Coming Soon: The Lazarus Serum Paperback Edition

A few weeks back I had a poll on my website and my Facebook page on whether my readers would prefer a paperback or ebook version of my newest book, The Lazarus Serum.
Well, the results are in!
It looks like I'll have my work cut out for me the next few weeks as I format The Lazarus Serum for paperback publishing! The novel will be approximately 300 pages long, and it should be available before Christmastime. In the meanwhile, the digital version is already for sale here. Publishing a physical version of this book is going to be a long and expensive process, but I really do believe that this is the best thing I've ever written and I want the chance to share it with anyone who is interested in reading it. This story is worth the work.

On a similar note, I've taken a lot of time to think about my future recently. As an English major at a large university, I often worry that I'll get lost in the crowd and pressured to take classes that won't really help me grow as a writer. But I'm ready to cast my back-up career aside, because writing is honestly what I want to do. It's what I've always wanted to do.
Sometimes it's hard to let go of your back-up plan and commit 100% to your dream because there are so many "what-ifs". What if I don't succeed? How will I make enough money to support myself? What if my dream gets contorted along the way, or I change my mind? These are a few of the questions I've found myself pondering, and it's something all of us go through at some point in our lives.
In all honesty, I just had cold feet.
I've been scared because I've come so far in such a short time, and soon I won't have a lot of other options. Once I truly commit to writing, I won't be looking for anything else. All of my other possible futures will fade into the backdrop and eventually melt away. It's sort of like getting married, I guess. But when I set time aside to seriously consider my options, I realized that I do know what I want. And I want this. I want to write, to be a writer, even if I have to take out student loans and work multiple jobs to do it.
So I made the commitment. I switched out of my massive English major into the smaller college on the same campus--into a Literature major with less than a hundred students. Now I'll be primarily taking courses on reading and writing, I'll be in more discussion-based classes, and I get 24 hour access to a typewriter!
I applied, crossed my fingers, and I made the cut. Next quarter I'll be a Literature student taking classes on how to write for modern media and how to read like a writer! I feel very blessed to have this chance to work with other like-minded students who understand what it means to pursue literature as a career.
I'm ready to cast my doubt aside and focus all of my time, energy, and heart on my dream--are you?
~Fallon Jones

5 Tools to Self-Publish

I use Grammarly's free plagiarism checkerbecause sampling is only okay in the music industry! 

A week has passed, and I'm ready to publish my latest book, The Lazarus Serum. A lot of people have asked me how to go about self-publishing, since there are so many different ways to do it now that the industry has exploded!

In this post, I have compiled a list of tools that have helped me tremendously in the epic adventure that is self-publishing.

1. Smashwords

If you are looking for a quick and cheap way to publish e-books, I strongly recommend using this website. You can access formatters for your book through their website, and they will get all of the kinks worked out so that your book looks professional when it gets into the market. And did I mention the distribution benefits? Provided your book passes the formatting requirements, (which it will if you pay for formatting) you can get your book carried through Barnes & Noble's website, along with Amazon and various e-readers.

2. Lulu

This is much more expensive than Smashwords, but your best bet for quality print works. They have a wide selection of editors, marketing packages, and formatting selections. You can do hardback, paperback, or iPad e-books with this option.

3. Grammarly

In addition to its free plagiarism checker which compares your work to billions of others', Grammarly offers contextual grammar corrections and word choice suggestions. It's way more comprehensive than what you'll find in your word processor - it's cheaper than hiring an editor, too!

4. WritePad

I used this iPhone/iPad app to write two of my novels - The Jaws of Life and The Lazarus Serum. It's a word processor that lets you write your books by hand rather than by keyboard on your screen. It has built-in handwriting recognition that will translate your scribbles (even cursive) into neatly typed words. You can customize your own text and color themes, export documents as PDFs, and sync with any cloud.

5. Your Blog

This is your best marketing tool. And believe me, marketing is the most important part of self-publishing. I use social media like Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter to keep my readers informed about what I'm up to next. Your blog is also a great way to link people to your products. For instance, I have separate pages for each of my books on my website that tell a little bit about each story! Besides talking about your own works, your blog is a great place to talk to your fans directly and rant about your hobbies - like I'm doing right now.

To get a feel for what a self-published book looks like in its final form, check out The Jaws Of Life or The Lazarus Serum!