Monday, May 22, 2017

Reedsy To The Rescue

It’s been said that Vladimir Nabokov preferred to write in a parked car as it felt like a bubble of quiet and stillness; and that Agatha Christie would dream up plots for her mystery novels while sitting alone in a bathtub, munching on apples.

Images of writers in solitude with thought bubbles above their heads, playing out scenes in made-up worlds might be a romantic notion. But if you’re an independent author looking to publish a novel, then you know that image dissipates when the first draft of your manuscript is finished. In order to turn the manuscript into a finished, ready-to-publish product, what follows is teamwork — and that’s where Reedsy comes in.

Reedsy is a marketplace of publishing professionals. Here, authors in the process of publishing a book can browse through a roster of carefully curated freelancers with an extensive range of niche specialties. But Reedsy is more than just a marketplace, it’s a community for writers. Three of the most significant parts of this community are: the professionals, the courses, and the authors.

The Professionals 



Can you edit your own book? Sure. Can you design a book cover for your novel? You bet. Should you do either of those things? To put it gently: no.

“But I’m an artist — Picasso didn’t hire someone to look over his paintings before showing them to the world.” Well, you are not Picasso, and if you were, I would tell you that while your paintings are mesmerizing, if they were somehow translated into books a lot of people would probably leave Amazon reviews saying they didn’t quite “get it.”

Publishing houses do not employ teams of editors, designers, marketers, etc. just “for good measure.” They do so because the skills of those professionals are required to publish a novel people want to buy. And a self-published book is no different. Heed the advice of freelance book marketer and indie author Michael Doane: “You need to approach self-publishing with an entrepreneur’s perspective, because you need to invest money if you want to create a beautiful product that will earn you money in return.”

The Reedsy marketplace is currently home to over 600 publishing professionals including: developmental editors, query letter reviewers, cover designers, illustrators, typographers, blog tour and press coverage experts, ghostwriters, email marketing specialists, and more. The best part is that all of this talent is just a click away for anyone who wants to publish a book. Easily locate freelancers for specific services using the search function and then spend hours perusing detailed profiles of people who want to help turn your novel into a masterpiece.


Did you know: our list of freelancers includes Stephen King’s designer, Neil Gaiman’s editor, and Dan Brown’s publicist? To browse our marketplace of professionals, and to get $25 off your first Reedsy collaboration as a IWSG member, sign up here!

The Courses





Fans of Jack Kerouac will likely know the story of how the author wrote his novel, On The Road, on a 120-foot scroll of paper during a three-week typing frenzy. However, that’s just what it was, a typing frenzy. The actual conception and publication of the book required rewrites and multiple drafts just like any other book.

And that’s the thing about publishing a book: it can’t happen in one go. There is a learning curve involved in writing a book, and there is absolutely a learning curve in understanding how to self-publish a successful one.



That is why we launched Reedsy Learning, a series of free, online ten-part courses that cover a range of topics, from “Book Reviews and How to Get Them”, to “How to Build a Solid Writing Routine”. All of our courses are built to turn writers into publishing entrepreneurs. They'll support you throughout the whole journey — from the first writing stages to the distribution process.

Did you know: it takes up to 3 days for Amazon to register a “sale” and attribute it to your AMS ad? This is why you should never turn off an Amazon ads campaign in the first 72 hours just because you don’t see sales come in. Find out more about Amazon ads for authors in our newest course!


The Community

Author Neil Gaiman once said, “Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it's always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.” While we can relate to Gaiman’s sentiments, we also feel that calling in like-minded cavalry can help your fight.

This is why a priority of ours at Reedsy is creating a community of publishing professionals, and primarily, authors. There are a few ways in which we have sought to make Reedsy a place where writers can connect with one another:

The Reedsy blog
The Reedsy blog, where we post craft and technical pieces alike. But more importantly in terms of community, we host the From Our Authors series where indie authors who have used Reedsy to collaborate with professionals talk about their writing journeys. They share the learnings they have acquired throughout the publishing process, and offer tips for fellow writers going through the same process.

#IWriteBecause


The #IWriteBecause campaign, which launched at the beginning of May, has been bringing authors from all walks of life together by giving them a chance to share what drives them to write. The core of this campaign is to empower a new generation of readers and writers, and to this end, Reedsy is donating $10 for every #IWriteBecause video submitted to Room to Read — a nonprofit that focuses on child literacy in Asia and Africa.

Update from the Reedsy community: Six months after hiring a Reedsy editor and publishing her debut novel, Until I Met Her, Natalie Barelli was signed by Amazon Publishing’s imprint Thomas and Mercer! On May 30th, her novel will be formally re-released.

18 comments:

nashvillecats2 said...

Most informative read, thanks.
I write poetry as I find it helps me get through the day.
Living alone has it's drawbacks but as I said I have my blogging.

Have a good week.
Yvonne.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Reedsy provides so much for writers!

Natalie Aguirre said...

This sounds like a fantastic resource for writers. Thanks for letting us know about it.

Nicola said...

Thank you for such a detailed post. I'll check out Reedsy. Have a super week.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Self-publishers need to use all the resources available.

Pat Hatt said...

Sure sounds like an awesome place to go. And yeah, one shouldn't do all themselves indeed.

cleemckenzie said...

This group does seem to have all the bases covered.

Tyrean Martinson said...

It looks like Reedsy has just about every author service covered.

Sandee said...

There are so many pieces to writing. It's not just the book you wrote but all the essentials that need to be done with the book. Hard work.

Have a fabulous day. ☺

M.J. Fifield said...

I keep meaning (but forgetting) to check out Reedsy. Thanks for the reminder!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Lee - Reedsy looks so interesting ... I've signed up for the blog and will follow along - I note the free courses too ... fascinating and thank you for highlighting it to us ... cheers Hilary

Juneta key said...

That's cool, I'll check it out.
' Juneta @ Writer's Gambit

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

They really have a lot going on. Reedsy was mentioned a number of times at the conference I attended last weekend.

J.L. Campbell said...

Reedsy sounds like a great community.

Sharon Himsl said...

This sounds like another great resource. We can never have too much.

H.R. Bennett said...

Holy s***. This is perfect! I needed something like this so desperately.

Also, with regards to your 'mental image', I actually do conform to that. I tend to write best from 2am - 8am and it's almost always best if I'm at my office instead of at home.

I have no idea why.

Michelle Wallace said...

Reedsy has so much to offer! I had no idea...

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

Interesting. I did not know about this. Thanks for the information.