Last Updated on: May 14th, 2024
Do you want to become an author?
Great! Let me help! I have already helped a few people become award-winning authors! (Maxwell Ivey Jr. and David Lastinger won awards after I helped them with their books! David even gave me credit in his Instagram announcement! Thomas Mello’s book, The Last Cigar, won a 2023 award and there is even talk about it being made into a movie!)
I can help YOU become an author by:
* Creating relevant digital or print books for your business (which you can either give away for free on your site as an incentive to gain more subscribers OR sell on Amazon, Selz, or elsewhere).
* Turning your digital books into print books (see below for more information).
I’ve already helped others do these things! I have also helped a few people become award-winning authors!
The process of becoming a self-published author is easy but requires many steps, as outlined in that article.
If you need help with marketing your book (or other aspects of creating your author platform or online presence), see the list of various services Cori Ramos offers, then hire her to help you!
How to Become an Author (with my help)
Step 1: Write and edit a book.
Usually, YOU will be the one doing the writing (unless you hire me to ghostwrite your book for you).
I will then help you with the editing process.
My writing rates can be found here. (You can purchase this service on that page, too!)
My editing rates can be found here. (You can purchase this service on that page, too!)
Note that all prices are subject to a 5% surcharge, which is automatically included in the prices in the BUY NOW button below!
NOTE: If you plan on selling your book as a print book on Amazon (via KDP), you need to make sure the book must be long enough to do so. The minimum page length for books is 24 pages for a 5 x 8″ book.
Step 2: Format Your E-book for Amazon
The fee for formatting your e-book for KDP/Amazon depends on the length of the book (the word count).
Fees begin at $150 USD. This is for an e-book of up to 25000 words.
For every 5000 words, an additional charge of $30 USD will be applied.
Note that words are counted in increments of 5000-word chunks ONLY. This means the charge for a 40000-word book would be $(150 + 30 + 30 + 30) x 1.05 = $252, with the 5% surcharge added on.
Step 3: Turn Your E-book into a Print Book
There is a bit to the process of turning a digital book into a print book, but it can be done!
Self-publishing through KDP/Amazon is easy, overall, but involves many steps and various costs. The great thing about self-publishing is that it allows you to have control over each aspect of your book.
We’d each have our own responsibilities to carry out during the process, too.
YOU would be responsible for:
- Creating a KDP account.
- Filling out your taxation information.
- Hooking up a bank account to your KDP account (so that you can receive your royalty payments).
- Determining the selling price of your book.
- Obtaining an appropriate ISBN (International Standard Book Number) for your book from Bowker (for US citizens), which you must do on your own. US residents can choose to buy ISBNs for their books, or get a free ASIN assigned from KDP. It is HIGHLY recommended to buy your own ISBN instead of using the free ASIN assigned by Amazon. Learn more here. All ISBNs are free to Canadian citizens. Learn more here.
- Designing your own cover (or paying someone else to do this). You are welcome to use my designer and order his services through my company. If you do so, I will put you in touch with him and we will accomplish the book cover design together.
- Providing me with all files related to your book.
To turn the book into a print book, several different things need to be done that I can help you with.
I would be responsible for:
Formatting the text, then digitally proofing your book using KDP’s online print previewer.
The book’s text (the interior file) needs to be formatted in accordance with KDP’s guidelines. The book’s cover and interior files then need to be uploaded separately. Then the book needs to be proofed, using the online viewer, to ensure the spacing and page numbers are correct. This is a necessary part of the process because you want your book to look perfect, like a regular book, don’t you?
COST: Fees begin at $300 USD for a 5 x 8″ book, for a book of 25 000 words (or less).
For every 5000 words, an additional charge of $40 USD will be applied.
NOTE that words are counted in increments of 5000-word chunks ONLY. This means the charge for a 40000-word book would be $300 + 40 + 40 + 40 = $420 + 90 = $441, with the 5% surcharge added on.
Prices are more expensive for books of other sizes. (5 x 8″ books are recommended.) The cost for other sizes is $400 for a book of 25 000 words (or less). For every 5000 words, an additional charge of $45 USD will be applied.
TIME: 2-5 days
What I need for the digital proofing part is:
1. A Word document of the text file AND the font you want to use in your book. Times New Roman and Arial are the most popular choices.
2. Your existing cover image, as a print-ready PDF.
3. The ISBN of your book.
Book Blurb Writing/Improvement Service
COST (Flat rate): $125 (It comes to $131.25 with the 5% surcharge added on.)
The blurb is what your book is about. It will be included on the back cover of the print version AND will also be used as your description of the book on Amazon/KDP.
Generally speaking, most authors need assistance in improving any blurb that they write and an editor can assist with providing an objective summary that will entice potential readers to buy the book. That is where I come in. Rather than merely editing any blurb you write, I will both edit and improve it.
I will also provide you with the HTML code to use and can even insert it in the correct spot for you in your KDP account!
TIME: 1 day, after the book has been edited (but before the print cover is finalized, as this needs to be included in the file for the print cover)
Book Cover Design
Cover Creation + Cover Formatting (KDP wants a print-ready PDF that includes the front and back cover together, along with measurements for the book spine):
COST: $420, as I work with a special graphics artist to make this happen. (It comes to $441 with the surcharge added on.)
You get a formatted digital cover, a formatted print cover, two 3D images of your book, and some promotional images you can use on social media and/or in blog posts (all are shown below).
TIME: 1-6 weeks, depending on the availability of the cover designer and the number of revisions or tweaks needed or wanted
Payment Policy for Author Assistant Services
I accept payments in US dollars using the PayPal system, which is safe, secure, and free to use. It does not require an account and accepts credit cards.
All prices/fees are subject to a 5% surcharge (think of this as a tax). It has been added to the prices in the BUY NOW drop-down list and will be added to any quote I prepare for you (if you email me).
Your Next Steps
1. Buy now!
2. Email your documents to me at lorraine@wordingwell.com and allow 48 hours for me to reply.
That’s it!
AUTHORS WHO HAVE USED ALL OF MY SERVICES:
NOTE: I ALSO WRITE PRESS RELEASES AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES!
Here is a sample of something I wrote for Maxwell Ivey (which was published verbatim). I helped Max with all three of his books (shown in the picture below the newspaper clipping):
Read Max’s comment in this Facebook post (look at the very bottom of the page to access it):
You can hire me to write your press release, too! See my writing rates here.
