Comments on: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Published: Part 2 Redux

By: tiffanyyatesmartin

tiffanyyatesmartin — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 13:01:00 +0000

This is SO helpful, Lynette. Thanks for posting--I'm sharing as a resource (with credit, of course) in my editorial newsletter for authors.

By: Lynette M Burrows

Lynette M Burrows — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 18:25:23 +0000

In reply to Lise Mayne. Lise, you are so right. The accounting is a full time job in and of itself. And it's so hard at the beginning when you don't know what to track or how to track it.

By: Lise Mayne

Lise Mayne — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 15:42:44 +0000

This is excellent. Such good advice! Another aspect to consider is tracking the sales and doing all the accounting. It really is another job.

By: Lynette M Burrows

Lynette M Burrows — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 05:53:28 +0000

In reply to dholcomb1. I'm glad you're protected yourself and your work. Thank you for reading.

By: dholcomb1

dholcomb1 — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 05:16:51 +0000

Very important information. I have copyrighted all of my published stories.

denise

By: Lynette M Burrows

Lynette M Burrows — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 22:37:06 +0000

In reply to Lisa Norman. Lisa, interesting about pirates having honest friends. I wonder if they know their friends are pirates? Guess it takes all kinds to make our world--and keep it interesting. Thanks for sharing!

By: Lisa Norman

Lisa Norman — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 22:24:25 +0000

Great post, Lynette! I will share one other bit with you: people who download pirated books wouldn't buy the book - you know that already. But there have been some interesting studies that they may have friends who WILL. And they may still tell people about the book. Studies show that while you may not lose much money to pirates, it is actually possible to make money from them. Not always, and certainly not in an egregious circumstance of large scale, but small-time pirates can actually be helpful. WEIRD, but true.

By: Lynette M Burrows

Lynette M Burrows — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 17:37:21 +0000

Excellent points, Alicia. Award deadlines are important too as some awards garner more attention. First time authors also need to know that some awards are just to make the award givers money. Check the award and the award givers out before entering.

By: Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt

Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 16:53:12 +0000

Registering copyright is critical - and money well spent. I've had Amazon ask me to prove my ownership of the copyright, and all I had to do was point them to the Library of Congress entry. It was scary when they demanded proof, and not a very convenient time (never is), and I was SO glad I had registered. Also, I hope to be successful with the trilogy I'm writing, a 'big book,' and the time to get the copyright locked down is when it's complete but not yet published, so there are no questions about ownership down the line, and you have the possibility of damages if you need to sue. I put thousands and thousands of hours into my work - I want the protection. One thing I wish I had known ahead of time: traditional book awards have deadlines. Your book may not qualify if its publication date isn't within the deadlines for a particular year. Indie awards are more forgiving, but if you put your book out at the wrong time, your chance of, say, a Pulitzer for Fiction is over for that book. Not that many of us would qualify, but I wish I had known: I missed one I could have at least applied to.

By: Lynette M Burrows

Lynette M Burrows — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 14:29:16 +0000

Thank you, Ellen. I think few first time authors know that there is so much more to this business than just writing the book.