4 Phases to a Successful Online Author’s Life (+ how to become an author)

4 Phases to a Successful Online Author’s Life (+ how to become an author)

Becoming an author involves 4 phases, and if you’re a blogger, you’re already an author, of sorts…

When you publish a blog post, you are the “author” of that post. But being an author who sells e-books is a completely different story… but it doesn’t have to be.

You can be a blogger or a freelance writer who is also an author!

You don’t have to write fiction; you can write self-help books, motivational books, or anything else that suits your talents and knowledge.

Look at Ryan Biddulph, the guy behind Blogging from Paradise. He’s a blogger who turned most of his blog posts into e-books… and earns passive income from his book sales!

Look at Alicia Rades. She’s a freelance writer who is also a fiction author.

Look at me. I self-published a book of short stories (Risky Issues)… just to see if I could actually figure out the whole self-publishing process on my own. In fact, a blind man motivated me to make it available in print instead of just as an e-book.

rsz_ebook_cover_-_risky_issues_by_lorraine_reguly

After learning the steps of the self-publishing process, I then helped this blind man (Maxwell Ivey) self-publish not one but two books. Take a look at his books! One is an 11-step guide to business success. The other is an easy-to-follow guide to weight loss success.

This is the final cover for Max's ebook, Leading You Out of the Darkness Into the Light.

cover image for It's Not the Cookie, It's the Bag

Now, look at Dave Chesson. He’s a guy who became a best-selling author… by writing under pen names (pseudonyms), which, unfortunately, he won’t reveal to you here.

However, he will reveal the different stages he has gone through as both an online writer and an author… so that YOU can see where YOU are currently at… if you want to become an author too.

***Note that I can help you, as I offer author assistant services in addition to my writing and editing services!***

Take it away, Dave! Read More

A Blind Man’s Journey to Publishing a Print Book

Today The Blind Blogger shares how he overcame the struggles he had with making his book available in print to the world.

Please welcome Maxwell Ivey to center stage as he shares his story of how he became an independently published author in 2015.

It’s quite inspirational, and leads me to wonder why more people aren’t becoming authors nowadays!

The Writing Journey Ends – or Begins?

Imagine this scenario:

You have written your first book. You have fought through writer’s block, endured many sleepless nights, overlooked the criticism of friends and family, and overcome questions about whether or not you are good enough or have a story worth telling. Now you are asking yourself, “What do I do next?”

I was at that place a few months ago. I had responded to a challenge from a friend to create an online product, and started a book, Leading You Out of the Darkness Into the Light: A Blind Man’s Inspirational Guide to Success.

We’ve all heard how selling our own e-books, and audio or video courses on our websites can be great for our businesses, right? So, in addition to this challenge providing a chance to share my story, I saw it as an opportunity to bring in some much-needed income. Oh, and maybe become famous! (“wink wink”)

After I finished the e-book, the question remained: What do I do next? I knew I had to edit it, but I wanted to publish it, too. Read More

2014: A Year to Remember #yearinreview

2014 Was A Year To Remember

No doubt about it. 2014 was a year to remember.

I learned and accomplished a lot in 2014. But there were a few bad things I endured, too, which I’ll share with you today.

I’ll also let you know what’s coming up in 2015, for Wording Well, for you, and for me. Read More

Steps I Took To Self-Publish My Book + An Important Announcement about Wording Well)

Ebook Cover - Risky Issues by Lorraine Reguly

If you have not yet self-published a book but want to, there are certain steps you could take to do so. Most new authors do things haphazardly, however, because they are uninformed of what to do first.

Sometimes you have to learn the hard way. Other times, you can listen to someone who has self-published a book and has “been there, done that.”

Self-publishing my book took me a long time only because I procrastinated a lot. In actuality, I could have gotten that darn thing out there a lot sooner than I did. (And yes, I know I shouldn’t call my book “that darn thing” but it’s my book, and I can call it whatever I want!) 😀

Steps I Followed to self-publish (which you should, too)

Here are the steps I followed to self-publish my book.

This link will bring you to my author site… which brings me to my announcement.

An Important Announcement about the future of Wording Well

Dear Reader, I really enjoyed my vacation, and it’s good to be back. 🙂 The time off from blogging allowed me to figure out a few things that have been weighing on my mind.
I have decided that I’m going to refrain from posting information about self-publishing on Wording Well and am going to post it on Lorraine Reguly: Laying It Out There instead. I’m also going to be posting all future book reviews on my author site as well.

I want Wording Well to focus on offering freelancing tips, writing tips, and blogging tips.

I want my author website to offer book reviews, and tips on self-publishing, and personal stories about me (something previously found on Lorraine Reguly’s Life – the name of this blog before it became Wording Well – but which are still found here on Wording Well, in the archives).

I also need to focus more on my freelance writing and editing business. It’s time that I make these important changes now, especially since my Amazon Author Central page is linked to the blog on my author website. (This page also displays my latest Tweet!)

Originally, when I started blogging, I had no direction. I was still learning what blogging was all about. Granted, I know there are still things to learn (there always is!), but I’ve come a long way since my early blogging days, as I’m now earning money from writing and editing (which I love). 🙂

It’s going to take some time to get both Wording Well and Lorraine Reguly: Laying It Out There to a point where they are clearly defined and where I want these sites to be, but I know that I can do it. I have diligence. 🙂 Juggling more than one blog is tough, but I know it will get easier with time.

Many bloggers have multiple blogs, depending on their niche.

Although both of my sites pertain to writing, their niches are actually very different (or they will be, soon)!  Wording Well is going to have an emphasis on freelancing and blogging, with the niche for Lorraine Reguly: Laying It Out There having an emphasis on books (whether they are written by me or not!), book reviews, and self-publishing (and all that self-publishing entails, which is a lot).

Furthermore, I’m writing posts about different blogging tips for Dear Blogger at a rate of one per month. I strongly urge you to read them. Often, they begin as posts I’d publish here! However, because I get paid to guest post there, and have a contract to produce posts at this rate, I am not going to publish them here when I can make money publishing them there! (You would do the same thing, if you were me.) But because I know all of you don’t follow that blog,  I generally try to write two posts dealing with the same issue, and with my post on Wording Well linking to my posts on Dear Blogger, because the post on Dear Blogger offers more information. It has to; Greg doesn’t pay me for nothing! 😉

What this all means for you

Depending on your particular interests, you might have to follow both of my sites! You might want to follow one or the other. That choice is yours. I can’t make you do something you don’t want to do. What I will promise you is that, regardless of when and where I post, I will be completely forthright, honest, and provide you with as much information as I can, in a clear manner.

Also, if one post relates to another, I will link to it. I don’t want you to miss out on important info!

 

An Invitation for you

Now that I’ve explained what my new site will contain, and when I will be posting things there, I’d like to invite you to visit and follow my new author site, Lorraine Reguly: Laying It Out There. You might even want to sign up for my author newsletter. 🙂

And please do me a favour and share this post. It’s best if we’re all on the same page. Pun intended. 😉

Thank you.

~Lorraine

Being an Author Is Depressing (+ I desperately need your help)

 

i want to kill myself

Who said being an author is glamorous?

Who said becoming an author would make me happy?

I’d like to know who said this, because that person flat-out LIED.

An author’s life is not filled with glamour. Rather, it’s kind of depressing, even though there are moments of excitement.

Why I think being an author is depressing

I will admit that I might be suffering from fatigue. I mean, I’ve had a  busy two months. June and July were filled with readying my book for publication and creating all of my new author pages and profiles. While the latter are actually simple tasks, they are very time-consuming when you are doing everything yourself, like I am!!! UGH!!

But what’s even worse is that my little book is only one of many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many,many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many books being sold on Amazon. Um, yeah, you’re probably thinking that I put one to “manys” in there, but, trust me, I really DIDN’T.

Here’s why.

 

(Yes, I’m ending the post here. My plea for help actually comes from my other blog. Please take a look at what I need, and why I’m so depressed… Trust me, it’s not a pretty sight at all.)

Go find out what’s going on, and see if you can help.

 

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net