My first story (“Starphires”) came out in late 1994, and I switched to writing novels in 2015. Each story’s daily research often takes me down interesting avenues, and I love predicting future technologies and cultural adaptations. I also enjoy piecing together new worlds from clues and character subtext. Along the way, I’ve come to respect intuition, serendipity, and the power of summative epiphany.

The fun thing is — I’ve traveled all over the planet — and I’ve rarely met anyone who reads for pleasure and who isn’t also interested in writing their own stories. Or maybe you’ve already written something you’re ready to share with the world? Literary fiction? Poetry? An entire fantasy or science fiction manuscript? A cozy mystery? 

Why not self-publish?

It’s easy, and here’s the publishing sequence that’s guided me through 12 science fiction novels. By the way, I’m the Publisher here as well as CEO. I have a separate CFO (Chief Financial Officer), Editor-in-Chief/Senior Editor, and Production Director. We also have four other departments: marketing, design & art, rights & permissions, and digital & audio technology.

Phase 1: Ideation

• I always start with a specific central character in mind. This is easy for a series of books, as the point of view character has room for further growth and maturity. And I surely mean to test them with a series of harsh ordeals. My secondary characters could probably have a book of their own and often represent aspects of the story’s theme.
• Do I already have a book title? Almost certainly. Trust me … our dedicated project editors have no problem maintaining a list of excellent suggestions. 
• Thus, with so many projects in pre-production, we needed a place to collect ideas, character profiles, and planned scene or dialog snippets. “Scrivener” (software) won the contest! [According to their website, Scrivener is “Tailor-made for long writing projects. Scrivener banishes page fright by allowing you to compose your text in any order, in sections as large or small as you like. Got a great idea but don’t know where it fits? Write when inspiration strikes and find its place later. Grow your manuscript organically, idea by idea.”] 
• As I get closer to running with a particular project, I assign each note to an approximate plot point in my usual “hero’s journey” outline format and go for it!
• We develop ideas for the book cover and let our art department go crazy. I have covers for my next two books and can describe character or spacecraft details straight from the book cover. For example: the young woman on the cover of Cross the Sky matches the real-life person we modeled the book’s central character on. Hint: look at the epigraph at the end of my books. These awesome people help me focus on my writing, and many have seen “new life” as character models. But keep all that hush-hush. It’s supposed to be a secret.

Phase 2: The First Draft

• Scrivener lets me maintain a running reminder list with the main character’s goals, flaws, and story needs. There’s also an area for each setting, planet, star system, and alien species.
• We usually plan about 25, 3,600-word chapters and an epilog. This is fun because one story’s epilog often delivers insight into the next book’s opening sequence.  
• I write a minimum of 1,000 words, six days a week. Fortunately, small things add up to big things, and the chapter count always grows. As of this precise moment, my average word count for a completed book is 94,993 words. [Which is stupid on my part! A “novel”-length book only needs 60,000 words! Silly me! What have I been thinking?]
• I check each chapter with the online “Hemingway editor.” I like that it shows errors and areas that may be ripe for pruning. Its reading-level report also aids consistency and word flow.
• I check each chapter with “ProWritingAid.” Here, it is important to adjust the settings for U.S. English and my specific genre. You can also choose general, British, Canadian, or Australian English. What fun!
• I check each chapter with “Grammarly.” At the end of each week, Grammarly delivers a summary of observed issues and a running total of all the words I’ve checked.
• After the chapter count tops out, I add an epilog and compile the Scrivener file for Word.

Phase 3: Revision in Microsoft Word

• This finally lets me see the total word count, and I like how Word tracks every change and waits for me to evaluate and save updates.
• I update the novel’s cast list and generate a revision matrix that forces me to focus on each chapter’s likely changes.
• Do I still like the POV character?
• Are everyone’s goals clear?
• Does the story read well?
• Do I need to add more dialog tags for clarity?
• Can I cut any unnecessary scenes?
• Do the stakes keep escalating? 
• When I think I’m about done here, I read each chapter silently and then aloud. Yes, mistakes and typos still show up here!

Phase 4: Editing

• I format the book in “Vellum” (software) and send the complete package to the editing team. If you don’t want to purchase Vellum (or don’t use Mac computers), Scrivener also formats. I just like how Vellum lets us put our production stamp on each new work. The chapter openings look the same, as do each book’s front and back materials.
• Now here’s the scary part! In EXCHANGE for this manuscript, I now get an edited/annotated copy of whatever previous book I had submitted (months ago) to our editors. So, while the editing crew does their thing with the new project, I get ready to publish another book.

Phase 5: Second Revision

• I write the book’s Amazon description (around 250 to 300 words).
• I help finalize the new book’s eBook and print covers.
• I interpret each editor’s notes and suggestions and take action on … most. 
• I delete the old Vellum copy and read the entire book out loud once again.
• I update my author’s biography.
• I verify the book’s social media links and format the text in Vellum for the second time.

Phase 6: Publication

• We complete the book’s Amazon description and use BookBrush or Canva to make banners for social media.
• We use Tailwind to schedule pins for Pinterest.
• We finalize the book’s categories and keywords.
• We generate eBook and Print versions and get ready to upload them to Amazon.
• Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing system is easy to master and usually takes less than an hour per book. It generates our ASIN and ISBNs and calculates cover prices all around the world. Some of my best sales figures come from dedicated fans in Australia and Japan. (Which is cool!)
• We add the new book to my Amazon Author’s page and send out launch notices.

Phase 7: Remastering

• Hawk’s Grove Press has two fantastic voiceover artists. Natalie Mensinger is narrating the books in Lissaya Anning’s Sapphire Sky series. Meanwhile, Murdoch McRae is reading the Time Wing Six books and everything in my River of Light series.
• And here’s where I would pull my hair out — if I had any hair. Preparing for narration requires yet another full reading of each book, this time with expected voice profiles and (especially for the many aliens my characters interact with) consistency checks between each book series.
• Our masterful art department also renders each audiobook cover. 

Phase 8: Audiobook preparation

• Our production teams use a fancy Digital Audio Workstation called “Reaper,” but you could use Audacity (free) or GarageBand (free). During each morning’s production run, the team produces about one-third to one-half of a narrated chapter.
• Once they’ve finished each book, our narrators deliver their RAW files so I can verify an exact match with the book’s final product. Once in a while, they may have made changes because I gave them a tongue twister they didn’t want to tackle, or they’ve found a better way to say something. In Double Take, I once used the word cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (an explosive compound) and made them keep it in. For fun, I sometimes make them speak Russian or Chinese. Oh, and they sometimes have to sing or growl alien voices. I wonder if they hate me for that?
• Once I approve each chapter, the team makes their last changes before rendering WAV files and MP3s using Auphonic Leveler and XLD.
• We shoot the final MP3s off to ACX and Audible.
• Then, if we’ve changed the book’s text, I upload the changes and re-publish each eBook and Print edition.

Phase 9: Almost done!

• We now shoot a variety of emails to our “street team” and hope for reviews.
• We post notes on Pinterest and Facebook.
• I send gift copies to genre “influencers.”
• I usually take a break and read a book or two. (The next one on the stack is … The Bees, by Laline Paull.)
• Our entire production team might go out to dinner.

Anyway, being a creator is empowering, so good luck finding your own writing and publication process! If you have any questions, I’d be happy to lend a hand. For now, why not take a look at some of our finished products and give them a try? The eBooks are free with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited plan, and we’ve yet to raise prices for the new year.

And please don’t hesitate to leave those all-important reviews. (Bless your heart, if you already have!) 

Please visit: https://www.amazon.com/author/scottazmus