SURVEY RESULTS

First off, Congratulations to Anne Elisabeth and Ty: winners of the He Whistles for the Cricket giveaway! I will be emailing you both shortly to get your information so I can send you your books!

A few months ago, I posted a survey here and on goodreads for my fellow authors to supply some helpful information to young (or new) authors just starting out. I'm going to try to compile the answers here in a user-friendly format of some kind.

I had 13 authors respond to my questions, so not tons, but enough for a starting point.

1. Are you traditionally published or self-published?Of the thirteen, 1 said traditionally, 3 said both, and 9 said self

2. What caused you to go the route you went with your book (trad. vs. self)?For those who are published traditionally: Won a ContestThose that said both: One went traditionally first, then were curious about the self-publishing process and wanted to learn; one believes all authors should try to go the traditional route first for the experience, and one had their self-published book picked up after two years by a traditional publisherFor those that said self-published: couldn't get an agent to pick up their book, query-letter-writing burnout, disenchantment with traditional publishing, young age of author, recommendations from other author friends, book didn't fit in any particular genre that most publishing houses carry/promote, didn't want/need a traditional publisher's "approval."

3. If you are traditionally published, approx. how many queries did you send out before you got an agent or publisher?Anywhere from 0 - 300! (Three hundred being a number from one of the authors who has published both traditionally and the self-pub route)

4. If you are self-published, how did you go about finding editors/cover artists/web-designers (or did you do all that yourself)?Most of these answers varied: networking, self-editing (several of the authors who responded are professional editors), most recommend seeking out a professional editor (or getting a friend well-versed in punctuation, grammar, and spelling). Some do their own cover design, some have talented friends, and some pay a "professional."

5. What is your process to take your book from completed Rough Draft to Final Product?

• Write it, edit it, read it aloud to someone, edit again, send to editor, correct and submit
• I write consistently until my rough draft is finished. Then I don’t touch it for a month or two. I then begin the “macro-edit” (fixing plot/character/scenes) and then when I finish that, I do my “micro-edit” (grammar, spelling, wording, blah blah blah). The micro-edit goes through several different editors before I officially finish it.
• When I reach the first point of being "done" with a book, I give it a time-out for a while so I can come back to it with fresh eyes. After this read-through, I send my manuscript to about 3 different readers (family, friends) for their perspectives/fresh eyes. Then I take their notes and corrections, fix what I need to fix, and read through it one more time. Then I send it to my self-publisher (Infinity). They send me proofs, which again I give to readers while reading it myself for errors. When I'm finally happy, the Final Product gets published.
• I write it out as whatever I have going on in my head to create it. When it’s done I then go over it a few times before I try to find an one or two editors. I then go over the corrections and then make the decision as to whether or not it’s done.
• Revision, revision, revision.
• Lots of rewriting and editing. 2 beta readers. 1 manuscript assesment service. Lots more editing and rewriting. All up 2 years of time.
• Have as many people as possible read it and suggest corrections – when you are satisfied that you have gone as far as you can, pay a good editor to pull it to pieces.
• I do a lot of plotting, which means that my first draft is better than most. I do very little content editing after that first draft, just putting in details , clarifications, things I forgot the first time through, etc. Of course I do lots of line editing, but I run it through my critique group, which is very helpful. Then I run through a list of my own crutch words and check them on an individual basis.
• A lot of agonizing and second guessing. I have to flesh out the basic idea in my head before I can put it down on paper. Then I start writing and all the plans go out the window. Then I revise a few times, give to beta readers, and revise again.
• After completing the rough drapt, I send it to my editor. She used Track Changes and we get it ready to go. I have printed out the format instructions from smashwords. I used thes instructions and format the book for nook, kindle, and smashwords. I publish on all three of those. Then I put book pages, headers, and change to large print (18 pt.) for lulu. I like ot have my print copies in large print. It gives me an extra edge. I then download onto lulu, order a copy for myself to see how it turned out. Besides paying my editor, this is the only money I spend on my book.
• I do a rough outline. A detailed character description. And I usually write long hand on a pad for the rough draft before putting it into the computer.
• My books normally go through 75-80 drafts. I block out the story in the first 3 or 4, then go back and start fleshing it out. Then I foreshadow, tie up loose strings, and link things in ch 2 to what happens in ch 10 etc.

As you can see... most people talked more about editing than anything else. It's important!

6. For self-published authors: who do you use to get your books printed?Most said Createspace. One said Lulu. A few said Smashwords for their e-book versions. One recommended Infinity. And one said Lighting Source Ingram.7. What do you perceive to be the biggest hurdle for an author who wants a traditional publisher to pick them up?EditingDoing something "big" enough to get noticedGaining attention amidst the millions of other entriesReally stand out, be marketableLots of rejectionsBeing new on the sceneImpatiencePickiness of traditional publishersRisk of a new author

8. What do you perceive to be the biggest hurdle in the self-publishing industry?Lots of poorly written books flooding the marketplaceMarketingSetting your own deadlinesHard to get discovered in the ocean of self-published booksThe time that you have to spend away from writing doing promotional stuffHaving to do all the work yourselfFinding your audience/readers

Hopefully something in there was helpful to someone. Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer the questions!Stay tuned, because later this week I will be sharing a picture of the Map of Aom-igh!!! I am very excited to be able to share that with you!