Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Bonus - Self-Publishing on CreateSpace)

This week was the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I wrote a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is a bonus post.

Bonus; Self-Publishing on CreateSpace 

I am a huge fan of CreateSpace. Whether you sell hundreds of books, or just print a few for family members the prices are very good especially for a black and white print paperback book.

This post gets quite technical but it will be really helpful if you want to publish yourself. And if it all gets too hard, (especially the formatting or cover designing) you can pay for CreateSpace to do both and bypass the technical stuff.

If you want to give it a try, here are some tips.

1.       CreateSpace is for printing and publishing your book but you can go there before you finish your book and use their preview service. This will let you put up a sample of your book and get feedback from other authors. You can even put up several samples and test book titles or different formats.

2.      Before you start, you will need your completed and formatted manuscript (preferably in PDF form) your ISBN number (if you are using your own) and graphics for your cover. You need to put everything in your file before you can set up your book. You can pay someone to format your book, use a CreateSpace template or do it yourself. (ISBN information is below)

3.      Following their process is quite simple if you have your book file, ISBN, and graphics. I choose a blank book cover as I design my own but you can insert your own graphic into one of their templates quite easily.

4.      Choose your own name as publisher or a business name if you prefer. You can also leave this field empty. Do not put CreateSpace here as they do not want their name anywhere in the interior file. Note; if you do not fill in these fields, you will not be able to fill them out later. You will have time to make corrections, changes, etc. until you hit the publish button at the bottom of the screen

5.      Double check everything before publishing. CreateSpace has a clever review option that lets you see each page as it will print. Use it now to save time later. If there are any errors go back to the formatting, make corrections, and insert a new file before you order a proof.

6.      Order a proof and check it. Books are cheap but because I live in Australia, postage is the biggest cost. It also takes a while since it comes from America. I think it still works out cheaper than most local printers and I love that I can order just one or two.

7.      Choose marketing options and set up your CS store. Add a banner, change the font colours and background colours if you want,

8.      Add content to your amazon.com page

ISBN’s and bar codes

9.      CreateSpace can supply a free ISBN but I recommend that you buy your own ISBN & bar code. You will then hold the rights and can market your book anywhere. Bookstores will only stock your book if it has your own ISBN.  You can also use another publisher or can sell it to be translated in another country. Without your own ISBN you are stuck with Amazon on-line sales only

10.   Apply for an ISBN from Bowker. In Australia you can get them from  http://www.thorpe.com.au/isbn/

11.    Ten ISBN numbers cost much less than buying one at a time. If you know you will be writing more than one book, the supplier will keep them for you and send them to you as you need them.

12.   You do not need to pay for a barcode as CS will print it when you give them the number  Note; You cannot have two different ISBN in the same book (i.e. you cannot have your own and a free one from CreateSpace)

If you have an Australian ISBN, then when your book is printed you will need to send a physical copy of your book to;

Legal Deposit Unit
National Library of Australia
Canberra ACT 2600

Note; this is a legal requirement

If you want more information on formatting your book for CreateSpace, there is plenty on the site. It is not as hard as the above makes it sound and there are options all along the way for paying someone else to do things if you get stuck.  

I do have some more information about the formatting I used, so if you want a copy, just email me.

I have really enjoyed putting together this week’s series of things I learned from writing my memoir. I hope you have enjoyed it too.

Good luck with your writing.

Nikki

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part seven - Edit, edit, and edit again)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part seven.

7. Edit, edit, and edit again 

I have noticed a worrying trend for books to have spelling mistakes in them, even when they have been published by a company. Usually there is just one, but sometimes books have many mistakes. I have read two recently where there was a crucial mistake was on the first page.

It really makes a book look cheap and unprofessional.

I consider myself a good proof-reader of others work and I always use the computers spell check and grammar check when I write, but even though I read my first book over at least four times before I published it, there were many embarrassing mistakes in the first version. I wrote about this in a previous blog called "New book proves it, I know the proper English.". 

 There were missing words, and extra words. There were missing commas, and extra commas. I read what I thought I wrote instead of what was on the page.

As a writer you need as much help as you can get to proof-read your work.

For my second book I had Karen from EyeProof read it over and she found a similar plethora of mistakes but this time I was able to correct them before I published.

It is so easy to miss things in your own writing, and so important to have as many people look at it as possible. Or you could hire a professional like Karen for a reasonable fee.

It might also be helpful to have an editor look at it. I used the editing service on CreateSpace and for few hundred dollars I got six pages of really helpful feedback.

If you are submitting your book to a publisher you will be one of hundreds, if not thousands, vying for the publisher’s attention and a well edited book will improve your chances of being read and then picked up.

If you are self-publishing, then you still want your book to look professional. A good editor will help. Here are the two links I use and one blog post you might find useful.

Editing service through CreateSpace 

Eyeproof for seriously good proof-reading from a friend of mine

My blog about how to set up your spell and grammar checker .

Tommorrow. I am posting a bonus blog with some tips I discovered about setting up and using CreateSpace to self publish.

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part six - Write with Passion)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part six.

6. Write with Passion 

I once read that the first thing a publisher notices about any book is whether the author is passionate about their writing or not. It shows through in each sentence and helps the words come alive.

I think readers can tell too. If you don’t love what you write, why would a reader love it?

Here are some ideas for putting more passion into your writing.

1. Write about something you are passionate about.

You may have heard that you should write about what you know (and if you are writing a memoir about yourself I should hope you do know your subject) but just as importantly you should write something you are passionate about.

Your life could be really interesting but only if you are interested in it. If you write about something you think readers will be interested in but that bores you then it probably won’t work. 

Look for the interesting details in your life; the colour, the sparkle, the hopes, the disappointments, the hard times, and the good. What makes you happy, or miserable, or even angry? 

2. Only write when you are feeling inspired.

Sometimes I will sit at my computer and write until I feel inspired, but some days it doesn’t work. Sometimes I spend hours editing a piece only to find that the first version had more energy and was more readable because it was written when I was more excited about the story.

If the words are not coming, take a break, go for a walk, clear your head, and start again. When I am feeling inspired I can write all day and I enjoy what I write. When I am not feeling inspired for any reason then I will have to do something else like formatting my book or working on marketing.

3. Live a life worth writing about

This one is kind of obvious: Live life with passion. Even writers need to get out and see the world, especially if you want to write a follow up.

A good memoir has stories in it that are, well … memorable. Your life may have been miserable, or outstanding; full of chaos, or full of happy surprises. Focus on the stories that will surprise and write about them with passion. Explain each story in enough detail that your reader can picture it in their mind. Give the reader the full experience by adding enough detail and description; enough colour, texture, and sound. Make it come alive.

Then make sure you continue to live a passionate life. One that inspires you so you can write with passion about yourself.

For my next adventure I am planning a sailing trip around the Pacific. Now that it something I am passionate about.

Tomorrows Blog: Editing your Work

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part five - It's in the details)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part five.

5. Leave out the boring details

I was born in Malta and moved to New Zealand with my family when I was three years old. I went to Paekakariki School, and then my family moved to Tawa where we lived for six years.

Are you bored yet?

Would you like me to tell you how many brothers and sisters I have? Do you want to know the names of my pets or the whereabouts of my grandparents? How about what day I wash my hair?

Now that’s just silly.

A memoir is not an excuse to write everything that happens in your life, blow by blow. Every story in your book should have a reason to be there. It could show the reader more about you as a person. It could be an insight into your family dynamics. It could be funny, or crazy, or even tragic.

Having an overall story for your book, a subtle message, and a suitable tone, is a good start. It will provide a framework and help you decide what to put in and what to leave out. When I edited my book, I left out some stories I thought were really good because they did not fit in with the overall message and tone of my book.

I remember reading the story of one of the most amazing and inspiring people I had ever seen in a video. His energy and enthusiasm were infectious and I loved him but I found the book about him just plain boring. There was no insight into him or his personality, just a series of not particularly inspiring events that happened in his life. I was so disappointed.

One of the little tricks I used in my books was to cut out some unnecessary information that slowed the story down. Rather than have lots of filler sentences like “a few months later” or “another time” or “the next time I was out on my bike,” I sometimes used creative licence and wrote as if the events happened on the same day.

It helped the stories flow well, and no one really cares when they happened since my stories are not consecutive anyway.

If you are writing for the public then you should try a little harder to make each story a solid contribution to the books overall theme. If you find that too much work then you have another option.

You could write your book for family and friends. They may be fascinated to know where you were born and what school you went to. They might even want to know the names of all your childhood pets.

That is a perfectly valid reason to write a book.

PS One of the articles that inspired me when I was editing my book was an article by Abigail Thomas and featured on Oprah.com. She has some really good ideas about how to start writing a memoir and what to say. You can visit the article by clicking here.

Tomorrows blog: Write with Passion and Enthusiasm

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part four - Who is your audience?)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part four.

4. Who is your audience?

Before you put pen to paper, you should consider who you hope will pick up your book and read it.

When you know your audience, you have a better idea what they want from your book. Knowing your audience can help you every step of the writing process.

Having a typical reader in mind allows you to check your writing. If you can picture someone reading your book, it will help you as you decide what to put in and what to leave out. For both my books, I cut almost as much out of the book as I left it. I pictured my reader sitting there and realised that some parts of the story were just filler.

Maybe you can test your finished book out on some people from your target group before you publish or submit to a professional publisher. Later you will have a better idea how to market your book when you know your typical reader.

For example, if a book is written for teens, you might have more success marketing on Facebook. If it is for older adults, you might have more success meeting groups of people at library or service group presentations.

In my case I want to share my stories with other women moving into the “empty nest” stage of life. I hope to motivate people who want to get out into the world and do something different but are not sure how. Now I know to advertise where older women gather. I can picture my typical reader and speak directly to her.

Deciding your audience early on does not mean a teenager will not pick up your book about your life in the fifties, or an older person won’t identify with the story of your first teen romance. One of my first fans was my brother-in-law who read my book in one sitting and then came back with some complimentary comments. I never thought about a man reading my book.

When you have your message, your story, and the tone of your work, then it will probably lead to your audience. If not, choose one. It is much easier to write a book for one group. If you try to make it please everyone it will be tough. Do you leave out profanity or will your readers expect it? What about modern jargon, such as text speak or computer jargon? Will your readers understand it or should you explain?

Not everyone will love your book and that is okay. Not even the most famous authors in the world are loved by everyone. But if you have a target audience, and you know who you hope will pick up your book, you have a great place to start when writing, editing, and marketing.

Tomorrow’s blog: Lose the boring details.

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part three - The Tone)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part three.

3. Watch your Tone

Whether your book is serious or funny will depend on the tone you use. The tone of your book is a combination of the stories you write, your interpretation of events, and the way you put words together. To some extent the tone of your book will depend on who you are and on your voice as a writer.

How you write can depend on where you are in your life, your education, your life experiences, and your values. It is often a reflection of who you are as a person, but you should still be aware of it.

Is your book full of deep philosophical meaning and thought or is it a light humorous read? Will you dig deep into the reasons why things happened or just pass over them lightly?

Most readers will expect to get to know you by reading your book. You should give readers enough information to feel a connection with you. That may mean talking about your hopes and dreams, or revealing your failings. Allow readers to know you as a person and don’t try to act too perfect or be so modest you sound boring. Readers want to relate to you and can only do so if you are open enough about who you are. My failures are some of the most memorable stories in my books.

Write about yourself as you really are, not as you want to be remembered. It is okay to reveal some weakness. It may even help others relate to your story better.

My books were written to be a light-hearted escapist read. I wanted readers to immerse themselves in the adventure that was my life and hopefully finish the book feeling better about themselves and about the world.

You may have a more measured approach, or want to reveal more inner details and that can work too, as long as you are true to yourself.

When writing, you have to take care of how you come across. Try not to be preachy, condescending, or self-righteous. You can only inject tone by the words you use.

The best way I found to check your tone is to read it out loud as if you were telling the story to a friend, or you could even read it to a friend. Does it set the right tone? If you feel you have to explain anything then you might need to write more. If it seems long winded then cut the story down.

Setting the right tone is just as important in writing as it is in speech.

Tomorrow’s blog: Who is your audience?

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part two - The Message)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part two.

2. What is your Message?

What is the message of your memoir? How do you hope it will touch people? What would you like people to feel after reading your book? Happy? Motivated? Glad they are not you?

Your book may be a collection of stories but there should be something to tie them together, something that makes your whole book interesting, unique, and worth reading. You should have a story to tie it together but your story should also have  an overall message or meaning.

Like most people, I found divorce and job loss depressing and scary, but they were also blessings in disguise. My marriage had been failing for years and my job had changed from challenging to stifling. Leaving both opened up my life to new possibilities.

The sky seemed clearer and brighter, my heart seemed lighter and free, and anything started to seem possible.

That is what I wanted to tell by writing my memoir. Life can be awesome. Change can absolutely be the catalyst for something better. I hope people enjoy the stories of my year house sitting but the overall message in my books is one of hope. Hope that challenges can be overcome and life can be even better after tragedy and sadness.

Have you considered your overall message? While your book, like your life, will take many twists and turns, you should consider its overall impact. Are you hoping to connect with your reader, motivate them, or shock them? When someone finishes your memoir, do you want them to feel inspired, relieved, or hopeful?

Here are a few messages other have used. “Love conquers all,” “Persistence pays off,” and “”ordinary people can have amazing lives.”

Somewhere early in your writing, you might like to consider your message. Knowing why you are writing your memoir will help you answer the biggest question of all that your potential readers will have. 

Why should I read your book?

 Tomorrows blog: Setting the Tone

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part one- The Story)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part one.

1. You need to have a story.

Before you begin work on that great world-changing novel that is your life story, there are three crucial things to consider; story, message, and tone. Today’s blog is about the story.

Like most people, I began my memoir with the stories, but it I had almost finished the first draft when I realised that it was incomplete. It was full of good stories but there was nothing holding it together. There was no reason why anyone would pick it up.

I am not famous enough to attract readers just because of who I am. I needed an overall story that would attract readers. My book would sit on the shelf with some amazing memoirs and there had to be something that would draw people to my book; one overarching story that would connect all the stories into one cohesive whole.

I needed a purpose for my book.

While life is still in progress, it can be hard to decide how to structure your book. Where will you start and where will you finish? What do all the stories of your life have I common? How should you put them together?

My theory is that it should be as much like a novel as possible.

The beginning needs to set the tone, introduce the characters, and make people want to read on.
Unless you were born in a life-raft after your family boat sank in a storm, it is probably best not to start with your birth. After all everyone is born and there is nothing in that to make the reader curious about the rest of your book.

Start with a noteworthy event, or even a bit of drama. This will hook the reader in. You can even start at the end. I began my first book with an idyllic day in the life of a house sitter, and then went on to explain in the rest of the book how I got to that perfect day.

The end needs to tie things up nicely and provide a satisfying conclusion of some sort.

In my book the overall story is one of a life changed forever. I begin my story as a regular working mother and end as a sort of housesitting gypsy living large on a tiny budget and having the most amazing adventures.
Most people prefer a positive approach and a happy ending. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a sad story, just that people need a reason to read through to the end. How did you overcome that tragedy? How did you beat the odds? How did you find meaning in your life after devastating loss?

Unless you choose to write your memoir as a simple collection of stories, there should be an attention grabbing beginning and a satisfying end.

In between, there could be drama and tension, problems and predicaments, or humour and silliness. Try to vary the pace and introduce some elements of the unexpected. Give people a reason to read on at every page, and especially at the end of each chapter.

I learned a lot from my first book and could have done better, but I am particularly happy when people tell me that they read it in one sitting. It means they found something in it worth finishing.

That is the highest praise of all.

Who am I writing for?

When I started writing about house sitting in Australia, I wrote out of a sense of wonder.

 I had changed from a stay-at-home mother, to a bike riding gypsy. I moved to a new country, changed my career, my lifestyle, and even my primary relationship when I divorced and met the man of my dreams.

Most importantly I changed from an unhappy, unfulfilled person to a constantly amazed, excited, and very happy person.

I wrote most of it down, and I wanted to share it, but all I had was a collection of stories that were funny, or silly, or just plain amazing.

I wasn’t sure how to proceed until I looked at the most important thing of all.

Who was going to read my book?

It really matters.

 Once I decided that I wanted to inspire women who were looking for more in life, I quickly moved from a collection of stories to a book with a theme; house sitting as a lifestyle.

Kathy Pooler, explains why it is so important to consider who you are writing for in her post called “Who is the target audience for my memoir?” I just found her blog today and can thoroughly recommend it.

She has a really useful list of resources for authors too. I look forward to reading more.

Thanks for inspiring me Kathy.