Author Exposed: Jeffery L. Schatzer

I love sharing advice from published authors. It’s always a good idea to gather information to see how other writers are getting things done. Author Jeffery L. Schatzer writes picture books and middle grade novels that are educational and fun. His Professor Tuesday adventures have excellent characters that kids can relate to.  I had the opportunity to review his book “Professor Tuesday’s Awesome Adventures In History: Book Three The Underground Railroad.”  Feel free to stop by Kristi’s Book Nook to learn more about the author and his books.

Mr. Schatzer has some great advice on how to get published.  His website has lots of interesting information and reviews of his works.

As you might suspect, many people have the same question of me. “How do I get a book published?”

My advice is simple. First, you have to love writing. Write for the sake of your own enjoyment. If your book or story is published, it is icing on the cake. Persistence is also important. After all, it only took 34 years to get my first book published. Though the route I took to get noticed by publishers was through self-publishing, that route isn’t for the timid. It is a tremendous amount of work. Plus, it isn’t cheap.

Being an author requires a good deal of discipline and focus, especially if you are going to write ‘The Great American Novel.’ If you write a great book, you also have to spend a lot of time promoting and selling it. That means traveling to bookstores and places that carry your books. If you like meeting people and sharing your love of ideas, it’s wonderful. If you enjoy the solitude of your own company and don’t care to mix with people, you may want to reconsider that whole author thing altogether.  Read more here.

Writing Credentials: Do You Have Any?

Writing (Photo credit: jjpacres)

I follow C. Hope Clark. She is the brains behind the newsletter Funds For Writers. She has been a helpful entity in regards to me learning more about the world of writing. Recently I read a post that actually made me chuckle out loud. It made me realize how far I have come in the writing process. This post talks about writers and what types of credible writing they have done. It also mentions that publishers and agents need to hear from writers who are actively pursuing a writing career. What made me chuckle was that I (years ago) never thought of mentioning when I submitted a manuscript that I am a technical writer. I did’t think that applied because I wanted to be a children’s author. So, I guess if you’ve written anything, published an article, won a contest, that qualifies as experience in writing. Check out the article. It’s short, sweet and to the point.

How would you reply if asked this question? Indignant? After all, everybody has to start somewhere, plus you’ve been writing various pieces for years.

Everybody has to write the first manuscript. But few of them need to publish that first manuscript.

If you went to the doctor, needing an operation, you might ask, “Have you done this sort of operation before?” What if the reply is, “No, but I’ve been studying how to do it.” You’d move on to another doctor, because no matter how long he’s read the books and tested on cadavers, he hasn’t proven himself. Read more here.

What Good Is Self Publishing?

 

If you’re wondering what benefit self publishing is to you, then you’ve asked a good question. Here’s the thing, your project is done and your ready to start selling. The only wait time is you preparing to upload it on a site or sites of your choosing, that’s it. Self publishing gives you control and on one else. Making more money with book sales has never been easier. Book distribution on various sites, gets your book to a designated audience.

If you just want to publish to share information, you can do that too. If you happen to make money while sharing your specific information, then self publishing is a win, win situation for you and your target audience. Feel free to give your information away. It’s totally up to you. Getting a book out for others to enjoy is ultimately what all authors long to do. Whether your book is a mystery, picture book or memoir, self publishing is the best way to get your quality information to the masses without having to wait on a publisher or agent to say when.

What good is self publishing to you? Feel free to share your thoughts.

 

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A Brave New World

Image via Wikipedia

Everyone is chatting about how self publishing is now viable. Writers of the world, novice and experienced, can re-invent themselves with new technology. not only that, we can keep all of the profits. The only problem is how do we wear all of the different hats that are necessary to get our words out to a target audience?

If you decide to go down the newly paved road to self publication, you will now wear several hats, that is, unless you want help. If you want help you will certainly pay a price. If you decide to do it on your own you will have to wear a writers hat, an editors hat, a cover designers hat, and publisher’s hat and finally, a marketing hat. That’s a lot of hats, but it can be done. your determination and motivation will get you doing things you never thought possible.

It can only benefit you to learn as much as you can. It’s a brave new world and all the tools you will need are out there. Most of them are free. you just have to know where to look. One place to get some answers is at www.selfpublishingresources.com. This iste has a great list of resources from blogging and ebooks, to illustration and design of your cover. There is a lot to take in but we all know that knowledge is power.

What has your journey been like, in this brave new world?

 

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Too Busy Writing!

I am sorry to say I have neglected this blog for a little while now. I have so many projects going on it’s hard to keep up. I am working on two stories for kids. I am getting one of them illustrated. And by the way, the illustrations are awesome for “Princess Penelope and the Pickle Festival” I can’t wait to show them off.

I have also partnered with a few other authors to launch a new online publishing company, Three Rabbits Publishing, which we hope to launch October 1st. I have been working on the sites web content and getting all of the legal contracts together. It’s a lot of work but a labor of love.

What interesting projects have you been working on these last few weeks?

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