Hola, Guten nachtmittag, Bienvenue, Anyong haseyo, Ohio gosaimas, Salam Aleichem and Tov! I'm Ken Davy; the new guy. I have a very broad background. I retired from the US Air Force in August of 2000. I have also been a pizza driver, security guard, journalist, Baptist Associate Pastor, taekwondo instructor, paralegal, insurance salesman and Sprint technical support specialist. And that's just in the last ten years! I love writing, fishing, cooking, eating, reading and spending time with my wife and kids. I've been trying to make it as a blogger (with no luck), a journalist for Examiner.com (at which I was going broke researching my stories) and a tutor (more successful if you can get enough hours). At present I am trying to finish off a novel I started while I was on a security guard post in December of last year. I'm thinking about self-publishing it as an e-book since getting in with a hardcopy publisher is nearly impossible anymore, not that it was ever easy. I would appreciate any information I can get along those lines.
Hello Ken, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Self-publishing successfully is tougher than selling to a publisher. You have to master all the other aspects that paper publishers cover, such as typesetting, cover design, and marketing. And to cover the costs you will incur, you must still write a book of high enough quality that it will sell to people other than your friends and relatives. Rejections may b e frustrating, but they are one of the more important services you will get from a publisher. Posting your own work should not be among the very first things you do here. It is worth taking the time to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Word Games, or the Review Room, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the forum rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Review Room, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. The Review Room forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Review Room forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
Guten nachmittag und herzlich willkommen auf das Schreiben Foren. Good afternoon and a hearty welcome to the Writing Forums.
