From NaNo to published - A Gift From Above -

Heather Paye is my guest today. Let's find out how she went from a 30-day novel challenge to published. (Of note, Heather refers to NaNo as a contest, but it really is a challenge of oneself to prove you can write 50,000 words in 30 days. I've participated in NaNo as a cheerleader for my friends and actually did write a YA novel a couple of Novembers ago, which I'm hoping to edit and publish one of these days, but working on my 50-state stories is my main objective for the time being.)

So Heather, please tell us about your experience with NaNoWriMo that led to you becoming a published author:


When I heard of this contest called "NaNoWriMo" I decided to participate and write a 50,000 word novel in one month's time. After all, how hard could it be? I wrote a novel before, so writing another one wouldn't be too hard. Well, I found out it was no walk in the park, you'd be surprised at how often life hits you, and you spend every waking moment working on producing words that make sense. Anyways, I emerged victorious. At the beginning it was understood there were no prizes, just a little printable certificate and your rough draft for your novel. It turns out that the year that I participated each person who managed to write 50,000 words or more were to receive a free proof copy if they decided to self-publish their book. I had nothing to lose, so I went for it. I had six months to get this all done (there was an expiration date on the free proof copy coupon), so I worked away, and four months later we welcomed "A Gift From Above" to stores, a self-published gem. Today, the first novel that I wrote "The Jewel of Onsolot" is being prepared for publication at a traditional publisher. So you can see, I'm not so one-sided when it comes to publishers. Age has never really been an issue for me when it comes to publishing, as long as you're serious and you maintain a professional tone publishers will - and do - take you seriously.

I think that the publishing process is the same for both traditional and self-publishing, at least up to a certain point in the game anyways. Write the book, edit until your eyes fall out, put them back in, and edit some more. After that, you should search for publishers, either traditional or self-publishers, beware of vanity presses though, not that they're bad, but they require that you pay money (usually thousands) to get your book published. After deciding on a publisher then things take two different points. For traditional publishing, you just read the submission guidelines, gather everything you need, edit EVERYTHING, and then send it in. Traditional publishing takes patience and you should be a team player, even if you're not. For self-publishing, it's not quite so mellow, being the editors, illustrator, layout and design, marketer, it's all very time consuming. Never a dull moment though with so much to do. Either route you choose be sure to have a great marketing plan, in this economy, you'll need it. Get out a calendar and mark on each day what you'll do to promote your book, it does help.

"A Gift From Above" is doing alright swimming in this economy, but it could be doing better. Some months there are plenty of purchases, while others are quieter than empty fields. These days, people just won't buy a book that costs even $5 when they could buy some essential item they need to survive, like a loaf of bread. Unless you're doing really well, and there is a lot of buzz about your book, then your book won't be seeing so much buying action. Marketing is one of the hardest parts of publishing a book, because it is the longest, it is forever on going. I have found that "A Gift From Above" sells MUCH better in the public eye. I haven't found out why this is yet, possibly just because of the convenience of having the book right there and being able to take it home right away rather than waiting for it to ship or download.

For more on Heather and to order her books, you may go to the following:

Heather's blog
Heather's fan site
Heather's Createspace store
Amazon purchase link
Amazon kindle purchase link