Self-Publish Coach Touts Importance of Adhering To Quality Standards For Authors of eBooks

Sept. 10, 2011 - PRLog -- Convincing emerging authors of the importance of maintaining the highest publishing standards is one of the challenges of a leading ‘IndiePub’ coach, Emily Hill.  The owner of A.V. Harrison Publishing, an independent publisher, touts professional-level book covers, sharp manuscript editing, and understanding industry trends as the recipe for long-range publishing success.

Visit http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-smart-cookies-can-self-publish-2011-emily-hill/1100451388?ean=2940012015389&itm=1&usri=all%2bsmart%2bcookies%2bcan%2bself%2bpublish for details.

“Would you consider getting into the insurance brokerage business without knowing anything about the trends, standards and rules of the insurance industry?: Emily Hill, IndieAuthor and self-published author asks rhetorically. "Or, apply the same principal to getting into hair design and owning a styling salon.”  
 
“Why would you get into publishing without knowing the trends, standards, and rules of the publishing industry?  And how could you expect to make money?”  Ms. Hill, who opened her business, A.V. Harrison Publishing, coaches writers who aspire to become authors.  She defines 'authors' as those writers who “earn income from their avocation”.  And she meets a lot of writers nowadays who want to become authors by entering the fast-paced world of independent publishing.

“Establishing oneself as an IndieAuthor, that is, someone who publishes independently, and makes money on their titles, is a challenging endeavor,” she cautions.  And although, for most, it doesn’t result in an immediate support-the-family income, becoming an IndieAuthor does have its advantages and rewards,” she promises.  

Ms. Hill included among the challenges of self-publishing, the learning curve, the time demands of marketing and selling one’s titles, and the self-promoting involved in raising the visibility of one's books so that they are noticed beyond “that friends and family circle”.  

The self-publishing enthusiast ePublished her first book on the kdp Amazon platform six months ago.  “As I closed the ledgers on August 2011 I realized that I had sold over one thousand books across three genres. My goodness, it took work,” she laughs.  “But I now have one thousand, and growing, readers who seek my advice, or enjoy my storytelling style.”  She adds, “What will that number be in three years?”

As a member of Small Publishers Association of North America, Ms. Hill ascribes to the principal that, in the long run, the highest quality eBook or print-book, will bring an author the most in publishing industry standing. Visit http://www.spannet.org/ for details.

“There are gimmicks - tricks that will increase one’s book sales short term; and they should not be dismissed.  But, for me, the long term vision is publishing.  And it takes offering a sharp product to enjoy long-term organic growth.  This means that I need to understand the current trends of my avocation, adhere to top-quality standards, and keep an eye on the technical rules as upload techniques, new innovation, and expanded marketing possibilities present themselves.”

Ms. Hill,  coaches traditionally published writers wanting to test the self-publishing market; and emerging writers “who have ‘done the numbers" and realize what the current economy has done to the chances of being picked up by an agent-publisher team.  

“My biggest challenge is convincing emerging authors of the importance of (A) professional level book covers; and (B) uploading to eBook or print on demand a manuscript that enjoys professional-level editing.”  She continues her lecture with the caution, “nothing chills an author’s readership potential than editing oversights.”  On book cover design, Ms. Hill says the following.  “I can’t tell you how many authors think they can attract readers with a home-made PowerPoint slide, converted to a jpeg.  It simply isn’t a level playing field to put a PowerPoint cover up against a cover produced at a professional level.”

“Writers are offered much in the world of independent publishing.  But before you turn the page and call your manuscript ready to publish, understand the trends, respect the standards, and adhere to the rules so that, in the long run, you can point back to an effort that hits the high marks, not the mediocre marks.  It’s worth the challenge."

Ms. Hill publishes ‘All Smart Cookies Can Self-Publish’ a coaching guide for those interested in becoming independent authors and writes a how-to-publish blog for her readers.

Visit http://www.avharrison-publishing.com for details.

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A.V. Harrison Publishing features ground-breaking topics from emerging authors. Its books are distributed by Ingram, available on Amazon.com and B&N Nook. Owner, Emily Hill, invites submissions and can be contacted at info@avharrison-publishing.com.