Just Ginger

Today, we’re going to take the final steps to create a manuscript ready for conversion to EPUB/MOBI. As you’ve probably figured out by now, the manuscripts I convert are written in Mac word processing software. Although I’m training myself to write in Storyist, I currently use iWorks ’09 Pages in the Mavericks OS. Although I write in Pages, I learned to clean up a manuscript in Microsoft Word (for Mac 2011) because my small publishers requested I use Word for submissions. As I do with any software, I learned enough about Word to do what I have to do. I’ve compiled a manuscript preparation checklist (available at www.gingerhanson.com on the For Writers page) for cleaning up a manuscript that was written or pasted into Word.  I go through each of these steps to ensure possible HTML stumbling blocks to a clean copy for e-book conversion are removed.  This is the first step in my publishing process. Even when I write the original story in Storyist, I still copy t...

Making an e-book is a multi-step process that starts with a completed manuscript and ends with an e-book distributors will accept into their stores. To reach the goal of producing an e-book acceptable to distributors, the manuscript needs to be converted from its word processing format into either an EPUB or MOBI format. There are several conversion software programs that will make this transformation. As any Internet search will reveal, the route taken to achieve that end varies widely.   In this blog, I’m going to describe the route I designed. To my delight, it’s gifted me with the successful distribution of five EPBU/MOBI books to four major retail outlets. And it all starts with clean copy.  Garbage in, garbage out, is a popular computer adage. It is especially true with e-book publishing. An e-book conversion program can only produce a well-formatted e-book if it starts with a well-formatted manuscript.  In this blog, I’ll discuss the process I use to p...

I breezed over some important information in my last blog because I got focused on formatting. Probably because this was my biggest bugaboo. And while it’s one of the cheaper parts of self-publishing to out source, if I couldn’t format my books, I’d have to pay someone every time I put out an e-book or needed one corrected.   It hit me that I had jumped into formatting without fully explaining some steps in the process of setting up my publishing business. These steps are important because they help the indie publisher maintain a degree of personal privacy online. First of all, I applied for an Employer Identification Number (EIN). These are really easy to get from the IRS via the Internet and once I got it there was no reason to splatter my social security number across the globe.  Why an EIN? Because all the distributors need a way to legally identify me for tax purposes. They require either a social security number or an EIN (or some equivalent if you’re fro...

Today we're getting a little off track as I participate in a "Meet My Character" blog tour. My thanks to Ariella Moon for inviting me to participate in the blog tour. Ariella is not only a dear friend who I met a RWA conference, she' also the author of a series of awesome young adult books. Ariella Moon is the author of the Teen Wytche Saga, a sweet Young Adult paranormal series. Ariella writes about magic, friendship, high school, secrets, and love in Spell Check , Spell Struck , and Spell Fire from Astraea Press. Ariella spent her childhood searching for a magical wardrobe that would transport her to Narnia. Extreme math anxiety, and taller students who mistook her for a leaning post, marred her youth. Despite these horrors, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Davis. Ariella is a Reiki Master, author, and shaman. She lives a nearly normal life with her extraordinary daughter, two shamelessly spoiled dogs, and an enormous drago...

Since these blogs are titled, the road to indie publishing, it’s pretty obvious I decided to take the indie plunge. But as you’ll see later, I wasn’t finished with trying the small publisher route. Baby Steps to Indie Publishing All the research I had done in 2003 on self-publishing was now out-of-date. I’d learned about print publishing, not e-book publishing which meant I had to go back to square one. I had to learn about e-publishing from the ground up. To reach that goal, I decided to take a month long class at Author EMS. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in any aspect of self-publishing. Amy Atwell and Kelli Finger have put together an information packed workshop. Plus, their website is a treasure trove of information for writers. The Lingo Right off the bat, I discovered a whole new vocabulary. EPUB, MOBI, HTML, ISBN, metadata…what were these things? That was on the publishing side. What about setting up a business? Would it be a sole proprietors...

In the last installment, I had parted ways with my agent and gotten contracts for two books with two different publishers. One publisher was small but more traditional. The other was more digital oriented. Both planned to release the books in ebook and print formats. Neither paid an advance. Both had easy to read, author friendly contracts. One wanted a two year commitment, the other wanted four. What Did I Learn With Small Publishers? The first book came out with the more traditional publisher. Now that I know more about digital publishing, I feel bad about the condition of the manuscript I submitted. I’ve always written in Apple word processing software. Lady Runaway probably began in AppleWorks, but I’m sure I was using Pages by the time it was submitted. I remember  I had to buy Word for Mac because all the publishers wanted submissions in Word.  That poor manuscript had been through several software updates and then was pasted into Word. The editor who put it i...

The phrase self-publishing has a lot of baggage which is why more and more writers refer to it as Indie, or Independent publishing. We’re putting ourselves into the same category as independent film makers. It means we don’t have huge corporations footing the bill. We have to do more on less. We have to work harder to prove ourselves. We have to write well enough to capture readers without the backing of a large company. As I said in part one, I shelved plans to self-publish because I’d SOLD! I was too busy basking in my success to think about taking the much maligned path of publishing my own works. I was a bonafide author, an editor and publishing company in New York thought so. And best of all, I had an agent who would help me make more sales. It would take me five years to realize success wasn’t guaranteed because you had a contract and agent. Nor was it guaranteed if you poured your heart and soul and advances into promotion or into writing more stories. Orphaned, Ca...

Before I continue on the journey to indie publishing, my first ebook has hit the Internet book stores. I'll be writing more about  A Dash of Ginger, Sassy Southern Essays  as my journey continues, but for now, here's the cover–which I love!

I’ve been immersed in the writing industry for decades and I’m tainted by all the old rules. For example, I’m late to the self-publishing game due to the stigma attached to self-publishing when I started this journey. Way back when, a talented writer didn’t need to take the self-publishing route. In those days, there were plenty of outlets for print publishing. All you had to do was link up with the right editor at the right publishing house. In addition, I wrote romance fiction, a category that has over 50% of the paperback market. If you believed the romance experts, anybody could get published in romance. Except me.  I am a historian. Majored in it in college. Taught it there, too. Big reader of historical fiction in my younger years before the historical romance category was invented. Seemed a good fit as a writer to meld history, fiction, and romance. Not that I knew a thing about writing a historical novel, but hey, why let that hold one back? Along the b...

Welcome to the latest rendition of my blog. It started out several years ago as a tie-in to my website and promotion for my fiction writing. I didn’t even visit it very often. You know how it is, good intentions and all. Imagine my surprise when I realized people were visiting here! (According to the Google stats.)  I’m not sure how or why people end up here, but it's nice to know you are. That knowledge convinced me to update the blog. I’m still a little hazy on the exact mission of this blog, but  as I mentioned last year, I decided to dive into self-publishing.  Hmmm, more like get my toes wet gradually since it’s taking me so long!! Anyway, for now I'm going to use self-publishing as my focus for this blog. I hope the journey, however long it lasts, proves enlightening for readers. When I obtained the rights to my first two historical romances about two years ago, my plan was to put them into ebooks. I still plan to do that, but I decided to publish so...