I had a story to tell and had to put it write it down as I wanted to share it with others. I wrote the series with one thought in mind – What would I actually do in the event of an apocalyptic event? This story and series being true to the actual skills and experiences I possess. No super heroes or someone possessing miraculous abilities, just a normal person seeking to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
Months later, the first book in the series was complete. But not my feeling of completeness as it wasn’t being shared with readers. The thought of getting it published was daunting. First, because I had heard the stories of how hard it is to get published. Second, because I was stepping into completely unfamiliar territory. But, I was determined and really wanted to share what I had written.
Rejection after rejection came from agents. And then, I happened across Smashwords. The ease of getting published with them was mind-blowing. And they have a fantastic distribution channel allowing me to get my book out to all of the major distributors through one outlet. I found that I don’t have to manage a lot of sites at once. Their guidelines are easy to follow and adopt.
I only had to read their ‘how to publish’ document How to Publish and Distribute with Smashword and follow the easy to use style guide Smashwords Style Guide. I was and still am amazed at how easy it was to get my story out and the response has been overwhelming. I read about and talk with other authors, who are either finishing their books or have finished them, who worry about getting published. I tell them the success I have had with Smashwords and how simple, easy, and quick it was to get my book in front of readers. I would recommend this to all who read this blog as well.
The one tip I can give is to follow the style guide line by line and letter for letter. I did this one step at a time with my manuscript and my book was accepted on the first try.
Get your work out so you can continue your writing rather than spend time worrying about publishing the one you finished. Keep writing and have a great day!
If you ever want to have your books in print you could use http://www.lightningsource.com/, they also notify all the online sellers of your book availability. What most people don’t know, no matter what your publish source is, the online retail outlets will do a lot of your advertising for you. If you choose the right keywords and descriptions.