I’ve written a book. Yes, readers of WordPress! Yes people of the internet universe! This administrative assistant who has hidden behind the coat tails of executives in the media industry all in the name of a paycheck, this retiring cubicle dweller who has been a prisoner of the nine to five (make that nine to six) – has decided to finally – publish a book. To be specific – self publish a book. It’s a collection of short stories entitled Hitting the Water. I’ll be discussing it and providing excerpts in the weeks to come.
Why am I self publishing? I have to. It’s time to start charting a course that will get me out of the day to day grind of the corporate world. It’s been over two decades of being tied to a desk, being responsible for work I barely care about, and stop being an assistant to someone elses’ career. I can’t wait for a publisher to pass my work along while my life span is ticking away.
Of course, I’d love the financial backing and marketing team of a legit publisher, where my work can be formatted correctly for press, where a cover will be designed hitting the reader’s eye on the shelf of the only Barnes and Noble that still lives in a mall somewhere, and where marketing will be handled by pros. But having dealt with the rejection of many publishers, magazine and websites before – I’ve decided to pack up my pencils and laptop, and go it alone. If a publisher notices my work online – fine. But I’m ready to write everyday and parlay it as an entrepreneurial venture. As Johnny, Dave and Sean say in their Self-Publishing Podcast: “If you can’t get it done right, you do it yourself.”
So, after a year of writing dozens and dozens of stories and setting the groundwork for various novels (one a trilogy), I’m ready to forge ahead on the self publication of my book for paperback and digital download on Amazon. I have my manuscript, and will be sending into my editor for final edits. A friend of mine will design the cover – a tricky project considering there are requirements and templates we need. There’s the ISBN, LCCN assignment, copyrights , marketing and a whole mixture of technical stuff I need to handle via Createspace,
For those just learning (like me!), Createspace is the platform self publishers use to get their books physically ready and available for distribution when readers click to purchase your work. They also do digital uploads so your book can be purchased and downloaded to Kindle. What’s interesting is that Createspace provides a whole list of offers to help the self publisher get their books done without the toil of dealing with various venders. Kind of a one-stop-shopping for the publisher on the go. All great! However, with services like formatting at $349 and book design at $599, you know what I’m finding? That’s hella expensive! Will I recoup this money once the book is released? Likely not. Yes, I have faith in this book, but I’m aware that this is just the first seed I’m planting as part of a garden of books I hope will sell. I’m not going to recoup this amount at this stage.
So here I go, making the passive act of writing and living in my head, into an active action by laying the actual business groundwork to make this book a tangible thing. Of course, it’s just the first book I’m getting out there. I don’t expect it to change the world. But, in publishing it, I’m changing mine.
Anyone out there going through this self publishing process? Anyone ever think of self publishing that novel or article you have on a self somewhere? Please share your thoughts. I’ve been on various forums, but I’d love to get a conversation started here.
And you don’t just have to be a writer. Are you living a life that you don’t want? What is your passion?
Order of the Good Write 