Quality Control - A-Z Challenge, Starting & Sustaining A Writing Career

Monday, April 20, 2015

Although as a self-publisher you may feel overwhelmed at times, it is important to ensure you have a product that will stand up to close inspection.

You've spent ages writing and polishing your novel, so there's no reason not to give it the best shot at being a top-of-the-line product. You have a unique story with compelling plotlines and characters.


You've sent it to an editor and/or beta readers, plus you've had a few early readers pick it apart, which is about everything you can do to get that baby ready for market (from an editorial point of view).

Good so far.

You may not be able to afford a graphic artist, but you barter with friends, so you got someone to do an eye-catching cover. Otherwise, you possibly have skills as a graphic artist and you've done your best job and circulated your cover to a dozen people for feedback. Everybody has given you the thumbs up and you're ready to roll.

All that's left to do is continue ramping up your promotion and getting ready for your book to hit those virtual shelves. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, it doesn't always go this smoothly and many self-publishers can attest to making a host of mistakes and learning hard, but valuable lessons on the way to clicking that publish button the next time.

Remember: your name and reputation are at stake with each book that hits the market.

I say all the time that each book is my best book, which is another way of saying I'm confident you can pick up any of my novels and expect a particular quality. What I write may not be your genre of choice, but with a nice cover, an intriguing storyline and an error free (or as close to it as possible) reading experience, I'm comfortable with placing my name on each book cover.

You may not have a paid team, but you certainly have friends and colleagues who will help you produce your best book every time. With each story published, your readers will come to expect a certain standard and it's in each writer's interest to aim for consistent quality. A satisfied reader can be our biggest and best source of advertisement.

                                              Write It, Work It, Publish.
                                                 ― Cherry-Ann Carew

18 comments:

  1. Remember: your name and reputation are at stake with each book that hits the market. Yes! I drive home that point in my seminars. You have one chance to make a good impression, especially with that first book.

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  2. Well said, couldn't agree more.

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  3. Yes, well said. I want lots of those satisfied readers.

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  4. Great post. You don't have to do it alone, and it's always best not too.

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  5. That quality control is so important. And it can be expensive if you're doing it yourself.

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  6. I always thought doing it all was the lonely writer's job. I learned that is so not true. Different eyes. Different minds. As many as you need to make it right is so necessary.

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  7. I couldn't have done anything without the help of support of this writing community. Quality control is right near the top of things that need to get done long before pushing the button.

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  8. I'm still working on finding a team.

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  9. This is great advice from you. Your books are always the highest quality. So yeah, definitely not a hypocrite. I honestly can't tell the difference between your books and those that are published by Random House.

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  10. Yup, it takes a village to send the best possible book out into the world. Great post!

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  11. It is quite the undertaking, that's for sure, isn't it? Thanks for the post!

    Elizabeth Mueller
    AtoZ 2015
    My Little Pony

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  12. You definitely hit the nail on the head there. Quality is very important because people in general forget so quickly and will judge you on your last publication. So every one has to be as good as the last, if not better.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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  13. Great post. I'm about to self publish my short story collection. I totally agree it has to be the best I can deliver so I'll be in no rush to get it out there. You certainly know your stuff JL!

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  14. I plan to self-publish my next book and oddly, it makes me slow down and look at all these details even more. It's all on me...I can't blame the publisher if I fail.

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  15. Yes, Joy, you roll them out with pride and with confidence that each is better than the one before because you grow, as all writers do.

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  16. Great advice no matter what industry one pursues.

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  17. You said it well A satisfied reader can be our biggest and best source of advertisement.Writer has to change the way of writing according to the readers interest. As a professional writer in dissertation writing service UK i know how to write a paper according to the students university formats.

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