To Hire or Not to Hire: That's the BIG Question. (Pg. 1)

As your book nears completion, you should decide whether you'll complete the following steps independently or by hiring others.  I know that taking on the task of writing a book is heavy enough. So, to consider adding Editor, Book Designer, Publisher, and Illustrator to your title may seem impossible or far-fetched.  You can only do what you are capable of doing.  Don't attempt to wear titles that don't fit you.  If you're not eloquent of speech, never aced English class, and sucked at writing essays, it may take lots of hard work to edit your own book.  Is it possible?  Of course it is.  We live in a time where we have immediate access to the information highway; the World Wide Web (a.k.a., the internet).  What you aren't sure of, you can learn without taking a class or sitting at the feet of some retired professor.

If organizing things, putting puzzles together, or figuring out how to make things fit together isn't your forte', designing your book may pose a problem for you and may be a source of utter frustration in the book creation process.

If you've never learned desktop publishing or used word processing software (such as Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, LibreOffice Writer, or OpenOffice), it may turn out to be a painfully long and mind-numbing duty to publish your own book.  You'll need to know how to insert page numbers, set page margins, be familiar with proper paragraph formation, line spacing and indentation rules.  So much goes into developing a book that will be ready to market to hoards of bookworms out there.  It shouldn't be taken lightly.  I haven't even scratched the surface.  When your curiosity has been piqued enough check out my Step-by-Step Guide to Become a Self-Publisher.

Lastly, if you don't have a talent, interest, love, or skill for drawing you probably won't have any desire to illustrate your own book.  Even if you aren't the next Picasso, but you like art or like to draw you can still contribute to the illustration bit.  Case-in-point:  Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid², admitted that he isn't an artist.  Yet, he was able to include some hilarious characters resembling stick figures in his books.  And you know what?  It went over very well with young boys and girls alike, including my own child.  I, too, decided not to depend on hiring an artist by illustrating my first published book, Jade Made Me Do It!³  I'm no Picasso yet either.  Yet, thus far, my drawings have gone over well with everyone who has read my book. By providing my own illustrations I managed to save money, go at my own pace, avoid splitting my royalties, and stay focused on completing my book instead of keeping tabs on a hired artist's progress.



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