# Howdy



## David K. Thomasson (Mar 31, 2014)

I've made my living for years as a nonfiction writer, first in newspaper  journalism and then as a freelance (speechwriting, funding proposals, book introductions, all kinds of stuff) since  2004. I lived and worked in Washington DC for the last 15 years and  finally escaped to the sane environs of Central Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Last year I published my first  novel, _The First Impression_, through Amazon (CreateSpace).


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## PiP (Mar 31, 2014)

Hi, David 

Welcome to our creative community. Any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

PiP


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## J Anfinson (Mar 31, 2014)

Howdy, David. Since you're experienced at Nonfiction, you might enjoy our *Nonfiction Competition*. There's also a *Fiction Competition*. And of course after ten posts you can post your excerpts and shorts to the creative boards. Hope to see you around the site.


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## Pandora (Apr 1, 2014)

Hey David, beautiful place to call home, welcome to WF.


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## thepancreas11 (Apr 1, 2014)

David! Oh, you should definitely visit the non-fiction forum, but I know that ppsage is a particular haunter of that place, so you might want to check out some of his stuff. I also know that Winston has also posted there too.

Congratulations on the novel publishing by the way. It's always nice to have more authors here.
thepancreas


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## qwertyportne (Apr 1, 2014)

Hello David. I've published several non-fiction books on the Kindle platform and would enjoy hearing about Create Space. That allows you to print publish your book, correct? Welcome to the forum!


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## David K. Thomasson (Apr 1, 2014)

qwertyportne said:


> Hello David. I've published several non-fiction books on the Kindle platform and would enjoy hearing about Create Space. That allows you to print publish your book, correct? Welcome to the forum!



Yes, check out CreateSpace. Your paperback is published as a print-on-demand book -- which obviously means that there's no up-front investment in a print run of hundreds or thousands (or more) of copies that might or might not sell.

I was a bit worried at first that PoD books would look like second-class citizens alongside traditional paperback. But no. Assuming you have a class cover design (and that's very important), the printed product will look as good as anything on the bookstore shelves. (In an alternative life I do commercial retouching in Photoshop, backed up by years of designing feature pages in newspapers, so I had the skills to design my own *cover*.) If you go this route, do pay attention to your cover and get it done right. 

Aside from that, the interior file is relatively simple. You can upload a Word file, correctly formatted, or you can first convert that (correctly formatted) Word file into a pdf and upload that. The process includes a review stage that allows you to see an on-screen proof or order a printed proof, and fix glitches before you hit the launch button and "go live."

Check it out.


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## A_Jones (Apr 1, 2014)

It is awesome you were able to make a living with your writing.  Welcome to the site.  I am very pleased to meet you, and I hope to read your work soon!


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## qwertyportne (Apr 2, 2014)

Thanks for the in-depth reply. My interest in Create Space was that a POD book would not sit there waiting to be discovered. That's the problem I see right now with my e-books.


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## David K. Thomasson (Apr 2, 2014)

qwertyportne said:


> Thanks for the in-depth reply. My interest in Create Space was that a POD book would not sit there waiting to be discovered. That's the problem I see right now with my e-books.



Exactly. The biggest challenge with self-publishing is that you have to transform yourself from writer into marketer. Those are drastically different hats, and the second doesn't fit me very well.


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