Congratulations!  

     Your manuscript is FINISHED! You’ve written your book, edited it, copyrighted it, formatted it, and now you’re ready to upload it and publish your book. NOW WHAT?

In this article, written for the many authors who decide to self-publish through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, the Book Designer gives you a step-by-step guide to uploading your manuscript to KDP with links to resources that will help you make the best decisions to successfully launch your book.

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The first thing a reader looks at when shopping for books is the cover, but the blurb on the back, or in the description online, is how they decide to read your book. That blurb will be used in online advertising, blog tours, newsletters, and anywhere the author advertises. Writing a good one is vital!

How do you boil your book down to a few very short paragraphs? Prolific author D.L. Finn has some pointers you need to read!

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AWARD WINNING AUTHOR. What a prestigious title, and one any author would be proud to own. The excitement when one or more of your books has won an award, the recognition for pouring your heart and soul into your work, and the marketing boost it affords make it a goal worth pursuing; such as an award from the Florida Writers Association. Congratulations to our own RPLA Award winners!

And yet, as in everything in today’s society, we authors must be aware that unsavory characters exist who are out to take your money with little or no return, such as less-than-prestigious awards. 

AWARD PROFITEERS. What are they and how can you avoid them? I found this informative article by A.J.Alexander, who has done her research and shares it with us:

WARNING OF ‘AWARD PROFITEERS’

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One of my favorite paranormal romance authors, Jan Sikes, shares some great advice about joining a writing organization.
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It’s Jan here today to talk about something I’m sure we’ve all experienced on our writing journey – Writing Organizations and groups.

Let’s face it. Writing is a solitary endeavor. We close our doors, isolate ourselves and block out the world while we create worlds. But that’s where the isolation ends. We are not an island unto ourselves when it comes to publishing our work and marketing it to the masses. We need a support system, or two. So, then comes the big question, ‘where do we go to find the support we need and that we can equally reciprocate?’

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With so much information and services available for free online, why would a writer need to pay to join a group?

P.T.L. Perrin shares her own experience publishing her first book, how she switched from paying too much to doing it herself for free, and why she decided joining online support groups like this one were vital to her life as a writer. 

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Want to know what our authors REALLY think? Let’s start with this one.

Jay Gilbert, author of There’s A Pony In That Car! and The Florida Motel, has a busy family life with his wife, children and grandchildren. In addition to that and writing, he runs a real-estate business, heads up a local group of writers, and is involved in various local organizations, including serving on the board of directors of SeaQuill Writers Co-Op. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Jay Gilbert, who has agreed to share some of his thoughts with us.

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I LOVE research! If you had told me that, back in the dark ages when I had to plow through encyclopedias, reference books and piles of articles to write a research paper, I would have laughed.

It all started when I came across a painting by Concetta Antico. Her unusual use of color intrigued me, so I Googled her. She’s a tetrachromat. What is that? I Googled the word and discovered that super vision (unrelated to supervision) is a real superpower! One link led to another and soon I was lost in worlds I had no idea existed. I was hooked.

What does that have to do with Quill Tips? Let’s begin with SeaQuill Writers.

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