I’m planning future workshops on editing, manuscript preparation, publishing best practices, book launches, and other practical parts of the independent publishing process. To make sure I’m scheduling them at times that work for as many members as possible, I’d love your input. Please vote for the option that usually works best for you. Also, feel free to comment with your time zone and any specific time windows that are especially good or impossible. I’ll use your responses to plan upcoming Guild workshops.

Hello everyone. I look forward to learning about your experiences as an aspiring author. I am considering self-publishing, but some aspects seem daunting. Especially the marketing end of it. Also the cover art. I have so much to learn. I hold a BA in writing with a minor in drama. My professor's predicted I'd have success as a novelist. That definitely hasn't happened. I've completed five novels, with a few more in the works. I believe my writing compares favorably with those of established authors; but my many, many agent rejections have eroded my confidence. Research concerning trad publishing has been an eye opener. Even if a debut author is lucky enough to procure publication, publishers will spend piddly on marketing their books. Ninety-five percent of a publisher's marketing budget is devoted to authors with name recognition. As a result, book sales for a debut author in the first few years are disappointing. I was chagrinned to learn that established authors are offered contracts for books they haven't even written yet. Often these authors rush to meet deadlines, and as a result, the books are often poorly edited. Publishers don't care. Said authors rest on their laurels. It's becoming harder and harder to find a really well-crafted book these days. Bottom line: Maybe self-publishing, (self-empowerment) is the only way we can take a stand against the unfair practices of the publishing industry.

The best memoirs succeed for one reason: They don't just tell us what happened…they show us something larger than the author’s life. The memoirs readers cannot put down create shared meaning...transformation...deep feeling. They make us feel less alone. To help you capture these points (and more), I created this downloadable infographic for you: Writing An Unforgettable Memoir: 8 Writing Points That Make Them Work Inside are the core elements that turn a memoir from a timeline into an experience readers carry with them long after the final page: • transformation over chronology • universal themes • emotional honesty • scene over summary • narrator desire • selectivity • voice • shared meaning Because memoir is not: “here is my life.” Memoir is: “here is the truth I discovered inside it.” Download it below — and as you look through it, ask yourself: What is my memoir *really* about? That question changes everything. Download here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yLa7TIMpF3-Khi9qNO8RvtRYfgZNzVnB/view?usp=share_link

Hi, new to the group... New to writing, but I have blogged since before blogs were a thing (back in the GeoCities days). I am a disabled vet, was a single dad forever, been retired to the Philippines beach since 2013. They call me Tito Tim (uncle Tim). My first real book is in the hands of beta readers... No feedback yet... Not sure where I am going from here. Probably revising the draft. It is my fourth draft, but I had a bunch of exploratory drafts before that. I am calling it my first draft. Eventually KDP and D2D? I am unsure right now. Need an editor first... 😎🏝️🍹

If you have a finished manuscript...or if you're at least halfway...you're in the right place. Inside this Guild, we focus on the full publishing process: - Creation (writing) - Development (editing) - Production (turning the manuscript into an interior and exterior) - Distribution (where it’s available) - Promotion (how it gets into readers' hands) That’s what we’re here to work through—practically. Please introduce yourself! Share: 1. What you’re currently working on 2. Where you are in the process: writing, editing, production, publishing, marketing 3. What you feel you need the most help with right now