Nytwriter

FATE OF BLOOD Available Now

2025-12-03T08:42:00.008-05:00

Fate of Blood, book 2 of the Cord & Asher dark MM romance duet, is available now on Amazon.

Tropes include second chance, soul mates, found family, best friends to lovers, touch him and die, vampire mafia.

Blurb as follows:

Does fate lie in the blood or the act?

Since the moment he walked into my life,

Cord McCallister has been my dark knight.

Fighting my demons.

Slaying my dragons.

A force as constant as the rising sun.

But now I need something more from him.

Something I have no right to ask.

Something that could cost him everything.

I need him to be my savior.

Because without him, I don’t think I’ll survive another night.

Fate of Blood offers even more filthy spice, unhinged violence, and a guaranteed HEA that will leave you smiling.

Fate of Blood is available for print and ebook here: Amazon purchase link

Read for free in Kindle Unlimited.

TASTE OF BLOOD Released TODAY

2025-10-13T09:14:00.000-04:00

TASTE OF BLOOD, Book 1 of the dark paranormal MM romance Cord & Asher duology, is out today. Meet the MCs:

Cord McCallister:

–Morally black mafia fixer

–Talks with his fists

–Slow to trust

Asher Winston:

–Body like sin

–Loves unconditionally

–Erotically sadistic

Dive into Cord and Asher's world, full of second chance angst, unhinged violence, and enough steamy spice to curl your toes.

Available in ebook, paperback, and Kindle Unlimited HERE

Preorders are ready for Taste of Blood

2025-08-26T08:35:00.002-04:00

Dive into Cord & Asher's story with the first book of their duet, TASTE OF BLOOD. Blurb as follows:

Forever is a long time for a vampire.

I always thought Asher Winston was my forever.

That’s why cutting him out of my life was like cutting off a limb.

But it had to be done.

If I’d stayed, we would have killed each other.

For ten years I avoided him.

Going through the motions.

Empty and alone.

And then that chance meeting on the street.

Now I’m caught in his web again.

I know where this will lead, but I don’t have the strength to end it.

Because as much as I hate it, the only time I can breathe is when he’s near me.

Release date October 13, 2025. Preorder HERE

The True Soul Updated Cover

2025-04-12T09:41:00.008-04:00

Ever since I commissioned the cover for The True Soul I was dissatisfied with it. It looked like a trashy romance novel (a reader even recently told me that), which, while there are aspects of this book that place it in the category of paranormal romance, is not reflective of what the book is really about. It's a love story, true, but it's also a story of a lost culture. I suppose that's why, when I created the hardcover version, I went with another cover.

When I decided to reformat all my books to be more reader-friendly (many were published in 10pt Times New Roman, which is not a reader-friendly font face or size), I naturally needed to redo all the covers because the page counts had increased. And I figured, as long as I was doing that, I might as well commission an upgrade. This is what we came up with. I believe it now reflects the more fantastical elements of the book because there is a sense of magic in the relationship of Sharla and Flies With Wind, as well as in the tribe's existence.

The True Soul is available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover HERE.

Publishing Update

2025-04-06T08:02:00.004-04:00

I'm in the process of removing all my books from Kindle Unlimited so I can sell them on other outlets like Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, etc. While no longer in KU, they will be available on Kobo Plus. Right now the first four books of my Sacrifice series have been uploaded, awaiting publication. As my current KU obligations expire, more will follow with updated links provided on the My Books page.

Embedding Fonts in a PDF Document

2025-04-03T10:11:00.002-04:00

I’ve seen it countless times by authors in online forums–how do I embed fonts in a PDF document? I did some research on it for my own purposes and came up with this instructional document.

I’m going to assume you’re working with an MS Word document. If so, first embed the fonts in that document by the following method:

File>Save As

Then choose the folder where you want to save your document (even if it’s already in that folder). When the dialog box opens, click Tools (at the bottom)>Save Options then check the box next to Embed Fonts in This File. Uncheck any of the boxes below that.

Click OK>Save.

Now we move onto the PDF portion. Under File, click Print.

Select Adobe PDF>Printer Properties (see image 1 below)

Click Advanced. In the dialog box, click the Paper/Quality tab, then click on the Paper Size drop down menu and scroll down to Postscript Custom Page Size (see image 2).

Enter the trim size of your book. If this is a bleed book, you will need to enter the actual size you used when you set it up. For instance, if it's a 6x9 trim size with bleed, you would actually enter 6.13x9.25.

Click OK.

Go to the Adobe PDF Settings tab, and under Default Settings, click Edit (see image 3 below)

Under Fonts, scroll down the Windows/FONTS listed and click to Add any to Always Embed box (see image 4).

Click OK, then a box will come up with a job number (not important). Click Save, then when it closes, click OK.

Now click Print and your PDF will be created. When you open the PDF file, click File>Properties and check the fonts. It should list all the fonts you added.

A word about nonstandard fonts. I have had little success in adding them, but you can try adding them manually. When I want to use a decorative font for a chapter heading, I usually just create a graphic of it.

If you would like a PDF copy of this post, let me know in the comments below. Please include an email address where I can send it.

New Video for The Sacrifice Series

2024-12-29T12:45:00.002-05:00

I just dropped a new video for my Sacrifice urban fantasy series. I'm pretty proud of this one.

New Promo for RELEASE

2024-12-25T11:55:00.001-05:00

I've created a new promo video for RELEASE, Book 5 of The Sacrifice series. Short and sweet.

The Cruelty of Thorns Published

2024-07-24T08:38:00.003-04:00

JUST RELEASED! My new dark paranormal romance, The Cruelty of Thorns.

JULIANUS

I’m a sensualist, born to chase desire. I’m also a bloodthirsty monster. The ruinous events that led to that fate have ruled my nights and haunted my dreams throughout my centuries of existence. Until I saw her. Now I can’t get her out of my mind, even though another man commands her attention. Every instinct is warning me to stay away, but how can I do that when she could be the key to my redemption?

MYRA

I came to Whitfield College for a new beginning. To forget the tragic event that stole my creativity and forced me to swear off romance for good. Until now. Now I find myself faced with a dilemma I never dreamed I’d have. Two gorgeous men, one mysterious and exciting, the other grounded and sweet. Both determined to claim me as their own, and my life could depend on which one I choose.

THE CRUELTY OF THORNS is available for ebook and paperback on Amazon. For a limited time, read for free on Kindle Unlimited.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: This book contains content recommended for those 18+, to include:

BDSM, MF and MM sex, polyamorous sex, sexual assault, nonconsensual sex, murder, torture, blood play, and suicide (off-page)

Book Trailer for The Cruelty of Thorns

2024-06-25T14:06:00.000-04:00

I finished my dark paranormal romance, The Cruelty of Thorns, on Sunday and created a book trailer for it. See below:

The Video That Got Me Banned From TikTok

2024-06-08T09:44:00.001-04:00

A while back, after I published my latest novella, Skinned, I created a video short to promote it. It was just the above image with an excerpt from the book. I posted it all over social media with no problem, but for some reason, the PTB over at TikTok took exception to it and banned my account. I've tried reaching out to them to protest this to no avail. There was no warning, no slap on the hand, just my account disappearing. I even tried opening a new account with a different email address, but when I posted that video, it received the same treatment. Two accounts banned.

You can view the video for yourself and see what you think. Is this worthy of being banned?

View it here: SKINNED: A Descent Into Obsession

Just Released! Skinned: A Descent Into Obsession

2024-04-25T08:46:00.002-04:00

This is a novella I wrote several years ago and debated publishing due to the taboo nature of some of its content. However, given what I've recently seen available in the dark romance market, I think its reached its time.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BOREDOM MEETS OBSESSION?

I thought I was happy. Good job. Nice house. Loving son.

Then Sloan walked into my life. Tall, dark and wickedly handsome. Trouble with a capital T. A man who likes to push buttons.

He’s pushing all of mine, awakening desires I didn’t know I possessed.

Now I’m spiraling down a rabbit hole of depravity I can’t escape. And the worst part is, I don’t want to. I like being his pet. His plaything.

Am I sick or just obsessed?

Trigger Warnings: BDSM, MF and FF sex, polyamorous sex, discussion of taboo subjects to include stepbrother and underage sex, humiliation and shaming, MMC sharing FMC, psychological manipulation

Skinned is available for ebook and paperback on Amazon.

Video for A Legacy in Blood Special Hardcover Edition

2024-03-25T13:55:00.001-04:00

I made a video of the special hardcover edition of my gothic vampire horror novel A Legacy in Blood to show off the art inside.

I'm really enjoying doing chapters spreads and other artwork for the interior of my novels and plan to really step up my game in the next book, The Cruely of Thorns.

Formatting Bleed Images in a Word Document

2024-02-25T12:19:00.002-05:00

I’ve recently fallen in love with books that have artwork inside. Whether it’s chapter heading images or a full page bleed image, I am obsessed with it and gobble up the print version (whether that be paperback or hardcover) of any book I’m interested in reading that includes artwork. Naturally, that lead to me wanting to do the same for my own books.

I chose two of my standalone books and set about creating special hardcover editions. I use Word for all my writing, editing, and formatting because it’s a very powerful program with plenty of features if you just bother to learn it. I use Adobe Photoshop for my images because I had a web and graphic design business for years and that’s my go-to graphics program.

If you’re going to go this route using full page bleed images, the first and most important thing you have to do is decide on your trim size because that affects your artwork. For my hardcovers I used 6x9. You can go to KDP Format Your Paperback (or Hardcover) and under Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins, scroll down to the Trim Size Specifications for Amazon.com. There you’ll find a table that shows the trim size with and without bleed. According to the table, a 6x9 book with bleed should have a page size of 6.125 x 9.25.

Now you need to set up your document. I did a post on Formatting A Word Document For Amazon last year, but for our purposes here we’re just going to worry about page size and margins.

Create a new document and under Page Layout, go to the Size pulldown and scroll down to More Paper Sizes. Enter your dimensions in the appropriate place (9.25 height and 6.125 width) then go to the margins tab and set up your preliminary margins. You may have to tweak this later depending on your final page count. Select Mirror Margins, then set the top and bottom margins to .5”, the inside margin to .70” and the outside margin to .45”. Ignore gutter.

Now you get to do the fun part, select and size your artwork. Whether you use your own artwork or source it somewhere else, you should always use the highest resolution possible just like you do for your cover. I would suggest 300dpi for all print artwork.

I've used a couple of sources for digital artwork, among them Etsy. There are tons of artists selling clipart, watercolor, scrapbook pages, and other digital artwork on there and when you purchase them the agreement usually includes a commercial use license. Another source I’ve found is The Hungry JPEG. You can also purchase fonts on there. All of the artwork I’ve purchased on both sites comes in 300dpi because they mean for you to print it out.

Size your art to the page size (for 6x9 that means 6.125 x 9.25 at 300 dpi using a graphics program. If you have art that doesn’t fill the page (such as an image you want for the top of your chapter headings) you can create a blank page at the trim size dimensions and place your artwork on it where you want it and save it as a separate image. That way it’s consistent throughout and it covers the headers and page numbers on those pages.

Okay, you’ve created your artwork, you’ve designed how you want your book to look, now you have to put it together. Let’s say you want a full page image to go behind the text on the first page of a chapter. Go to that page and before placing the image, put in as many hard returns as you’ll need to get to the first line of text. I do this because if you do it after you place the image, it sometimes scrolls the image down the page.

Go to the top of the page and under Insert, select Picture. Go to the folder where your image is located and select it. Now the Formatting dialog comes up. Under Wrap Text, go to More Layout Options, then select Behind Text so the image will appear as a background behind your text. Next go to the Size tab and enter a size larger than your page size so the image will bleed past the margins. For 9.25” height, set it to 9.3”. For 6.125” width, set it to 6.2”. Click OK, then position the art at the top and left margin of the page. It should fill the page.

Here’s an example:

Go through your book inserting your images on the pages where you want them using the same method. Pay attention to whether you’re placing them on a left or right page, depending on how you want them to appear. I would suggest starting your chapters on a right page, so you may need to insert a blank page here and there so it will fall correctly. To avoid having headers and page numbers on blank pages, I created a blank page image to insert on those pages that fills the page and covers the headers and page numbers.

Incubus Released

2024-02-23T07:57:00.002-05:00

I WOULD TELL YOU TO FORGET ME, BUT I KNOW THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE.

The only reason Dana came to the bohemian Latin Quarter of the city was to find her missing sister. Eva was never one to paint outside the lines, so it should have been easy to trace her whereabouts. But the deeper Dana probes, the stranger things get.

First there is Eva’s interest in a rare book on witchcraft full of love spells and lurid rituals. Then the psychic she consulted before her disappearance urges Dana to leave town before it’s too late. But the most troubling is the mysterious man in black her sister was involved with. The melancholy poet in the rambling old house who quickly burrows his way into Dana’s every waking thought and haunts her dreams. Never one to lean toward romance, Dana’s world is shaken by the nightly fantasies she’s ashamed to acknowledge even to herself.

Is it love or obsession that causes Dana to stay when every instinct is screaming for her to flee? And if she stays, will she be doomed to follow in her sister’s footsteps?

Incubus, a standalone dark fantasy romance novella, is now available for ebook and paperback on Amazon.

Book Trailer for Incubus

2024-02-17T14:13:00.001-05:00

Just finished creating a book trailer for my upcoming dark fantasy romance novella Incubus.

A Bone to Pick - A Story from The Sacrifice World

2024-02-16T08:18:00.007-05:00

A while back I wrote a short prequel story in the world of The Sacrifice series. I originally had it only available for subscribers to my newsletter, but I'm now including a link here for anyone to download and read it. Just a little story about Laec before the events of TRIAL, though it does figure into the the fifth book in the series, RELEASE.

Download A Bone to Pick

A Legacy in Blood Hardcover Edition

2024-02-13T14:31:00.004-05:00

Just released! The special collector's hardcover edition of A Legacy in Blood. This has been a labor of love for me, pulling together the wonderful gothic artwork and formatting this special edition. I also relied on my graphic arts background to design the cover and am quite proud of it.

Hardcover available exclusively on Amazon.

Video for The True Soul

2024-02-10T13:55:00.002-05:00

Just a little something I created for The True Soul.

Special Edition Hardcover of The True Soul

2024-01-31T07:41:00.001-05:00

JUST RELEASED! A new special collector's edition hardcover with a different cover and beautiful artwork throughout. Buy on Amazon here.

RELEASE Published

2024-01-23T07:58:00.006-05:00

In RELEASE, Book 5 of The Sacrifice series, our intrepid anti-hero, Laec Matthews, may be in over his head. While not the last Sacrifice book, this one will usher in a major change in the series as follows:

For months Laec Matthews bounced between preparing for a demon war and wanting a normal life with the woman he loves. One seemed destined to remain out of reach, while the other threatened to destroy his world.

With all signs pointing to war, it’s now up to Laec and his circle of friends to gather battle-ready fighters. Their efforts lead them to forge the most unlikely of alliances, but is it already too late? Has the Queen of Hell learned the secret of the Lock, enabling her to launch a coordinated attack on this realm? Are those her demons who roam the streets and alleys, picking off unsuspecting humans and supernatural warriors alike?

While chaos swirls around him, can Laec finally claim a little luck on his side? If so, he has to be ready when the opportunity strikes, because this time, it’s for keeps.

RELEASE is available for ebook and paperback on Amazon.

Updates and a New Cover

2023-12-30T10:40:00.005-05:00

I recently had the cover updated for my first novel, Bring John Bland, by the fine folks at Getcovers. I figured after 19 years (2005--has it really been that long?), it was overdue for a change.

You can buy the book HERE.

As far as other news, I finished RELEASE, Book 5 of The Sacrifice, and will start edits after the new year with the intention of publishing in January 2024.

I've also started work on a new project, a dark fantasy novella entitled Incubus. Stay tuned for news on that.

Book Trailer for A Legacy in Blood

2023-11-25T14:21:00.005-05:00

Was just tooling around waiting for the turkey to cook Thanksgiving day and created this trailer. For full size, view on YouTube.

A Legacy in Blood Released

2023-11-20T08:03:00.003-05:00

JUST RELEASED!

A Legacy in Blood, an old-fashioned, gothic vampire tale in the vein of Anne Rice, meandering through multiple timelines and generations of the Castillo family.

A curse uttered generations ago on a rain swept Spanish hillside hangs over the life of Kira Castillo, and there is nothing she or anyone else can do to change it.

As an only child, Kira had always known she was the last hope to carry on her family’s legacy. An arranged marriage to a man she did not love sought to secure that legacy, but fate had other plans. Kira’s life was upended the night she was to become Eduardo Lopez’s bride, and for her, nothing would ever be the same. A mysterious face in the crowd, a terrifying ritual at the hands of a voodoo king, and a tragic tryst with a childhood love would shape the woman she was to become.

Now she must cross oceans and time to save her family again and again, always arriving at the eleventh hour while fighting to contain the deadly secret that torments her nights.

Available for ebook and paperback on Amazon. Read for free on Kindle Unlimited. A free excerpt is available on my Random Sh!t Nobody Cares About website.

So You Want To Be A Writer - Part 2

2023-11-09T08:42:00.004-05:00

10 Steps To Go From First Draft To Publishable Novel

(See Part 1 here)

If you’ve been working on your novel and have it sitting at roughly 80,000 to 100,000 words, good job. Pat yourself on the back and bask in the moment, but don’t go so far as celebrating, because as the man said, “We ain’t done yet.”

See, what you are holding in your hand (or on your computer) is something probably no one but you will ever see (and trust me, when you’re finally done, you’ll be grateful for that). Given the choice, no writer would ever want someone else to read their first draft. I know mine have almost as many instructions and notes to myself in them as narrative. Fill this out more, find out what this means, add a little more padding to this scene…you get the point. The purpose of a first draft is to get the whole story down, from start to finish. Think of it as a skeleton, and the rewrites you’re going to do as adding lean meat to the bones. A book may take months (and for some people, years) to finish, and getting to the first draft is a very small part of that effort. The hard work comes after, and it’s the stuff that separates the wannabes from the real writers.

1. Stop Writing. Depending on how much of a control freak you are, this may or not be the easiest thing you=ve done yet. AWhat do you mean, stop writing?@ you ask. Simple. Close the file (or put away that giant stack of dead trees you call a manuscript) and forget about it for a week or two. Take a vacation. Clean out the garage. Better yet, start another book. The point is, you=ve been living with this book for several weeks or months (or for some of you, years) and during that time it has consumed every last drop of your creative juices. You need time to recharge the batteries and distance to gain perspective. You know that old saying, AYou can=t see the forest for the trees?@ Well, this is where it came from. (Okay, maybe that=s not entirely true, but it applies.)

2. Rewriting, Round 1. If the Round 1 part of this title scares you, you=re going to either need to get tougher or pack up and go home. Most books require at least two, many times more rewrites. The most important job of this round is to fill in the blanks (all those little notes you made to yourself while writing), round out your research, eliminate the typos and grammar gremlins, and tighten the writing. Some scenes may require more detail, some may require less, and some may need to be eliminated altogether. Remember, if it isn=t contributing to the resolution of the story, it isn=t necessary. It=s okay to throw in the occasional red herring, but do that too much and what you see as a storytelling device becomes a reader=s motive for murder. (Quick word of advice here: Don=t piss off your reader. It hurts future sales.)

WARNING: This round of rewrites can also become a trap, especially for new writers. You can get so mired in rewriting and researching that you burn out on the entire novel and never touch it again. So make this pass quick. Allot yourself a predetermined amount of time for completion (say a week, or if you=re busy or work slowly, two) and stick to that schedule. Dragging it out for weeks or even months isn=t going to make the book any better.

3. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie. Every writer has his or her own system for doing things, and as you become more experienced, you=ll develop yours as well. Today, however, is not that day. If you=re reading this, it=s because you=re not there yet. So, take my advice for what it=s worth, and step away from the book again. Believe it or not, even if you=re not actively working on it, your little literary masterpiece-to-be is still happily percolating away on the back burner of your brain. There might be a scene you=re not happy with, or a plot hole you can=t figure out how to fill. The fact is, at this point, you=ve probably got as many questions as you have answers and while banging your head against a keyboard might provide a warped brand of satisfaction, it probably won=t do much more than give you a headache that you can then blame on your writing, thus providing you with the excuse you need to throw in the towel.

Think of it this way: You know those times when you=re having a conversation with a friend and something they say reminds you of a movie you saw a long time ago (or maybe last week), but you can=t for the life of you remember the name of the movie? It=s like staring into a black hole. You know you know it, but that portion of your internal hard drive has just taken a vacation to the Bahamas and is unavailable for access. Then sometime in the middle of the night, lo and behold, the hard drive comes back online and wakes you up with–you guessed it–the name of the movie you forgot. You sit up in bed and yell, AEureka!@ and curse the Gods of Internal Hard Drives for their untimely interruption of your sleep, or something like that.

So what does this mean to you, the writer? Allow your novel time to breathe, to smooth out the rough edges. Fiddling with it during this time, changing this word or that, really isn=t going to speed the process. You never know; by waiting you might get struck with an epiphany that turns your ho-hum first novel into a best seller.

4. Rewriting, Round 2. This time when you come back to your book, do yourself a favor. If you can, print it out. Reading it on paper forces you to read without editing. Plus, once that read-through is finished, it will be easier to take notes on paper. If you can=t print it out, convert it to PDF so you=re forced to read it through from beginning to end without stopping to edit.

The reason for a complete read-through is important for you to get a real sense of the overall book, something that isn=t possible when you work on it one part at a time. It is only by looking at it as a whole that you get a real sense of the plot, pacing, and what I call readability of the novel. You can take notes during this read-through, but don=t let it sidetrack you. You need this perspective. I often trick myself by pretending I=m a stranger reading the book. You can use whatever works for you.

Once you=re finished, you can go back and begin to polish your little jewel with a greater understanding of what it needs or could stand to lose. Be merciless–the changes you make now will make your novel stronger for what=s coming next.

5. Beta Read. By now you=re feeling pretty confident about your book. You=ve ironed out all the obvious plot holes, tightened up the narrative, and cleaned up the typos and grammar problems.

Which means it is now time for a second opinion. If you=ve never had anyone else read your work (friends and family don=t count because they=ll say they love anything you write to spare your feelings, and that won=t do you or your future readers any good), this can be a scary proposition. Unfortunately, you=re going to have to get over your fear or you=re never going to be able to release your baby into the wild.

The choice of a beta reader is important. Good beta readers are worth their weight in gold to a writer, and having several is vital because you=re going to want at least two different beta reads; one now and one just before release. Having several readers for each ensures you get a good cross-section of feedback, but don=t use all of them the first time around. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression, so the reader(s) who look at your book this time should not be the same one(s) who look at it the final time. You can=t give an accurate assessment of something when you already know what=s going to happen.

The most important qualification for a beta reader is honesty. No matter how brutal it may seem, make sure your readers are willing to give you an impartial, no-holds-barred assessment of the book. And that=s where the next step comes into play.

6. Critique Etiquette. If you=re going to be a professional writer, you have to learn to take criticism constructively. Remember, your beta readers are critiquing this particular book, not you personally or your overall ability to write. You can either sulk and get angry, or you can use their comments constructively to make your book better so when you do release it, you=ll know it=s the best book you could have written. If you=re looking for an ego-stroke, find another way to express yourself.

7. Apply What You=ve Learned. Once you get all the comments from your beta readers, go through them objectively. You have to be able to take a step back at this point and look at the book like any other work you do. If you were building a house and the doors were crooked, you=d want someone to point that out to you before you had prospective buyers come by to look at it, right? Same thing here. Take all their comments and compare them to each other and to your book. Some comments may be valid, and some you may reject. But don=t reject the reason the comment was made, especially if more than one person makes it. Perhaps your readers don=t understand a particular point you=re trying to make in the book and suggest a way to clarify it. You may not agree with their solution, but don=t discount the comment itself. Just because you know what you=re trying to say, doesn=t mean your readers will. If clarification is required, it=s better to address it now.

8. Editing. Remember that forest and trees comparison we made in Number 1? It=s more important than ever now. When you live with a book for so long, you begin to see it, not for what it is, but what you think it is. Mistakes that would be obvious in someone else=s work are completely invisible in your own. It=s not that you=re bad at editing, it=s just that your brain sees what you want it to see.

You may or may not be good at editing. If you=re not, finding a good editor is even more important than a good beta reader. And there=s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all editor. Different writers need different kinds of editors, and some may need more than one. You may be good at the grammar and punctuation stuff, but blind to content and pacing. Or maybe you=re just the opposite. The point is, take your time to find an editor that fits your needs and develop a relationship with them. That way they learn your strengths and weaknesses and can edit accordingly.

If you are good at editing, it=s still wise to get a second pair of eyes on your book, if for no other reason than to make sure you don=t miss something. If you can=t afford to pay an editor, try to work out some sort of reciprocal agreement. Maybe you know a writer who=s good at content editing and you=re good at line editing. You could swap services, thus helping each other out and building a report with a fellow writer.

9. Polish and Proof. We=re getting so close you can almost taste it now, but let=s not rush things. The time you spend on details now will reward you with a better product later. After you incorporate your editor=s inputs, you need to once again put the book aside and let it rest. This time I would suggest giving it a couple of weeks. I know you=re anxious to set it free, but just be patient a little while longer. You might want to start lining up publication options, maybe finalizing your cover ideas or other details. You could also start talking up your book on social media, getting some pre-release buzz going.

Once you=ve gotten some distance from the book, do another read through like you did in Number 4. If you=ve done your job, there should be little if anything to change or correct. Make those changes, give it another polish, and prepare to send it out for its final review.

10. Final Beta Read. This is it. The final test. What you give your beta readers to read this time should be 99% ready for publication. I say 99% because finding a flaw or two is not the end of the world. If they find nothing, congratulate yourself on a job well done. And if you run into the opposite scenario and your beta readers still uncover problems, don=t get discouraged. Remember, it=s better to learn about any problems now rather than after you publish and get a spate of bad reviews. Just remember to be patient and thank them for their time and honesty. Every problem you catch now is one a paying customer won=t catch later.

And that=s it. Remember back in part 1 when I said writing was hard work? Well, now you know exactly what I was talking about. But you got through it, and now you can finally pop the cork on that champagne and have a little celebration. But just a little one.

See, your book is finished, but you’re not ready for publication yet. If you’re going the traditional route, you’ll have to start putting together a synopsis and query letter to find an agent, and that’s a whole other process. Check Query Tracker for agents who specialize in your genre. If you do decide to go the traditional route, you may dispense with the expense of paying an editor to go through your book, since most publishing houses have their own internal editors, but you still want to submit the best version of your book for consideration.

If you decide to go indie and publish yourself, you’ll need to format your book. Read through my post on Formatting A Word Document for Publication on Amazon for some tips.

As far as the other aspects of self-publishing, you’ll need a cover–a professional cover is worth its weight in gold to give your book its best start in life. Covers don’t need to break the bank. You can get a good cover on a budget by checking out some of the artists on Fiverr or a company like Getcovers.com. And last but not least, you’ll need to write a blurb to use as your back cover copy and your book description on Amazon or wherever else you plan to sell it. Remember, A BLURB IS NOT A SUMMARY. It’s marketing copy, 150 to 200 words, three short paragraphs of succinct, punchy, attention-getting advertisement. Think of it like a move trailer, just hitting the highlights. I highly recommend you check out Fiction Blurbs, the Best Page Forward Way by Pheobe J. Ravencraft and Bryan Cohen. Great step-by-step advice for writing a blurb that will get your book the attention it deserves.

Once you’ve accomplished all that, NOW you’re done.

If you would like a pdf copy of this post, please post a request in the comments section and I will be happy to send it to you.