Hello,
dear readers!
It’s been almost two months since Dandelion Symphony came out, and I’m here today to tell you more about my actual publishing journey. I talked a bit about it in my interview with Alicia Canet on her blog, Midgard’s Writers, but today I’m going to go more into the finer details.
A Poetry Collection vs. Novelettes
As
you may know, I’ve self-published two books by this point. I started off with a
mini fantasy series, Last of the Memory Keepers, and my latest book is
my poetry collection, Dandelion Symphony.
What
is the difference between the two? Target audience for one. I wrote the LMK
series to be a fast-paced adventure for readers who don’t have a lot of reading
time on their hands. DS, on the other hand, is nonfiction and isn’t meant to be
read in one sitting, though it’s short enough that it could be.
Another
difference: format. You can buy both books in e-book and print form. Only, the
LMK series comes in individual e-books and a print collection, whereas DS is an
individual book in print and digital.
Last
but not least is experience. This time around, I know what to expect from sales
and how to market better. I incorporated a lot more feedback than before
(thanks again to my beta readers, editor, and proofreaders!), and I had a ton
of fun with my blog tour. Now, I’ve even set it up so purchasing signed copies is super easy. All you have to do is use Square. When shipping, I’ve even
learned to use media mail (which is cheaper!) and to add insurance.
Audio and Visuals
Did
you know poetry was originally meant to be read aloud? Sometimes, it still is.
When it came to reviewing my poems, I read them aloud to some of my beta
readers, which helped me figure out what sounded right and what didn’t. Though
you can enjoy the book while reading silently, each poem has been sound good
too. At some point, I think it would be fun to put together an audiobook, but
I’d have to do more research first.
When
it comes to the visuals for DS, I had a lot of fun! First, I changed the format
of some of my poems, which is always fun to play with. Then, I commissioned an
artist to do some sketches based on some of my favorite places in Europe. I
seriously wish I could have commissioned each and every one of my favorite
places, but then I’d be broke. The ones I did select correlate with the seasons
and themes of their sections.
Commissions
Speaking
of commissions, this time around, I had an easier time of figuring out how to
find the right people. First, I asked on Twitter if anybody knew where to find
some great artists for interior sketches. While I received a ton of offers from
artists directly, I also got recommended to check out Fiverr, which I
ultimately utilized for both my interior artist and cover designer.
I
really like the way the site made it easy to search for artists and the
plethora of options. I actually had a hard time choosing between two interior
artists, but I ultimately went with the one who’s style I liked the best. Though
the site had some minor glitches, posting details for my commission was
relatively easy to work with.
Fiverr
itself takes a small portion of the commission fee to keep up the website, but
creating a profile and browsing is free. At the end, after I approved the final
submission, I had the option to tip the artist, which I did and highly
recommend. If you like the work you receive, leave a tip! Then, both the buyer
(myself) and the seller leave reviews of each other, which is awesome. Though
I’ve never sold anything on it, from what I gather, the site is both buyer and
seller friendly.
Formatting and Publishing
Last
but not least came the dreaded formatting. Dreaded for me anyway. I don’t know
why I hate it so much. Maybe because it seems like I’d spend five minutes
fixing one problem, upload the manuscript to double-check it, wait for it to
load, get up, grab some tea, maybe a snack, come back. It’s still loading. Open
Pinterest. It’s finally loaded. Check to see if the mistake is fixed. It is!
Then I find five more.
So
I repeat the process all over again. Or maybe the problem isn’t fixed, and I
spend the next half hour tweaking the same thing over and over until I get it
right. Most of the tweaking was adding a space or a tab to get the poems’
shapes right. Writing poetry is fun. Formatting poetry for publication? Not so
much.
Yeah,
it’s a little painful, especially since I don’t have an actual formatting
software. Microsoft Word isn’t exactly known for its e-book capabilities. I
actually had to call up one of my friends who worked in graphic design to try
to figure out how to get some of my pictures to show up in the actual e-book.
In
the end, I got it all worked out before my self-imposed deadline, and the final
book looks great, if I may say so myself. I had a lot of help along the way,
and I couldn’t be more grateful. The best part of self-publishing? Holding the final
copy in your hands and smelling it.
To
wrap up, if you’re ever considering self-publishing your own book, here are
just a few roles I’d recommend looking into. Some of the roles you can fill
yourself, but some require a second pair of eyes:
- critique partners (mandatory)
- beta readers (mandatory)
- sensitivity readers (depends on the topic)
- interior artist (optional)
- interior designer (optional)
- cover designer (optional)
- editor (mandatory)
- proofreader (mandatory)
- marketer (optional)
- book bloggers (optional)
There
you have it! I hope you enjoyed reading about my self-publishing journey. If
you haven’t already grabbed your copy of Dandelion Symphony, you can do
so now!
***
Let’s
chat! Any other indie authors out there? What’s your favorite part of the
publishing process? Have you read Dandelion Symphony yet? If so, what
did you think?
Similar posts: Dandelion Symphony Release Day!, Dandelion Symphony Blog Tour, and 3 Types of Writers You Should Know
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