About the SMART WAY workshop

 

This is the most exciting time in history to be a writer. We can choose to approach traditional publishing with our manuscript, or take matters into our own hands and publish independently. Many authors manage to create a hybrid career doing both.

 

The truth is that not every book can or even should be published traditionally. Many books are well crafted, but lack the broad appeal which most agents and publishers are looking for. Niche genres are difficult for traditional publishers to make profitable, and even within mainstream genres, a publisher can only publish so many books a year. Wonderful books languish in the slush pile just because there isn’t enough room on an editor’s desk for them.

 

#1 An indie book only needs a fraction of the audience a traditional book needs for it to be financially rewarding.

 

#2 You don’t need a lot of money to create and publish a professional product. Too many authors tie up their manuscript and their money with vanity presses which offer little in return for the thousands of dollars spent. All services can be contracted to qualified professionals, but many can also be done by the author.

 

However, the Indie landscape can be difficult to navigate. It has changed dramatically even in the past year. This workshop, desgined by Amazon best-selling author Heather Hamilton-Senter, will provide you with the up to the minute tools and knowledge needed to give your book the greatest chance of success.

 

This is not a writing workshop - the assumption is that you already have a fiction or non-fiction manuscript either completed, or on its way to completion with an eye to publishing in 2016. 

 

Heather is also the winner of a national award for digital art and is the designer behind BOOK COVER ARTISTRY which provides custom and premade ebook and print covers for indie authors and small publishers. AS PART OF THIS WORKSHOP, you will receive a free professional ebook cover for your project based on your consultation with Heather. This ia a $189 US/$250 Cdn value included free as part of the  workshop.

 

WE WILL LOOK AT:

What is ‘Indie’ publishing and why you should strongly consider it

Whether self or indie publishing is right for you and your book

Editing - how to do it and how to find editors

Beta readers

Cover design for ebook and print

Blurb writing

Formatting for ebook and print

Obtaining ISBNs

Navigating Amazon and other retailers

Navigating Amazon's print arm Createspace, and its audiobook service ACX

Pricing and royalties

Preorders

Keywords and sales categories

Promotion, including using Amazon's algorithms to your advantage

Strategies for the best chance of success

And more . . .

 

The workshop's content will be guided by the needs of the participants and where they are in their personal writing/publishing journey

 

 

About the instructor

 

Heather Hamilton-Senter is the author of the Amazon best seller BOUND IN BLUE: BOOK ONE OF THE SWORD OF ELEMENTS and its sequels. BOUND IN BLUE reached #55 in the entire Amazon bookstore and was #1 in its genre for just under a year.

 

Heather is also an award-winning digital artist and in demand book cover designer.

About the SMART WAY workshop