I’m sure it was Mothers who coined some of the best well-worn phrases, like, ‘never leave ’til tomorrow what you can do today.’ Or perhaps, ‘if you want it doing right, do it yourself.’
Both of these basic premisses would be apt for me this month, having endured a rather arduous May, during which I achieved four fifths of nine tenths of naff-all. Zilch. Having been struck down by all manner of seasonal microbes – surely a valid excuse for being unproductive – I was languishing in the knowledge that subsequent to my book launch in February, at least my newly formatted e-book was sitting nicely online at various sites. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it wasn’t.
Now, I’m very happy with my US based publisher, let it be known. But I have heard it described as The Titanic…. because it really is vast…. and it churns out impressive quantities of books at a tree endangering speed. But there had been no mention of any outstanding paperwork, and I had been going about my business thinking everything had been signed and dotted. (Perhaps it’s so big that things like this can get missed, although to be fair, this is a self-publishing venture, so the onus is on me. )
Ultimately I didn’t know that there were two contracts yet to be reviewed for the big players – Apple, and Kindle (Amazon) – and not only had I made little progress in May due to the beastly bugs, but I’d also (unwittingly) lost March and April as a result of incomplete paperwork.
Just back tracking here for a minute. When I’d completed my book at the end of 2016, after 12 months of writing, I’d had some difficulty with the right sort of pdf required by the US publisher during the hard copy upload process. I’d persevered. I’d made multiple attempts. All of them failed. Six weeks of rejections, and a small nervous breakdown later, I engaged the services of Pickawoowoo Pty Ltd in Nannup, WA. Although every part of that sounds made up, it isn’t, and they saved my sanity, particularly Julie-Ann. It didn’t matter that there was 3,500km between us, and a three hour time difference. They got it all sorted, and I could finally upload my file. Within weeks I had my first batch of 50 books. Success.
I love the hard copy book. The colour reproduction is excellent, and the quality of the paper is high. But with so many colour images it’s costly to produce it, and I’ve always known that an online version is more affordable for many readers. I had reservations about trying to tackle the e-book upload myself after the above experiences. But I decided to have a go at the KDP site myself so I could retain more control of the details, and aim for better royalties. Pickawoowoo helped me again, for a small fee, ensuring I had the correct MOBI file for the upload.
It takes a bit of time to write a good, attention-grabbing book description – harder than it looks – and to complete all the sections, such as the details about the Author. It’s not difficult, but it’s time consuming. After a couple of intensive days, it was all done, and I’m now happily looking at my Kindle version, as well as the book.
So, where am I now? Well, over the last 16 months, having decided to write and publish my own book, I’ve found that every situation has provided an opportunity for learning. I’ve been impressed with the resources you can find on-line, and the number of people/sites willing to offer useful advice. I knew very little about the process when I began, but I managed to piece it all together. Would I do it all again? Definitely.
When things go wrong you find out about your inner resolve. You also find out how to do something differently, and chalk it up to experience.
I need to spend a bit more time marketing, a big part of the self-publishing journey; but then I intend to go back to writing. After-all, I can’t let all this valuable learning go to waste can I?
Angela J Dawson 