I love a good gin and tonic. Now I wonder, do I like gin because I am a writer or am I a writer because I like gin? It appears to have been a favorite with a cast of writers of the past-

• Raymond Chandler (The Long Goodbye) was quoted as saying – “A real gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s lime juice and nothing else.”
• Tennessee Williams (A Streetcar Named Desire) was famed to drink a cocktail called the Ramos Gin Fizz.
• It was rumoured that F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby) was passionate about gin and drank a Gin Rickey. He apparently preferred gin to other liquors because he believed it couldn’t be detected on his breath.

Now, please don’t assume I am comparing myself to these greats- I’m sure there are a raft of amateur writers out there who prefer a nip of gin to a wholesome cup of tea- it’s just that I don’t know their names. Perhaps there is a pathway to greatness in front of us though, and the key to navigating the path is copious amounts of Gin!

Hemingway did say- “Write drunk, edit sober.” and clearly he was on to something.

Krogdahl. It is my married name and one I haven’t had for very long. Everywhere I go I have to spell it- TWICE, but I love it anyway because it connects me to my husband and my new family.

I giggle during meetings and introductions when I am almost always just introduced as- “Esther” because no one wants to tackle the second half. It’s actually quite easy to pronounce- you should just say it like it’s spelt- Krog (no help needed here surely) – Dahl (like the tasty Indian lentil paste). It is of Danish origin I believe and I’ve heard it means ‘deep valley’. In Denmark I’m sure there is some deep throat gargling that goes into the pronunciation but that’s not required here. The Australian pronunciation varies, but most often comes out sounding like Krog-Dale- as in “Dale dug another hole”

I have chosen to use this name on my book (and future books) because it is who I am. I hope in a weird way it is catchy- because it’s not 🙂

If anyone out there has some more interesting history on the name- I’d love to hear it.

The publishing game has changed and that is a fact. Gone are the days when an author needed to store a pile of books in their back room and hope desperately that they could sell them. Now, its all about Print On Demand (POD). Someone buys a book -> Book is printed. Perfect!

So what does this mean practically for authors? Well it means we have choices and it means we need to do some research on those choices to make sure we make the right one.

Originally, because I got such great feedback from my editors on Ruthless, I thought I would try and have it published through a proper publishing house. So I started researching some big publishers that preferred my genre and then made a list of those I would like to approach. A while ago, you couldn’t get a publisher to read your manuscript without a reputation or an agent. Now, some publishers seem to be opening their doors a crack and looking for new authors (perhaps this is a symptom of the game change). Two examples I can think of are Pan Macmillan’s Manuscript Mondays and Harper Collin’s Wednesday post. You can go to these web sites at certain times of the month and submit your manuscript- which is pretty cool.

Anyway, after speaking with some REAL authors I found myself being asked the same question- Why would you publish through a publishing house?

Well, I didn’t really have a good answer. Publishers generally take a fairly decent cut of your book sales, if you are a new author they spend ZERO $$ on marketing you and they can take years to actually publish your book. On the flip side, they can provide excellent editing services, cover design and help you with the logistics of producing a finish product and getting it into stores.

I starting reading about self publishing and immediately I changed my mind. Its just so easy (which can be a negative since any clown can produce a book- cluttering the market). You can sell your book for what ever amount you think is fair and you can publish it when you darn well like. Amazon does POD and takes a relatively small cut of your sales. They also “market” it (through their Amazon web site) and distribute it for you! You are in total control. You can pay a bit extra to get it more widely distributed and target book stores. Amazon also provides templates for setting up your book interior and the cover. If you want, you can do it all yourself or you can take advantage of their services to help you.

I did it all myself with the help of a terrific graphic designer friend who did the cover. The hardest part is marketing yourself. To stand out amongst the army of Amazon authors, you need to be proactive in getting your name and your book out there. That is what I am planning right now- a marketing campaign to run for a month or two before I release the book on Amazon. I recently went to a Social Media sales seminar run by Frank Furness. It was excellent and I will soon be posting on that topic.

The short answer- a bajillion!

The long answer- it’s different for everyone and it depends on the type of book. In my experience (which is exceptionally limited at this stage but doesn’t stop me dispensing unsolicited advice), I realised I needed to take the number of times I thought I’d need an edit and times it by 3.333333~. Every time you make changes that are more than just a spell-check or updating a typo, you should probably think about another proof and edit. Even if you just track changes and request an review of those (recommended).

But first, you need to ask yourself some important questions like: When will it be ready for editing? Who should edit it? and How should it be edited (e.g. story improvement or just plain grammar and spelling)?

I sent my manuscript off for its first edit once the story was 90% complete. I actually thought I’d finished it- but I hadn’t. The edit focused mostly on plot with a fantastic report being returned to me containing characterisation, plot, pacing and POV improvement suggestions and feedback.

It took me a few months to update the story based on the report, then I sent it to a different editor (because my story has some surprises in it) and repeated the process again. When I’d finished, I asked friends and family to proof read and submit feedback. So that meant more changes and more edits (note: you can’t please everyone so don’t try- when dealing with suggestions from family/friends who are not writers or editors, only implement changes that match your style of writing and your idea of the characters and plot).

Now, a word of warning… Don’t make changes willy-nilly without then planning for another full edit (by a proper editor). Changing an opinion or a reference to something, may turn a character into a hypocrite or a liar. It’s very easy to contradict yourself if you are not making a change with the whole story and character history in mind.

I’ll leave you with an updated on Ruthless’ progress- I was going to have it in Amazon ready to purchase by Dec 1st but a few things have changed my mind on that:

• After some excellent feedback from proof readers I have decided to make some more changes and then follow up with ANOTHER edit
• I hear that I don’t want to compete with real authors at Christmas
• I’ve spent three years on this baby, so why not make sure it’s in the best possible condition before I release it.

New release date which is now set in stone- February 1st 2014

Ruthless is in CreateSpace, its been proof read, accepted and is all ready to go… EXCEPT there is a small hiccup when it comes to the mula side of things. You cannot sell your book on Amazon without either first obtaining and registering a US Individual tax number (ITIN) or even better- a Employer Identification Number (EIN).

So for anyone tackling the same taxing task- check out this fantastic blog post: http://catherineryanhoward.com/2012/02/24/non-us-self-publisher-tax-issues-dont-need-to-be-taxing/

Update: don’t follow the blog blindly- the phone menu numbers it says to push are wrong- just listen to the options yourself. Be prepared to be on the phone for quite a while. It took me about 90 mins. Once you have your EIN fill out the W-8BEN form. The royalties code for Australia is 12 and the % withheld is 5% (I checked that here under Royalties). Finally, the Address for CreateSpace is now:

Createspace,

C/O Vendor Maintenance,

PO Box 80683,

Seattle, WA, 98108-0683

I have an ABN hanging around from my youth (working as a IT research and development contractor in the basement of an old folks home) which I am about to quote to the IRS. Wish me luck! I’ll provide updates as I progress.

Update: Success! I have an EIN and Amazon is ready to sell my books! I haven’t submitted the W-8BEN yet but I’m running through that now. Good luck!