The Substitute Bride by Victoria M. Johnson

Amazon.com

Powell's Books

With the explosion of ebook sales, we can no longer deny the benefits of submitting our work for e-publication.  With a little online research you’ll discover that there are many e-publishers to choose from.  Some may focus on specific genres and some may focus on the type of writing such as: essay, poetry, and short stories.  Some offer payment; while others do not.  But have you considered becoming an indie-published author?  That is, authors who independently publish their work.  I recently decided I wanted to join the ranks of the rogues who were blazing past the obstacles of traditional publishing.  After all, I had written something that I had frequently heard would be extremely difficult to sell.  I’d written a short story collection.  I didn’t even know what publishers might be interested in such a work.  I believed the research alone would take several weeks.  Add to that the months of waiting for a response from each editor, and I knew I was two years away, at a minimum, from seeing my work in print.  I’ll admit that about the same time several of my writer friends were experiencing much success with their ebook offerings—and I had heard about and attended a fantastic workshop offered by Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords.  So I took the plunge.  I hired a professional book cover designer and a professional editor.  I looked at their sample work, credentials, and references just as I would for anyone I considered hiring for any job.  As an indie publisher, you are completely responsible for the quality of the end product.  You are also in control of the formats to offer your ebook and the channels of distribution.  I chose Smashwords and Amazon as the publication vehicles.  I did all the formatting myself on both sites.  (Although you can hire someone to do the formatting for you).  Currently the ebook is available for sale on both these sites—and Red Room—and I’m waiting to hear if it will be approved for distribution on BarnesandNoble and the iBookstore.  My first indie project is titled: The Substitute Bride.  I’m very excited about the ebook itself and the whole process.  I’ve earned my wings on this project and I’m pleased to call myself an indie-published author. You can become one, too.