Tag Archives: writing a novel

Quotes about Indie Publishing

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Quotes about Indie Publishing

“Content is King. Promotion is Queen” ― Bob Mayer

“You are a start-up … The next great business is you.”—Hugh Howey

“The best self-promotion is your next book. And the book after that and after that …”—Bella Andre

“The good news about self-publishing is you get to do everything yourself. The bad news about self publishing is you get to do everything yourself.”—Lori Lesko

“We relish the freedom, and accept the responsibility, that comes with running our own show.”–Orna Ross, Author and Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors

“The most important thing for anyone– regardless of whether they’re an author– is to decide what is their definition of success.” –JOANNA PENN, The Creative Penn Podcast

Traditional or Indie Publish continues to be a daunting questions among today’s authors. I wish you all the best on your journey to publication, dear WordsmithSix readers.

Book Authors and Sales Tax

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Book Authors and Sales Tax

By Natalie Bright

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Members of the Texas High Plains Writers enjoyed an informative talk by accountant Dan Brown with ———at the May meeting in Amarillo.

One of the questions that we talked about, which we didn’t have time to fully discuss, involved collecting and paying sales tax for your book sales. Below I’ve listed a few blogs and websites with great information which will help clarify this very confusing issue.

SALES TAX

Ø Note that if you’re selling your self-published book through a dealer at a trade show, or an Internet retail entity such as Amazon.com or bn.com or a publishing service acting as a retail entity (such as Blurb or Lulu.com), the retail entity making the sale is responsible for collecting sales tax. “Sales Tax Facts for Book Authors” at publishing.about.com

Ø You may think that you are paying the appropriate sales tax because you pay the tax to the printing company when you purchase the book. But that tax is only for your purchase price, not the actual selling price. So unless you sell the book at your cost, you will have a sales tax obligation. “Sales Tax Responsibility for Authors” at writeyourlife.net

Ø Reimbursement for books sold through Amazon is considered a royalty and is not subject to sales tax. However, if you sell books through your website, at a book signing, or after a public speaking engagement, sales tax should be included if those books are sold within your state. “Sales Tax Responsibility for Authors” at writeyourlife.net

Ø There are exceptions: 1. selling to someone other than the end user. Generally, states only tax sales on the final user, so if you are selling your books to a bookstore or retail store for resale, you do not charge them sales tax. [NOTE: Most retail outlets expect the ability to add a 50-60% markup above your price. If you quote them a price too high, they may not be able to carry your book in their store.]

2. Selling to a nonprofit organization. In some states, nonprofit organizations are able to obtain sales tax exemption. These organizations should provide you a copy of their sales tax exemption certificate from their state.
3. Selling to out-of-state customers. Usually, you must collect sales tax from customers that live in your state.
Ø The best thing about publishing your own book through Amazon Author Central is that you are not the seller of record. This means you are not responsible for collecting the sales tax on the books you publish. Blog.taxjar.com

Ø Nexus is having a presence in the state which indicates which state you should be submitting sales tax to. Your “nexus” is the state in which you reside and do your business, however every state is different.

Ø Let’s say you’re selling your own book and you spend the summer selling your book at festivals across five states. Some states consider making a single sale in the state to create sales tax “nexus”, while others do not. Many festivals, book stores, etc. will have a bookseller on hand to sell your books for you. This generally includes collecting the sales tax. In that case, you would be off the hook for collecting sales tax. blog.taxjar.com

SELLING BOOKS

Being an indie book author these days can be daunting, but take a deep breath and consider the big picture. The opportunities for reaching readers today is truly amazing. Take off your creative cap and slip into your owner/entrepreneur mode.

Here’s a few more things to consider:

  • · If there is a hosting retail store at the book festival you have a booth at, absolutely take advantage of their ability to handle your books for sale. Be aware that they probably have a zillion things to do for the event. You can be persistent yet professional, but make absolutely sure your books have been ordered. I know of authors who have shown up to events to find they have no books to sign because the order was never placed. Do you leave or should you stay and hand out swag? It’s a horrible situation.
  • · Every state is different. In Oklahoma for example, a representative of the Oklahoma state taxing authority might collect tax there at the book festival. A form will be provided for you to complete and sign.
  • · I sell books at my cost to clubs and organizations because I figure it’s the least I can do after they’ve fed me, paid a speakers fee, and then sat through my talk. I consider the invitation to be a great opportunity to build connections with readers. This kind of networking is invaluable, plus I don’t have to collect sales tax.
  • · Seek out sponsorships for your books. There might be nonprofit organizations that will purchase a case of books for special events. Suggest that your book would make a great table decoration with one at each place setting. Ask for a copy of their tax exemption certificate and attach it to the invoice that you’ve prepared for them.

I hope this helps you. Business is done. Go write now, y’all!

Don’t Be Fooled: Writing is HARD Work

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Don’t Be Fooled: Writing is HARD Work

By Natalie Bright

Without a doubt, writing is the hardest work I’ve ever done. I was remembering the other day about the other jobs I’ve held in my lifetime. Waitressing comes in at a close second, but physical labor doesn’t exhaust me the way an intensive brain workout does.
Writing a story forces you to dig deep emotionally. You can’t hold back for your character’s sake. They deserve all that you have, and so do your readers. The roller coaster ride of emotion in finding the right words can leave us drained.  We’re writing straight from the heart.

On the other hand, there is the practical side of writing which involves marketing, promotion and selling your novels. This is a totally different mindset.  The WordsmithSix Critique Group has been meeting together for almost six years, and I completely trust their wisdom and suggestions in regards to my work. As much as I love them however, there are times that I may not choose to do anything that they say. This side of writing is ruled by my head. As the creator, you alone, must know what’s best for your writing career.

From your heart, you create stories that feed your soul.
From your head, business must be business.
Two completely different notions that now more than ever, today’s authors must embrace and understand if they want to be successful. How crazy is that? Writing is not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.

Write onward!

INDIE ALL THE WAY with Bethany Claire

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INDIE ALL THE WAY with Bethany Claire

By Natalie Bright

 

Author Bethany Claire gave an energetic and informative talk to the Texas High Plains Writers in Amarillo this past Saturday about her experience as an Indie (independently) published author.

“Indie publishing is very much an individualized decision,” she told the packed room of area writers.

We Love What We Do

She told us about attending a writer’s conference when she decided to give up teaching and turn writing into a career. At that conference, she made an effort to attend sessions about both traditional publishing and self-publishing. She discovered that the self-published group better fit her goals.

“Indie published authors are excited, they are in control of their careers, and they love what they do,” said Bethany. “I am definitely a control freak.”

Real Time Reporting

One of the aspects she likes the most is the ability to realize real-time reporting. “See your sales at that minute,” Bethany said. “The money you make as an Indie author is directly correlated with how much work you are willing to do.”

If something isn’t selling, authors can determine why. Is it a bad cover? Maybe the price is not in line with the other books selling in your genre?

One of the musts for any author who is considering indie pub options and is serious about making money, is the need for a professional editor. Bethany uses two. She suggests researching lists of people for hire, and submitting two to three chapters and requesting an audition edit. Compare those editing styles to determine which one fits you can work with the best.

Writers’ Academy

One of the turning points in her writing came through participation in a week long writer’s academy. Held in June of every year on the campus of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, the event is hosted by Amarillo Author Jodi Thomas. Jodi has penned 40 books and is a New York Times Bestselling Author.

I’ve attended the academy twice, and it is a life-changing experience. Bethany will be teaching a class in 2016 at the academy. Here’s the link to register:

http://wtamu.edu/academics/eod-writing-academy.aspx

Bethany will also be offering an online class later this year about her writing process, marketing, and other facets of publishing your work as an Indie Author. You can learn more about Bethany Claire on her website:

Bethany Claire USA TODAY Bestselling Author of

Morna’s Legacy Series, Scottish Time-Travel Romances

Purchase books at: http://www.bethanyclaire.com/love-beyond-time.php

www.bethanyclaire.com

www.facebook.com/bethanyclaire

www.twitter.com/BClaireAuthor

CHANGE. COUNT ON IT.

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CHANGE. COUNT ON IT.

By Natalie Bright

YOUR TUNES

Who remembers 8-track tapes? Soon after, the cassette player in my then boyfriend’s car was something else, and the fancy case with his cassette collection was impressive. From even further back, I have a cabinet full of mom and dad’s album collection. Their beloved, overly large, oak-veneer record player makes a great plant stand.

YOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS

Some of you may recall surfing through only three major television channels, and the lucky houses with strong antenna signals could pick up PBS. And then cable brought channels devoted to history or animals. Cartoons were on 24 hours! It wasn’t any time before we could watch edgy content that would never be shown on CBS, NBC, or ABC. The satellite dish brought us hundreds of channels. I streamed the entire season of Longmire on Netflix one snowy, dull weekend not too long ago. Waiting for a major network to schedule the reruns is a thing of the past. Amazing!

YOUR BOOKS

Music and television have gone through a transformation in the past decade. Now it’s book publishing’s turn. As I follow blogs and podcasts this year trying to educate myself on the changing tide of book promotion in the new century, all indications are that 2015 was the turning point. How we publish and read books has been altered forever. There’s no going back.

I’ve been pondering these important points:

  • I just downloaded the first book in a series by a favorite author for FREE in iBooks. The iBooks App is a built-in app on some hand-held devices, or is available for free download for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
  • India and China have seen the largest growth in the number of hand held devices, and now have more users than US, with 250 million English speaking people living in India.
  • It’s impossible to analyze the impact of eBook sales because many are being published without ISBNs.
  • Through a wide variety of book platforms such as iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, Nook, Kindle, etc., paired with all that social media offers, readers will seek their favorite genres and discover authors. The publisher’s name has very little impact. People are going to read what they want to read.
  • The future is mobile.

For the work that writers do, I think there are several important questions to consider. Where will fans find your books in 2016? Will more people read stories on their hand-held devices? What if more people became readers because they have easier access to the kinds of stories they like?

What I’m trying to tell you is that during a one hour traffic delay because of the lumbering construction equipment blocking Highway 287, I read the heck out of an iBook on my iPhone.

Welcome to the 21st Century. I’m thinking it’s a great time to be a writer!

Keep on writing onward as always, WordsmithSix-ers!

nataliebright.com

Story in a Sentence

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Story in a Sentence

Natalie Bright

There’s no better way to discover the “heart” of your book then to summarize the plot into as few of words as possible.

One sentence can explain the main characters, the plot line, and the theme. Now that’s a challenge!

Stripe your story down to the bare bones. Hooks are attention getters to lure readers into your story. You want to generate interest with a promise of adventure. Ensnare the reader. Pull her away from reality.

If writing one sentence is too difficult, perhaps you have more than one story line. Maybe you have multiple plot lines, and need to decide upon the main story and theme.

*Toy Story is about the ‘secret life of toys’ when people are not around.

*Princess Anna, a hopeless optimist, sets off on an epic journey – teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff, his loyal reindeer Sven and a talking snowman named Olaf – to find her beautiful sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped their kingdom in eternal winter.

*After a painful divorce, the author sets out to devote one year to pleasure, prayer and love. (EAT, PRAY, LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert.)

Please share the story in a sentence of your current work in progress.

SOOTHING BLUE

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SOOTHING BLUE

By Natalie Bright

 

Calm, serene, cool, the color of the sky and sea. Blue is my favorite color. I guess that’s why I love the Texas sky so much. We enjoy so many shades of an endless sky blue stretching as far as the eye can see.

Blue has such a positive vibe, creating a mental soothing, as opposed to red which creates a physical reaction. Blue is mentally calming. Consider the products that use blue such as vodka, water purification systems, airlines, mineral water. High tech gadgets use blue to put forward precision. Blue is associated to males, and is considered to be the preferred color for corporate America.

Light blue: health, soft and fluffy clouds, healing, tranquil seas, understanding.

Dark blue: power suit, seriousness of a mortician, knowledge, integrity.

Blue can have create negative mental images as well: lack of emotion, cold, aloof, unfriendly.

Blue:

Sky, sapphire, azure, delft turquoise, aqua, aquamarine, violet, peacock, teal, cobalt, royal, navy, steel, powder

 Nataliebright.com

 

 

 

Book Review: Writing Down the Bones

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Book Review: Writing Down the Bones

By Natalie Bright

 

Over the holidays I read Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg, poet, painter, book author, and creative writing instructor on the Zen practice of writing. I’m so thankful that I did not read this as a newbie writer; it wouldn’t have meant so much way back then.

The Why isn’t Important

Presented in short chapters covering varied topics, Goldberg makes the point to dig deep into your writing. It’s an intense process where the writer has to step outside of themselves and just write, and it’s enough that we want to. Just do it. Psychologists can sort out the why—wow! Thank you, thank you Ms. Goldberg. Isn’t that a relief to know? And she gives us this great Hemingway quote: “Not the why, but the what.”

Don’t be a Goody Two-Shoes

One paragraph in particular really made me rethink this crazy process. In the section titled “The Goody Two-Shoes Nature” Goldberg talks about the age old rule of writing every day. She points out that some people go through the motions and follow this rule religiously, but does their writing improve? Is this a waste of time and energy if you stress yourself over staring at a blank screen? Instead, Goldberg suggests you are allowed to stay away, if your heart’s not into writing. Come back when you’re on fire for that WIP, when you’re “hungry to say something.” Don’t just put in the time, but put some heart into your effort as well.

Finding the Fire

I’ve been working on a picture book idea, which isn’t many words but every single word must be the absolute right word. I’ve read it a zillion times. Instead of staring at the manuscript every day during the holidays, I watched movies, cooked, re-arranged Christmas decorations more than once, and made a huge dent in my TBR pile of books. When I finally got a quiet morning to sit down at the keyboard, I was on fire for that story. It had been simmering in my head for several weeks and I stayed with it most of that day. That was a productive writing session and wow, what a great feeling. Writing is fun! I can hardly wait for critique meeting, so I can get everyone’s opinion.

If you read any story craft book in the new year, this is the one. You MUST add this to your writing reference library in 2015 and ASAP.

Hope you have a happy and productive 2015, and thanks for following us on WordsmithSix!

Nataliebriight.com

THE WRITING PROCESS

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THE WRITING PROCESS

            Head Games minus the Publishing Part

 

By N. Bright

 

It’s true that there are as many different writing processes and ways to craft a book as there are writers. However, based on what I’ve learned, all writers go through similar angst before they type THE END. Whether it’s your first book or 49th, I’m guessing you’ve probably experienced a few of these head games yourself.

 

  • You’re hit with an absolutely brilliant idea set in an amazing world. You are certain it will be a #1 NYT bestseller and a movie.
  • Realizing that you will never completely understand the time period, character profiles, theme, setting, plot—whatever it may be—to effectively write an entertaining story. Why are you torturing yourself?
  • First Draft. There is no possible way this can ever be a cohesive novel worthy of any reader. You should just watch television.
  • This isn’t that bad. Maybe your critique group will like it, and it might show promise after you tweak it based on their input.
  • Return to your life. The novel disappears under a stack of short stories waiting to be submitted and rough drafts of magazine articles.
  • Final Read. Outloud. To yourself. You discover it has some brilliant parts, but in your mind no one will ever read it. YOU like it and it’s done. Now what?
  • Spark…. See No. 1 above.

 

Happy NaNoWritMo everyone!

 

Being A Writer

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Being A Writer

By Natalie Bright

 

On the first night of class she scanned the room, looked us all in the eye, and said, “You are all writers, or you wouldn’t be here.” That comment shocked me to the core. A writer! Me? Just hearing those words gave me hope. Even though my day job involved writing, I never once considered working on the stories that floated around in my head. It was several years later before I could say the words out loud to anyone.

“I’m a writer.” Why is that so hard to explain?

What is it about being a writer that is so intimidating? I think it’s the pressure we put on ourselves. It’s not like we have someone standing over our shoulder saying, “Write. Produce. You MUST crank out those chapters. Don’t stop.” On some days I wish there were someone who could make the world go away and insist that I sit down at the key board.

Once you say those word, the world has great expectations. Non-writers think they’re being helpful. “You’re a writer? You must have a lot of time on your hands.” “What have you written?” “Do you even have a book?” “Are your articles in anything I’ve heard about?”

Now the pressure is on—write a book, win a contest, publish something, submit anything…the world is wondering what you’re doing.

What happened to the joy of writing? Where did the thrill go of finding the right word? I used to feel less pressure to do this thing that I love.

I ponder my sanity at the start of another NaNoWriMo. This November I will finish the WIP, but I’m going to enjoy the process. Just me and words. Just me and the world inside my head. I don’t care if you like it or not.

“Allow your characters to take you on their journey,” the writing instructor said so many, many years ago. In the end, that’s the key to this crazy process.

Just write it.