Please welcome my special guest author this week, LeAnna Shields. LeAnna is the author of the indie sff series The Alestrion Chronicles, and these are her top 5 pieces of advice for anyone thinking of taking the self-publishing plunge. Take it away, LeAnna.
Hi everyone. I’m LeAnna Shields and I wrote The Alestrion Chronicles: Slave’s Redeemed. I guess I’m here to give my five top tips for new writers. Now bear in mind, I’m new to indie publishing as well so the advice I’m giving you is advice I wish I had gotten when I started my journey.
First, don’t erase anything you’ve written. You never know when something (no matter how bad it looks.) Can eventually find a place it works in later.
Second, find a good group of writers to interact with, you’ll need these eyes to critique your work and let you know how you can improve.
Third, have patience with the editing process and keep in mind your editor is only trying to help your book to be as good as is can be. (I often forget this.)
Fourth, when you think you’re ready to publish do as much research as you can. There are a lot of companies that look good at first, but when you look into them aren’t. Get recommendations, do internet searched for scams or writer beware sites (I wish I had known this one). Bear in mind that no matter how much research you do it’s still possible to make a mistake.
For my final piece of advice, and I don’t know if you’re a believer or not, but Trust in God. I can tell you, He’ll always make a way and prove Himself faithful every time.
I hope these tips were helpful and I hope to see your books up on Amazon soon.
LeAnna Shields was raised in Colorado. Home schooled, when she reached High school she discovered she had a passion for writing and learning. She started writing with Star Wars fan fiction, but soon branched out into her own works. Now she combines creatures of myth like the Phoenix and the Griffin with the worlds and moons of science fiction to create tales that uplift and entertain. You can find and friend her on Facebook and Goodreads. Her latest novel, Alestrion Chronicles: Slaves Redeemed is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.