So You have Written a Novel

                                              Dennis Carlsson

                                                                                                                      Scandinavian tattooist

So you have written a novel

Plus ‘the cow in the field’ option which I will explain later

So you have just finished writing your first novel or you are close to finishing one, something you have always wanted to achieve. Now if you hoped to get this novel of yours published then the writing was the easy part.

Let me explain. I assume you are a first-time author, so no one has heard of you as a writer except your family so the likelihood of your work being published has two chances; the second one being Buckleys unless of course, you are a celebrity, a controversial person, an ex-politician or a recently released drug smuggler.

Maybe you thought publishers would come clambering to your door offering to publish your tome, not so. Gran thought it was a great read so did Lydia your best friend. The disappointment sinks in and you assess your options.

There are options, quite a lot actually but be aware. If you are a total virgin writer you might first cross swords with what is known as Vanity Publishers. Now they do have their place but my advice is don’t go there, they are inclined to prey on new writer’s vanity. They will publish your book; well actually YOU end up publishing the book money-wise, they don’t publish as such all they do is offer ‘Services’ AT A PRICE, they are not concerned if your book is atrocious or not.

A writer who is a famous author or a well- known celebrity does not need to use Vanity publishers they use real publishers who bear the cost of the publication, I have heard horror stories of new writers being of being lightened to the tune of a few thousand dollars, figures like $12,000 come to mind.

So what are we left with? Most firms in book publishing will offer what is termed a contributory scheme. Again they will offer a set of ‘services’ these services at reasonable prices which might include:
Proofreading
Copy editing
Typesetting
Book cover design
Hardback, paperback and electronic formats.
ISBN assignment
Copyright registration
worldwide distribution
advertising and marketing
Social media campaigns Blurb and synopsis writing

These are the services a traditional publisher would normally bear.

Now some of these services you may not need if you have designed the front cover or are happy with your editing. It is what these services are going to cost you that might be worrying. They vary greatly in price.

If the publisher is named BOOKWORM © for instance Google Bookworm publishers or Bookworm Reviews, There are many internet sites that warn would- be authors of dodgy ‘publishers’ your choice should be driven by the reviews. 

It is a minefield out there I have read that a lot of it is Mafia run, when one realise there are millions of people around the world writing books it is like sharks breakfast time 24 hours a day.

Now let us look at the ‘Cow in the field’ option.

We are discussing blogs here, and you are looking for an image, let’s say it is an image of two Cows in a field even a whole herd of them. 

You go to an images site and purchase one not knowing it is actually going to cost more if you use it on your blog and even more so if at a later time your blog is made into a book, quite considerably more.

Even downloading Free Images might not be what it seems. Even though it might be free there could be a number of provisos. Let us forget about purchasing images altogether. I wanted a close-up of the business end of a mobile phone tower. My friend who is an avid photographer with the aid of a telephoto lens took one for me.

If you are looking for an image of a cathedral, a building, Scottish dancers, or a particular scene go to Facebook site of a town or village near where you suspect you might find what you are looking for. In many towns and villages there is always a person on the Facebook site that takes photographs as a hobby.

I have an arrangement with three Scottish photographers whose overriding hobby is photography they have given me permission to use their work as long as I give them credit for their photos. I even have permission from a Scandinavian Tattooist to use his work.

After I got my fingers burnt once I decided it would not happen twice. Once I paid $14 for an image, only to find because I was using it to head an article on my blog I should have got permission for a Blog Site Licence to actually use it on my blog and that was going to cost another $.6. If my blog later was published in book form we are now talking about $500 depending on the ‘Print Run’ I deleted every image determined never to purchase another one.

I had to remove a lovely picture of a dancing class. I could find no other. So it was back to the ‘Cow in a Field’ option. I Googled: Dancing classes: Ukrainian and found what I wanted same with Scottish dancers? That was no problem my Scottish photographers had stacks of Scottish dancers all free.
I always give the photographer credit