, muttering.

“Auntie! You’re 87-years-old! The scene of the crimes is 1,800 miles away! The witnesses – if there were any – are long since dead.” She shook her head, her mouth gaping at her spunky aunt. “How do you plan to fulfill her wishes? Better yet, what will happen if you just let it go?”

Sally leaned on the abused broom again, “Hmmph! Oh, Joany girl.” She spoke succinctly, “She’s my mother. She WILL have her way.”

Joan threw her hands up into the air, “Alright then. What’s the plan? I’m not letting you get into this alone.”

Sally leaned the broom into the corner, plonked on the chair next to Joan, smiling. “Good girl.” Yanking a notepad and pencil out of her apron pocket, “Here’s what I was thinking…”

What do you think? A bestseller that you can’t wait to pre-order?

And how are you coming with your own bestseller? Grab the time. Hi-jack the moment. And get ‘er done!

Plus! In case you missed it…

Did you get the memo on ‘Adventures in Retort Canning’? Did you know you always wanted to know about that? Check it out!

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and follow me on Facebook. New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

Subscribe to my You Tube Channelto not miss a fun and entertaining Book Trailer. They’re short. They’re mesmerizing. And they won’t waste your time.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on April 7, 2022April 28, 2022 by Alexie Linn

Writing is Fun and Easy! Is there More To It?

Writing is the Fun and Easy Part! But Is There More To It?

If my treasured coffee mug wasn’t ‘Joan’s Dazzling Mug’, it would be the ‘I’d Rather Be Writing’ mug.

Writing engulfs, excites, and challenges my brain. The other steps of being a professional in my craft irritates and frustrates me. But it must be done if my creations are to entertain and fill a need in someone else’s life.

What’s the process when the current book has passed its almost final edit? Is it time to succumb to the call of the chaise lounge and bon-bons? Hmm… not quite. There’s still a few chores to complete before I can say ‘finis!’. So, onward with the to-do list of what this indie publisher does just before and when the writing is done…

First, remind yourself that ‘Writing is Fun and Easy’!

Share the news that a new read is on the way through social media and your email list (at least 3 times).
Final edit and format the manuscript for the intended market (Ebook, print, screen…)
Write the description – a long one and a short one.
Design and build a cover – I use Canva but there are others to choose from, including hiring others. Ask Google for a million leads.
Share the news that a new book is on the way again.
Upload to the marketplace(s) – currently Amazon and Draft 2 Digital for me.
Post the news that a new book is up and running.
Set-up the advertising you choose to get your book in the face of prospective readers – Amazon ‘Sponsored’ for one.
Write the narration version for the audiobook, don’t forget the minimum 1-minute to maximum 5-minute retail sample after ‘The End’.

Say again that ‘Writing is Fun and Easy!’

Be sure Goodreads has picked it up (set-up your Goodreads account if you haven’t already done so) and set the giveaways to run.

Collect the ‘additional categories’ your book should be listed in if Amazon Kindle is one of your marketplaces. I use Publisher Rocket (Competition Analyzer then Unleash the Categories) for this to save myself 62 hours of research headache.

Request (in Amazon Author Central) that your book be added to the additional categories you collected. Please be sure the additional categories are applicable to your book.

Post your book to the Audiobook service you use to get it narrated. My choice is ACX, but there are others.

One more time… ‘Writing is Fun and Easy!’

Post the book and description and purchasing links to your website.

Blog about the book.

Respond to any comments or requests that arrive.

Check your website stats to see what is getting attention through what source and expand on what’s working.

Learn more about promoting and selling, including a You Tube book trailer video. Here’s an example.

Take a breath… Ahhhh…

Start your next book if you haven’t already.

And there ya’ are. Done! Bring on the chaise lounge and bon-bons! I’m pooped.

But remember that ‘Writing is Fun and Easy!’

Next!

On that note…

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and follow me on Facebook. New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Alexie Linn

Is Spelling and Grammar Your Friend?

Is Spelling and Grammar You Friend? Did you catch that? Did you stop reading and want to fix it?

I have great news! You don’t have to. And you don’t have to be an English teacher to write a top-notch book. But you do have to know how to present a clean, clear, reader-friendly story to get top-notch reviews.

Coming up is two easy ways to polish your ‘spelling and grammar’ for clarity and happy readers.

But first I’ll tell you a story of my own about a book I just paid money for and read.

The book promised to show me how to write, publish, and sell videobooks. There were two major problems:

It was really a book of links and how-to’s for ranking on You Tube and Google. And promoting his choices of editors and producers.
The spelling was so bad that I had to stop reading to figure out what the author was saying… like ‘you’ for ‘your’. SEO doesn’t call these STOP words, but I do. I had to continually stop learning and rewrite the sentence to understand what he meant to say.

The result of these problems?

I’ll give his book 3 stars because he did have some good points in the how-to’s. But I’ll take off one star for the not giving what he promised in the title and description. And deduct another star for the spelling and grammar.

AND I feel cheated; ripped off; defrauded. I won’t buy another book by this author. That’s significant and crucial. I can’t trust him to keep his promise.

Having gotten that rant off my chest, here’s the two easy methods to rid your story of my personal ‘STOP’ words.

1. Your word processing program has ‘spelling and grammar’ checks as well as ‘readability’ scores and wordcounts.

I currently write in Word. The ‘Review’ tab is where I find ‘Spelling and Grammar’ check for the entire document. It does the work. You and I reap the rewards. Easy Peasy and how I’ve earned the ‘Quality Book Award’. Have you found and used your spell-check yet?

2. Hemingway gives ‘readability’ scores by grade level and more.

I suggest Hemingway because it offers a free version that’s quick and easy to check for adverbs, passive words, and hard-to-read sentences. But there are more to choose from if you want to spiral deeper into grammar.

One is Pro Writing Aid and another is Grammarly. Both of these also have a free version. Check them out and go with what works best for you. But do something to encourage reader-friendly prose.

Sadly, I can’t suggest a quick and easy program to give you a heads-up for an on-point title and description. That’s one you’ll have to figure out on your own. But please do that, too. Perhaps a beta reader that will give you quality feedback… another human? If you’re a one-person show, let your manuscript cool; step outside of it; and answer the questions from a new perspective.

Do I feel better now? Only if I’ve helped you see how important ‘spelling and grammar’ and on-point titles and descriptions are. Have I painted the picture in enough detail?

On that note…

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and follow me on Facebook. New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Alexie Linn

How To Publish on D2D

How To Self (Indie) Publish on Draft 2 Digital

The Draft 2 Digital publishing platform couldn’t be easier. Really.

It costs you nothing, zero, nada, to publish on D2D. It’s free to sign-up and free to publish. Royalty payments to you are paid monthly for most distributors. My royalties are deposited right into Paypal. No fuss, no muss. It just happens. Yay!

Once you sign-up, it’s a simple step-by-step process to upload your story, including Style choices that D2D applies to your manuscript.

Your upload then appears magically in oodles of Ebook markets like Barnes and Noble, Scribd, Hoopla, and so on and so on. Including Amazon.

One critical note:

If you upload separately to Amazon Kindle, do not select the KDP Select program. If you enroll your book in the KDP Select program, you cannot offer the same book anywhere else but through Amazon.

D2D also works with Findaway Voices to offer your book as an Audiobook. AND Print books are in the near future… but as a sign-up for the Beta Print List at this writing.

D2D and Smashwords are becoming joined. I will not include Smashwords sign-up anywhere in this site.

If I had to choose only one publishing platform, it would be D2D because its markets are so profuse. But I use both D2D and Amazon Kindle to grab as many reader’s attention as I can.

Sign-up here for Draft 2 Digital indie publishing.

On that note…

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and follow me on Facebook. New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Much of the project to publish a book a month is done…

Set up the files to publish a book a month

An important note about editor apps!

Finished! You’ve proven you can publish a book a month.

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I’ve flipped career paths several times over the years simply because of the behind the scenes demands.

So, in preparation of your leap into becoming a productive author, here’s a peak at what goes on behind the scenes to get a book from thought to publication at Alexie Linn, Author.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this behind-the-scenes journey and are now more prepared to dive into the very busy life of authorship.

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Did you guess who crashed dinner for a free book?

And that’s where Guess Who Crashed Dinner For a Free Book barges in…

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How many is enough?

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To reduce the risk or prevent embarrassing and time-consuming mistakes altogether, I now use a pre-publish checklist.

Different Book Formats Require Different Formats — Add to the Checklist:

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It’s time for a new computer.

Here’s what I learned about my new computer:

I’m slowly training my new computer to play my way.

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Realizing this is my only ‘day-to-write’, I put this blog post on hold and switch to the Description page. Here’s the nutshell description:

Then continuing with the ‘day-to-write’ attitude, here’s the opening chapter:

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First, remind yourself that ‘Writing is Fun and Easy’!

Say again that ‘Writing is Fun and Easy!’

One more time… ‘Writing is Fun and Easy!’

But remember that ‘Writing is Fun and Easy!’

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Coming up is two easy ways to polish your ‘spelling and grammar’ for clarity and happy readers.

1. Your word processing program has ‘spelling and grammar’ checks as well as ‘readability’ scores and wordcounts.

2. Hemingway gives ‘readability’ scores by grade level and more.

Share this:

Once you sign-up, it’s a simple step-by-step process to upload your story, including Style choices that D2D applies to your manuscript.

If I had to choose only one publishing platform, it would be D2D because its markets are so profuse. But I use both D2D and Amazon Kindle to grab as many reader’s attention as I can.

Share this: