Getting to Know Your Readers with Sara Letourneau

Welcome to #FriendFriday, an interview-style guest post series every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month. Want to be the next interviewee? Send me an email!

Happy Friday, my friends! This week, I'm happy to welcome Sara Letourneau, a writer, blogger and poet. She's one of my Twitter friends, and I'm so thrilled that she carved out some time in her busy schedule to talk about getting to know your readers today.

Let's get acquainted, shall we?

HERE’S YOUR INTRO QUESTION. TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF IN LESS THAN 70 WORDS.

Eek! Well, currently I'm revising a YA fantasy novel called The Keeper's Curse. I also review tea at A Bibliophile's Reverie (http://bibliophilesreverie.com/) and lead the Theme: A Story's Soul column at DIY MFA (http://diymfa.com/). I'm also a published poet, a former music journalist, and a blogger who hops between all of those topics. It sounds scatter-brained, but I love exploring and sharing what I learn, and what I do reflects that "philosophy."

You're a blogger, writer and poet. Tell us how you got started.

The writing came first. I've been writing ever since I was 7 years old. I remember sitting at the kitchen table with crayons and lined paper, making up stories about talking animals and strange places, and drawing pictures to go with them. Writing has stuck with me ever since then, and in many different ways. But novel writing has always been the one constant I've come back to.

Poetry was a way of expressing emotions and ideas I struggled to express verbally. The inspirations have come from everywhere: nature, relationships, current events, even the impact that creativity has had on my life. I haven't written as much poetry lately because I've been focusing on my novel, but I'm sure I'll return to it one day and I still enjoy reading it. As for blogging, it's a fun way to reach out to other like-minded people who you might not otherwise meet offline.

Let's put you to the test. What would you tell future writers about how to connect with their future readers?

When you're just starting out, take the time to get to know your audience.

Reply to your readers' comments on your articles, then visit their blogs and comment on one of their pieces. End your posts with questions in bold that grab the reader's attention and get the wheels turning in their heads. Your audience will appreciate the effort - and they'll keep coming back. This is also a good way of developing relationships with other bloggers who share your interests.

Also, don't feel obligated to be on every social media outlet. I'm only on Facebook and Twitter in addition to my blog, and I'm fine with that. It's all I can do, since I also have a full-time job and don't want to cut into my writing time too much. So, my advice here would be to do only what you have the time and energy for. Your readers will understand.

If you could be the author of any novel in history, which novel would that be and why?

This was tough. I love so many books for so many reasons that I'd probably pick a different book each time I answer this question. ;)

Today I'll pick 

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. It's an upper-end YA fantasy about a girl who trains to become a poison taster and then becomes entangled in a plot to overthrown her country's government. I love character-driven stories where the protagonist changes and grows from their experience, and

Poison Study is a perfect example. Yelena has to learn to overcome a brutal, terrifying past in order to save the people she cares about - and herself. I was so absorbed by her story that I read it in three days, and I still find myself re-reading certain scenes from time to time. If the stories I write can have the same impact on my readers, my heart would sing.

And finally, before we let you go, what's the best advice you've received and how did it get you here today?

This was more or less encouragement than advice... But during the last week of my senior year of college, one of my favorite professors - who taught writing and literature, of course - told me, "You need to get your work published!" I was already considering submitting my poetry to literary journals anyways, but his enthusiasm was like a match to kerosene. It took 5 years of writing, editing, waiting, and going back to square one before my work was finally published somewhere. But it taught me persistence, patience, and the power of positive thinking in the face of disappointment.

Thanks to Sara for spending some time with us! If you’re interested in being interviewed for the next #FriendFriday, send me an email. 

Createspace Advice: Tips to Mastering Print Publishing

Hello, friends. It's lovely to see your bright, smiling faces this fabulous Monday morning. So yesterday was my birthday, but that wasn't the most exciting part of my week. Last Wednesday, I received the first print copy of and I nearly died of excitement. (It's an actual possibility. Look it up.)

As a self-published writer, you have to ask yourself some big questions. Which platform are you going to use? Are you going to print copies or just stick with ebooks? When I first decided to use Createspace to print my book, I was a little overwhelmed. What size book should I pick? What kind of cover should I use? 

After months of research, I finally pinned down all of my preferences. Here's my best Createspace advice:

Set a Publishing Timeline

As a first-time self-publisher, the last thing you want to do is rush yourself. After you finish writing your book, try to make a flexible publishing timeline. Here are some general guidelines:

1. Developmental Editing: Two to three weeks depending on your editor. Tanya Gold takes two weeks, and helps you outline a schedule.
2. Book Cover Design: This is the big one. It can take anywhere from two to four weeks depending on adjustments. Because I fell in love with my original design by Natalie Olsen, it only took two weeks. Note: when picking a designer, find someone who is familiar with Createspace and the dimensions, etc.
3. Proofreading: This can be overlapped with the book cover design, as mine was. For me, it took about two weeks. Note: Allot for a week or two between receiving your developmental edits and sending the updates to the proofreader.
4. Interior Formatting: Interior formatting is what makes a book look like a book. I formatted my own book, using Joel Friedlander's Book Design Templates. This took me about a week to navigate. Need help? Try Crenel Publishing.
5. Print Time: Since I'm kicking off the book release with a book launch party, I need to place a bulk order. Since Createspace is a print-on-demand service, this can take a while. I made sure to give myself at least a month of print time, just in case.

Buy Your Own ISBN

Okay, some of you may disagree with me here. Through Createspace, you have a couple options. You can either use a free ISBN from Createspace or you can purchase your own at Bowker. Let me break it down for you:

1. Free ISBN: pros: You get to keep your money. cons: You most likely won't be able to sell your book in bookstores/lend them to libraries.
2. Bowker ISBN: pros: You are your own publisher. With the free ISBN, Createspace is listed as the publisher. Also, this is a universal ISBN. It's accepted by Ingram, Createspace, wherever. cons: It costs money. Too much money.

For more information, read this post from The Book Designer or this one from Ksenia Anske.

Order a Print Proof

The Createspace website is very user-friendly. It's designed in a series of steps, and helps you to navigate your way to a published print book. You upload your files directly onto the site and within the next 24 hours they will approve them. Once this is completed, you'll view the digital proof.

While it's not necessary, you should order a print copy. I chose expedited shipping, and received it in three days. It's really important in order for you to see what the book actually looks like on paper. From there, you make changes and approve.

Sort Through the Details

With print publishing, there are a thousand tiny details. It helps to have a good concept of these before you start the process. Here's what I've got for you:

1. Trim Size. Yes, you'll have to choose the size of your own book. You'll need to have this fairly early so that your cover designer can fit the proper dimensions. I chose the 5.5x8.5" option, which is pretty common. Tip: Createspace provides templates that you can provide to your cover designer to help with sizing.
2. Page Color. This one is a pretty easy choice. For fiction writers, cream colored paper is the standard.
3. Pricing. This gets a little trickier, because it involves royalties. Thankfully, Createspace provides a handy little calculating tool to figure out just what you are making. For me, I'm pricing my book at $12.99. (The ebook will be $2.99.)

Set a Book Release Date

For this one, you'll want to set a release date far out enough that you can get print copies delivered to you—if you're planning a launch party, that is. Additionally, you'll want the extra time for promotional/marketing reasons. If you're a first time self-publisher, you don't need to do any mega-marketing. Focus on writing more books. Still, you'll want to get the book wherever you can. More to come on this later.

Discussion Time: What are your Createspace questions? Do you have any Createspace advice to share with us?

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These Are the Moments Book Cover Reveal

The happiest of Mondays to you all! So, this week is a pretty big week for me, and I'm so happy to finally share with you the cover of my first novel, These Are the Moments. If you've been tuning into my Twitter/blog/newsletters for a while now, then this is a pretty exciting moment. Moment, get it? Let me take you back to when I first revealed the book title. Wow. It's finally real!

Since we're not going to have a "true" post today, I just wanted to take a breather and celebrate this incredible day with you. Let's get a little nostalgic. Let's break out the tissues:

On Ordering My First Proof

So this weekend, I finished making all of the proofreading edits from the lovely Miranda Martin and wrote my dedication and acknowledgments. Note: when reading the acknowledgments, picture me two glasses of champagne deep at 2:00 in the morning. Yep, that happened.

With Createspace, you have a 24 hour window that they take to approve your cover and your interior files before you can order the first copy. So naturally, I spent my Sunday refreshing my email on my phone. I got the email around noon and proceeded to jump up and down as I submitted my credit card info, for my book to arrive this Wednesday.

On Receiving My Book Cover Design

Let's flashback to Easter weekend. I knew that I would receive the four proofs for my book cover design on that Monday, so I couldn't sleep on Sunday. Around 5 in the morning, I checked my phone. Groggy. Barely awake. And there was the email. You know how sometimes you feel like your heart catches in your chest and you just need to lie on the floor? Yep, that was me.

I loved them all, but the one above struck me immediately. I thought, it's like Rainbow Rowell, and more than anything I could have ever thought up in my non-visual brain. I woke up my mom to make her look at them with me. This was it. I was an official author.

On Sharing My Journey With You

This blog has been such a gift. And maybe that's cheesy, and maybe that's okay. I never could have dreamed how valuable it is to have a place to visit every week, where I can share updates about my book journey, and hopefully help you a little with yours. I was so nervous when I shared the first scene. And now, I share scenes from the prequel every single week.

There are some of you who are regular readers, and I want to thank you for that. Your time is valuable and the fact that you pencil me in at all blows my mind. I've come to know some of you personally, and every week, I'll think, oh, Brett is going to love this scene or I can't wait to read Karah's comments! I am blessed beyond measure.

I can't wait until May 26th, when you get to hold the book in your hands. This journey is beautiful, and we're just starting.

Thank you, thank you, a million times thank you.