What kinds of things did I wonder about when I started writing? There were so many things. Here I will share tips and links that you might find helpful.
In 2007, when I signed my first book contract, I had an agent, a small advance, and a seven-year contract with a small traditional publishing house. So I have been writing and publishing for a while now. In 2013, when I created my first indie book, I knew the level of quality I wanted my books to have if they were to compete with traditional press books. Today I have my indie press, Belo Dia Publishing Inc. where most of my books are published. Belo Dia is Portuguese for “Beautiful Day” and “Beautiful Day” is part of who I am as a person, so it became a major part of my branding.
What is branding? I say it’s knowing who you are, acting like it, and making sure your brand reflects that.
My training as a writer:
I attended the Antioch Writers Workshop in Yellow Springs Ohio, for three summers ***** and studied under Katrina Kittle (fiction), *****, and ****(poetry) There I learned how to critique and be critiqued professionally. I’ll be writing an article on this to be shared later.
I have been a member of two critique groups in Memphis one was all genres, and the other was a gathering of three other author friends focused on writing our first romance novels.
Teaching:
Teaching writers is something I love to do and I have been teaching on panels since 2009 when my first book was out in print. Since a stroke in the summer of 2023 left me with a blood clot in my brain, I can no longer board a plane to fly to events to teach live on the ground or to drive a car to an event. Instead, I am moving my classes online. You will find links added here as new ones go up.
My Courses Online:
The first class, Promoting Your Book on Radio, and TV Interviews: Moving From Fear to Fun with Successful Author Interviews, is now up on Udemy and will be free for the first month, until July 31st when pricing goes up. Learn how Debra moved from fear of public speaking on radio or TV to having fun.
Today I write, publish, and promote my books using…
I use a MacBook Pro laptop, 13-inch silver 2015 edition. Though it’s hard to find one of those ever refurbed these days you can still find a 2017 version which is much cheaper than a new one. https://amzn.to/3XCharN
I write my books in Word using the Microsoft 365 annual plan. https://amzn.to/3zhqNSL
To elevate my laptop I use an adjustable computer stand https://amzn.to/4cxjqVG an awesome Mother’s Day gift from my youngest son.
Attached to my laptop I use this beautiful vintage-looking Quirky Writer keyboard, a wonderful Christmas gift from both my sons. https://amzn.to/4eBdehe I learned to type on a typewriter in high school and love typing on my Quirky Writer. It’s so much more comfortable to type on.
I use Vellum Press to format my ebooks, print books, and large print editions. They have a free version you can download. https://vellum.pub/
My cover artist: https://coverdesign.sherimcgathy.com/
My Virtual assistant and proofreader: https://www.melissaproofs.com/
H4Y is my website host and domain name registrar. I have been with them for years and highly recommend them. Their customer service is excellent. H4Y link: https://my.h4y.us/aff.php?aff=38
I am a beta author for Reader Machine https://www.readermachine.com/author-website/ which is a program for building author websites that will co-ordinate with a WordPress website. You can see an example of what it can do by looking around my website or visiting their site. It includes a shop using Woocommerce.
I use Next Day Fliers to make my trifold book lists, bookmarks, postcards, and business cards.
I use BookBrush to create marketing materials as well as Canva. For specific graphic needs, I hire my cover artist.
I have purchased banners from https://www.bannersonthecheap.com/
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