Hey Romance Writers: Dig Out Those Un-pubbed Books and Self-Publish An E-book

For every romance author out there, there is likely one or two manuscripts that never saw the light of day. Books you loved. Books you still mourn will never get published. Well, weep no more ‘cause you may be sitting on a little gold mine. E-books are growing in popularity every day and converting your old manuscript is easier than you probably think, even if you aren’t all that tech savvy.

Here’s what you need to do:

•Go over your old book and update it. If you wrote it more than three years ago, it may be out of date, especially if it’s a contemporary. Or perhaps you’re a better writer now or have subtly changed your style.

•Get it edited. You’ve all gotten copyedited manuscripts back and cringed at the obvious mistakes peppered throughout it. It’s darn embarrassing. Even the best writers need an editor. Hire an e-book editing service that specializes in e-books; they tend to be far more affordable than the old-school editing companies that are still in the stone age and want a hard copy. Plus, probably all you really need is a fresh set of eyes that can spot things you haven’t.

•Go to Smashwords.com and join. Smashwords distributes your book to non-Kindle retailers, including Barnes and Noble. They get a small commission on each sale. You get 60 percent of the list price from a major e-book retailer and 85 percent on direct sales from Smashwords. Download their guide for formatting your book. It’s pretty simple stuff. If you have the cash, someone can do it for you (Smashwords has a list). Publishing on Kindle is also quite easy.

•Get a cover. Even e-books need a cover. Unless you’re graphically talented or are an expert in Photoshop, you should probably hire someone to make your cover for you. The best part is you have total control over your cover. Most romance authors don’t know what their cover looks like until it’s mailed to them. And we all know how awful some of them are, right?

•Publicize your release. Visit blogs, be a guest blogger, submit your book for review, slap it up on Facebook and Tweet it like crazy. Even authors who don’t have a big electronic presence are still making sales, especially if they have a fan base.

This is an exciting new time for all authors, but especially for romance authors. Why? Because romance is one of the best-selling genres and its fans are incredibly loyal—and read a ton. Be sure to put out your best product by hiring e-book editors and graphic designers.