It’s Self-Published, And It’s Spectacular

Both are goals I have been working toward for some time. Now that I see how the process works, I have several more works in progress that can hit the e-shelves as soon as I finish them off. As a self-publishing newbie, I thought I would share my experience with the nuts and bolts of it for those of you who are considering doing the same.

Composition

I have been working on this book for a shamefully long time. Originally I began composition using Word 97. I transitioned to OpenOffice, which also worked great. I had a short-lived experience with Google Docs which I don't recommend for longer documents. Let's call that a learning experience aka FAIL. No harm done, thank goodness - I kept the .doc file somewhere safe and was easily able to go back to using it.

Toward the end of the Dala project, I saw some references to the Scrivener word processing product. Specifically I was interested in what several users had to say about the ease of converting your manuscript to a format used by the major e-book publishers. I also liked some of its organizational features. Long story short, I bought it and used it and love it. I run it on a PC, so it's not even running full bore (apparently it works best on Mac products) and I really enjoy using it. Although - full disclosure: I am a computer nerd and enjoy the inevitable little puzzles and problems that come up from time to time. The compilation process was no exception. If you don't enjoy troubleshooting computer programs, you may find a few bumps in the road when it comes time to publish. But I think you might experience that regardless of whether you have Scrivener compile your file or let the e-pub sites do it for you.

Editing

I have seen all the advice out there to hire out the editing. I was very tempted to do so, and may do so in future if budget allows.  But as luck would have it, Janice Hardy's Fiction University was running her 30-day editing series around the time I was ready to edit. As a devout DIY-er, I jumped on board. If only I could have completed the job in 30 days! It was a very grueling couple of months, not gonna lie. I have much to learn on the grand concepts of writing such as plot development and story arc. If I ever hire an editor, that's what I will be looking for help with. But I have a decent grasp of grammar and spelling. Couple that with spell checking technology and St. Janice, and I felt confident my manuscript was in pretty good shape when I pushed the Publish button - as good or better than many I have seen.

The Cover

I have also seen some wonderful advice regarding cover design. I will definitely be applying it to my next project which at present has absolutely no concept for a cover. I especially like this site for DIY designs. But some time ago I happened upon the most adorable piece of art on Etsy that I thought perfectly evoked the tone of The Dala Horse. I contacted the artist, bought the piece, and secured her gracious permission to use it on the cover. I am very happy with the look and really never considered using anything else. I do need to improve my photo editing skills as the image looks a little grainy depending on what I am using to view it.

UPDATE: I could've edited the above paragraph to reflect subsequent changes to my viewpoint on the subject of covers. But I left it here as a stark reminder of what a doofus I was early in my self-pub journey. This post gives the humbling details of the rest of the story about my book's cover.

Publishing

At last the finish line came into view and I started investigating the various self-publishing outlets. I found this article to be particularly helpful, and chose to go with Kindle Direct. It costs nothing up front, it pays well, and the publishing process was fairly straightforward. Initially, Dala was only available as an e-book. Eventually I added a paperback version via Createspace as well as an audio book via ACX.

Marketing

Part of the reason it has taken me so long to get this project completed is that I allowed myself to use 'building a platform' as an excuse not to work on my manuscript. I wouldn't say a platform is a waste of time, exactly, until I read this eye-opening article by C. S. Lakin about genre vs. platform. I did purchase KDSpy and you better believe I have already used it to confirm my next project will be in a little better position to market itself when it comes out later this year. Yes, you read that correctly: market itself.

I haven't completely abandoned my so-called platform. This website + blog, obvs. I am a Twitterholic. I love the advice on how to use Pinterest to complement your book with lots of fun visuals. After much back-and-forth, I set up a separate author Page on Facebook and am actually enjoying working with it as a marketing tool. I also enjoy Instagram.

Ephemera

I had a really hard time deciding when to stop the editing and just publish the damn thing. I still have days when something occurs to me that I would like to change or check on. The nice thing about e-publishing is that if it were a glaring error, I could fix it and upload a new version. But I am resisting tinkering with anything now unless it is something ridiculously embarrassing. It's sort of like the writer's version of empty nest - it feels weird when that part of your life is over, but also very satisfying.

Now that The Dala Horse is live on Kindle,  that's by no means the end of the project. As a self-published author, I am also responsible for marketing, marketing, and more marketing. I spend mornings on straight-up marketing (via social networking, mostly) and brainstorming ideas for more marketing. Afternoons are devoted to the new project and the occasional blog post. The two main takeaways from Dala that I am applying to the new project are story structuring/scene maintenance on the front end, which I learned in Janice Hardy's editing program, and the importance of genre positioning (on Kindle, anyway) learned from C. S. Lakin's article above. These two elements combined should make for a smoother and more successful outcome on my next self-pub.