Melissa Ann Goodwin

Melissa Ann Goodwin

Monday, February 27, 2012

Guest Post from Annalisa Crawford, Author of Cat and the Dreamer

Today I’m delighted to host Annalisa Crawford, who just released her first novella in ebook form. I think many of you may know Annalisa already, as she is very active and supportive in Bloggiland. I know that I’ve seen her comments when I’ve visited many of your blogs, so I hope you’ll say Hi to her while she’s visiting over here.

The links to Annalisa's book are listed at the end of the post.
All right then, Annalisa, Take it Away!

ANNALISA SPEAKS:
First, I'd like to say a big thank you to Melissa for letting me run riot in her wonderful blog!

I'm Annalisa Crawford, and my first novella, Cat and the Dreamer, has just been published by Vagabondage Press.

This is the part of the process - the looking back part - where I thought I'd be able to share all the things I've learnt. I thought I'd be able to give something back to all the wonderful bloggers who've been so helpful to me. But the problem is, it went so smoothly, I don't think I've learnt anything at all! I have a publisher, so a lot of the problems I've read about on other blogs just haven't applied to me, because the 'publishing bit' was out of my remit.

Still, I’m happy to share the few things that I did learn! Here’s my list:

* Learn to be patient. ePublishing is a lot quicker than print publishing, so when you don't hear from your publisher for a month, or longer, don't panic. Things are happening behind the scenes! When my MS was accepted, I was given the release date. And we met it. Granted, I didn't see the front cover until a week before, and I passed the final proofs back four days before... but it didn't matter. Breathe and be patient.

* Listen to the editor, but feel free to disagree with their changes. All my edits were done using 'Track Changes' in Word which was brilliant (no need to know all those strange editing marks that they put at the back of the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook - do they even still do that?) Anyway, I made all the changes she suggested. Then I stopped and thought, 'Actually, I liked that comma there, I wanted a semi-colon and not a full-stop'. So I opened up the file again, and considered each change more carefully. I still made a lot of the changes, but not all.

* Keep on top of your current WIP. I stopped writing when I got the email saying yes! I danced around the room, I kept it a secret for a fortnight or so, and I forgot to carry on writing. Even now, I'm editing and rewriting small parts of a previous project, rather than redrafting my novel.

* Stop saying 'It's just an ebook'. Did you see what I did there? JUST! I'm basically apologizing for the fact you can't buy it in Waterstone's. No, it IS an ebook, there's no just. Learn to big it up, learn to be proud. (Still learning this one, I have to choose my words carefully when I'm talking to people)

* Don't be ill the week of release so you can at least have a celebratory lunch with your hubby/wife/best friend/cat. I haven't celebrated yet. Yes, this week has been great, but it could have been better. I've just remembered a bottle of Champagne that someone bought me for the purpose of celebrating - no fear, it will be opened soon!

You know what? I think that's everything! I did warn you it would be short. I'd love to hear what you've all learnt from the publishing process.... you might have a better list than me.

OKAY, BACK TO MELISSA:
Thank you Annalisa, for generously sharing your experience and thoughts.  I think your list is actually quite helpful! Personally, I plan to use “Big it Up” as often as possible!

Wishing you wonderful good fortune with your book. By the way, I just down-loaded it to my Kindle and look forward to reading it.

Okay, here are Annalisa's links; I hope you'll check out her book, her blog and her Facebook page:

ANNALISA'S BLOG
VAGABONDAGE PRESS
AMAZON KINDLE U.S.
AMAZON KINDLE U.K
FACEBOOK PAGE

38 comments:

  1. Anonymous2/27/2012

    Congratulations on being a published author Annalisa. Unfortunately your first item, "be patient" is the hardest one on the list for me.

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    1. The 'breathe' advice was directly from Melissa after a very stressed email! And very sound advice too. I think patience might be one of those things we never get to grips with properly.

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  2. Thanks for having me over Melissa. It was great fun, but slightly nerve-wracking :-)

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  3. How exciting! I love the work on something new. If I ever see my book in printed form, I must keep the red pen away!

    Congrats Annalisa!!! And thanks to Melissa for inviting her over :)

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    1. Thank you - red pens have their place, but it's so easy to overdo it!

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  4. This was fun to read! I also just published my first ebook on Smashwords, and then on Amazon. Thankfully, I have a wonderfully techy-smart husband, and he did all the formatting for me -- perfectly! It's been so fun to do together, and now I'm putting a little book of poetry out there too, for free. Thanks for the words of advice; they really resonated with me. Isn't it fun being able to say at last, "I am a WRITER"?

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    1. MK - I'm so happy for you! I've heard the formatting is quite easy, though I didn't brave it myself. Perhaps next time. I look forward to reading your poetry. What is the name of your ebook?

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    2. Congratulations on your book. I'd love a techy-smart hubby - he usually ends up asking me!

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  5. Cangratulations again Annalisa. You're absolutely right in saying it's not 'just' a book. It is a book!

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  6. I can relate to the not getting sick! I overdid it in preparation last week and was sick this week. And an eBook is still a book. Besides, soon that will be the only format.

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    1. Sickness seems to have spread through blogland over the last couple of weeks - I hope you're fully recovered now.

      I hope print books will be around for a little longer, another 70 or 80 years and then I don't really mind :-)

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    2. I'm with you on that Annalisa - I hope print books will still be around :-)

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  7. Congratulations, Annalisa! I hope you feel better soon so you can celebrate big time!!

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    1. Thank you, and yes I've happily celebrated now!

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  8. Oh, I hope you're feeling better. You must celebrate. Patience has never been my strong suit. I'm in the wrong business, huh? lol

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    1. I'm much better now, thanks. Patience seems to be hard for a lot of people - we are not alone in it!

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  9. Oh, I'm so sorry you were sick for your release! I hope you can have a double celebration soon to make up for it. Thanks for sharing what you've learned, I found your post very helpful. And congratulations on your release!!!

    Thanks for hosting this post, Melissa! :)

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    1. It was absolutely my pleasure. Annalisa is a delight, and I'm looking forward to reading her book!

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  10. Congrats...and it truly stands out among wands, vampires and werewolves and the fluffy...though I am guilty of reading and writing atleast two of them.

    Yes, writing is an art gifted to few (the good ones that is) and should be proud of every little creation. An Ebook is a paid for book that gets downloaded and read, so wear the "technologically advanced" badge with pride. ;)

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    1. Technologically advanced - love it! (Although my friends would find that quite amusing!)

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  11. Congratulations. Published author. How good that must feel. And I am very sure that there was a lot of work and no doubt a surreptious tear or six.

    And a big thank you to Melissa for introducing another talented person to us all.

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    1. Thank you. No tears on this story, but a lot of sighing!

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  12. Aww, hope you feel a lot better now. And you're right, it's not just an e-book, it's an e-book. You have an e-book published!

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  13. So grateful for your warm welcome and response to Annalisa - I'm leaving her post up through Wednesday so that she can make a few more friends! And I'm with all of you, it's funny how we have that tendency to minimize - writing a book is a HUGE accomplishment! Publishing a book is a HUGE accomplishment, and it's very very brave! So everyone, do as Annalisa says and Big it Up!

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  14. Bigging it up is excellent advice - we are all too quick to belittle our achievements!

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    1. It's human nature, in a way though isn't it? Something we should all stop doing.

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  15. Yes it was a shame that you were ill but you're sounding loads better now and so I hope to hear those corks popping very soon across the Internet waves. Congratulations and enjoy!

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  16. Patience is definitely not easy. Congratulations!

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  17. I think these are great tips, and it sounds like you've kept a level head. Great job!

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    1. Level-headed - but still waiting for that moment when I look at someone's Kindle over their shoulder on the bus and see they're reading my book!

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  18. Congratulations:-) You have given encouragement and helpful tips to the timorous breed of would-be authors.

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