My name is Samantha C Sinclair. God has blessed me to have self published multiple books on Amazon Kindle Direct publishing.
Emergency Romance was the first in 2019. It’s the first in The God’s Silver Lining Book Series. There are now six books in that series, and a stand alone titled A Glimmer Of Hope on Amazon Kindle and paper back.
I was just blessed to sign with a publisher, and audio book company. See the last post on this blog for more information.
I’d like to share some things I’ve learned over the last five years of being an author. I’m still learning everyday.
First, listen to and read every thing you can from astablished authors.
They can give you valuable instruction. You can find a lot on YouTube, faceBook, on line reading, and even books on the subject.
Your best learning, do a lot of praying, and read every book in the genre you are writing in. Not only will you get a lot of enjoyment, but a good education.
Here are a couple of examples.
If you want to write poetry, you might read William Shakespeare.
For Christian Fiction Romance, Karen Kingsbury is my top recommendation.
For Christian Fiction Suspense with a splash of romance, which is where I am…
Lynette Eason, Laura Scott, and Colleen Coble.
Self Publishing check list
I’m sure I will miss something here. Don’t forget, I’m still learning as well. But, I have learned a load of info lately, some of it the hard way.
Writing process
For every person, this is different.For me, the first thing I need to do, and a constant through out the process, is to pray with out ceasing. When I get off track with what God is needing me to write it all falls apart. When I stay on His course, things all fall nicely into place.
Secondly, are you an outliner or a fly by the seat of your pants also known as a pantser? Typically, I read my way through the process, meaning I learn the story as I’m writing. However, with a series God has laid on my heart, HE led me to out line all six books. I do not mean every chapter, just the time line and basics of each book. If out lining each chapter is what you need to do, go for it. God will show you your track, just follow HIM. Keep HIM behind the wheel, and you’ll be fine.
Do you wait to edit when you’re finished?
No, no, no. You need to edit at least a couple times a week. Something I’ve learned from others, and self experience, separate the tasks of writing and editing. That may look different for you than for me. I’m not saying don’t fix mistakes when writing. I’m saying set aside a time for editing, as in taking out unnecessary words. Now, if God tells you to write something a certain way, leave it.
An example I recently learned goes like this.
We know if the person walk into the room the door was open, unless we are told otherwise. If they sit, clearly it’s down.
“Jack walked through the open door, and sat down in a chair next to Jill.”
Or
“Jack walked into the room, and sat in a chair next to Jill.”
Also, find a friend or family member who is willing to read your book, and give honest correction updates. Also, find someone who is an avid reader, who will do a good clean job on editing. If they are a slow reader, as taking their time, all the better.
When planning a release date for your self published book, allow ample time for all the above. For me, the book isn’t finished until God says it is. So I’m going to do some serious praying on these release dates I’m working on. Prayer Closet, the first devotional God has blessed me to release Will Lord willing release a new addition each month of this year. That’s new for me, but something I am enjoying.
Basically the more learning you do, the better off you are going to be. Get in author support groups, and find out if your local library has a writers group. If not, and you are an author, speak to the Library about starting one up.
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Samantha.christianfiction@Gmail.com
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Blessings
Samantha C Sinclair
SamanthaCSinclair.com 