peeps: Helen Ginger
Helen Ginger is the Story Circle Network‘s coordinator of editorial services and Legends In Our Own Minds owner/partner and webmistress. Her free ezine, Doing It Write, which goes out to subscribers around the globe, is about to enter its 14th year of publication. Helen is also the author of Angel Sometimes, three non-fiction books with TSTC Publishing, and a contributor to the short story anthology, The Corner Café. Her next book, a suspense, Dismembering the Past, will be released in early 2013.
How Helen Got Started Self-Publishing
Years ago, Helen stopped hearing from the agent who was representing her. She went online and discovered he’d decided fiction wasn’t selling and he wasn’t going to represent it anymore. After firing him, she eventually came out of her funk and decided, with the advent of ebooks, that she could publish her books herself.
The first step she took was put Angel Sometimes up for sale for the Kindle on Amazon. Even though she wondered whether she’d be able to pull it off, she discovered it wasn’t all that difficult. Not long afterwards, she decided she wanted to hold her book in her hands too and have a traditional physical product that bookstores could order, so she began learning how to get it into print format. She found that most bookstores order through Ingram, and that Ingram works with Lightning Source. So Helen worked her way through the maze that is Lightning Source. Now Angel Sometimes is available in print and ebook.
Self-Publishing Observations and Tips
The thing that happily surprised her was that as soon as it was officially published in print, her book appeared and was available for ordering on the online listing of practically every bookstore.
Print books aren’t going away any time soon. But neither are ebooks, and she believes they will get more and more popular. Her advice to authors thinking about publishing an ebook:
- Go for it. There are places that you can pay to get it ready to go up on multiple sites, but it’s really not that difficult at all to do on your own.
- Make sure you have an editor look at it.
- If you’re not an artist or expert at cover art, then hire a cover artist. The cover can be a make or break for a lot of readers.
- And if you want to do your own print books, there are companies that will do it for you. You can do it on your own, though. ‘But it’s not as easy as creating an ebook, and it definitely costs more to do.
Learn more about Helen by visiting her website, and drop by her Amazon author page which lists the books she’s published, worked on and contributed to.
Article by Eldon Sarte
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9 comments on “peeps: Helen Ginger”
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Good Cover Designs
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"Alchemy" by Mike Wood
I would’ve fired that agent as well! Brave to do it yourself, but then, you are an editor and know the process.
I always learn something when I read Helen Ginger. She gives great advice and is completely candid about her own experience. Thanks for this information!
You give lots of encouraging advice. It’s always nice to hear it from someone who knows what they’re talking about.
Hi Helen .. me too – I’d have been livid – but perhaps it was a blessing in disguise – good for you for taking the self-publishing route …
As you’ve done it – we get to see some of the pitfalls and get the tips – great info – cheers Hilary
Cool post in 3rd person >:)
I’m aiming for self-publishing myself. The critical thing I’m not able to figure out is how to self publish on Amazon when you live in a small remote country, and not in one of the big countries where amazon.com have their web servers. There are issues with taxing and bank accounts and that kind of stuff.
I found dealing with agents to be a frustrating experience and a big part of why I chose independent publishing. I absolutely love the new cover. Congrats on taking the plunge and getting your novel out there. Can’t wait for the next one.
Ann
Twitter: MermaidHel
on said:
Hi everyone! Sorry I’m so late.
There are times when I wish I had an agent to suggest things to do or to offer advice, but the publishing world is changing and while the agents and publishers are fighting over the big name authors, the rest of us are making it happen on our own.
Thank you Ann. I love the cover too. Lately, I’ve been dealing with GoodReads to get them to set the print cover as the default. But with help from one of the editors on their site, I think I got it done.
Cold, I do wish I had an answer for you, ’cause I know you’re in a really, really remote area of the world. Is the biggest problem the lack of web servers or the finances? Either would be a problem, but it’d be easier if one could be overcome.
All great tips for any writer. I’ve learned over the years I can do a lot of things on my own. I still need someone to format for me to Kindle and for the soft bound physical books.
I also hire an editor and my nephew to do my cover art. And I have someone do my badges for me too.
Wow! Now that I think of it, I’m not nearly as self-sufficient as I thought I was.
Stephen, I believe you’re more self-sufficient than you think! For one thing, I’m amazed by your blog.
I definitely hire a cover artist.