Random Questions
This page has already generated some great questions from readers. If the questions fall into one of the already established sections, I'll add the information there as well. Here are a few questions I've received that don't fall under any specific category.
Q: What was your initial financial investment? Have you hit a break-even point yet financially?
A: Self-publishing through Lulu requires no money up front, so I had no initial financial investment. I was "in the black" after selling one book. The only thing that costs money is if you buy copies of your own book to sell in person.
Q: Did you run into any legal issues?
A: None.
Q: What tools did you use to write? Word? GNU software? Specific author programs? Pencil on a restaurant napkin?
A: I personally wrote both of my books using Microsoft Word, although I am going to write my next book using only free tooks -- specifically Google Docs and Open Office.
Q: Any specific resource you used for your research? Google? Wikipedia? Your friends? Wife? etc. Did you also have any specific methodology for your research or did you just wing it?
A: The majority of my research was performed online. You nailed most of my sources: Google and Wikipedia. Whenever I quoted a source I was always sure to cite those references. Getting caught plagiarizing is just about the worst thing that can happen to a writer.
Q: When you finally got the book finished, where did you go to find a publisher? Did you start right away with self-publishing or did you originally have bigger goals?
Q: A friend of mine (though another friend) discovered Lulu. It was my plan all along to self-publish, my thought being, if I could self-publish a book and get some attention, maybe that would help me get my second book published. Because I was self-publishing I decided to pick the most obscure book I was considering writing (Commodork is about old computer bulletin board systems) and do that one first -- that way I wasn't potentially "throwing away" an idea that could possibly be a billion seller later on down the road. In retrospect I think I made the right call.