Planning

[spectre]

For me, I know it's going to take at least a year to write my first novel. I'm out of practice, I want it to be great, and I have a detailed world to develop because I want to look at series potential.

That being said, I want to get the jump on it though, so when I'm done it isn't another number of months looking into matters.

Can any of you suggest something for a first time author? Should I self publish? What can I expect to pay if I want print? Are you guys seeing international sales in the U.K.? Have you translated your works to German or Spanish, other languages?

I don't\'t want to take a huge hit if this things a dud, but I'm willing to take some risk.

 

[CupofJoe]

If you are still in the writing-out stage and a year or so from publishing, I'm tempted to say that any information except the really general is going to be obsolete. Things are moving so fast in self/on-line publishing that you could be steered the wrong way by accident.
That said... from the one book/project I was involved in having to be translated in to Italian, Spanish and Czech [it was a work thing and someone else was paying...], it cost a fortune and took ages. I think each chapter/document had to be translated, checked, retranslated and then translated back in to their original languages at least three times until everyone was happy that all four version said and meant the same thing...

 

[PaulineMRoss]

I think CupOfJoe has it exactly right. Focus on writing the book first and foremost. If you don't already have a blog/website/social presence, you might want to look into that, to give your eventual marketing a firm foundation.

For self-publishing, the Writers' Cafe on Kboards is the very best accumulation of collective wisdom on the planet. It's a great place for those working up to publication to find out what's happening right now, and get tips about all those dull but necessary legal bits and pieces, like tax, ISBNs, copyright and so on. You can find it here:

Writers' Cafe

For a good round-up of the arguments in favour of self-publishing and a how-to manual, read 'Let's Get Digital' by David Gaughran. It's currently part of a bundle with two other self-pubbing books, which is great value. You can see it on Amazon here:

The Indie Author Power Pack: How To Write, Publish, & Market Your Book - Kindle edition by David Gaughran, Joanna Penn, Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant. Reference Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

 

[spectre]

thanks for the posts, I hadn't figured that publishing guidelines would change much but I guess I should have with digital taking over.