The weird (#@%!) journey of a self-published (almost) author

May 4, 2013

I’ve been remiss in writing and posting blog messages the past few weeks. Sorry for my tardiness. It has nothing to do with wanting to communicate, truly—or as my mother and father used to say “Trufy.”

Weird Writer with Stethoscopy
I’m deeply honored that even one of you is interested in my progress as a writer and in my daily activities and interests, and that you are looking forward to reading my first published young adult novel—This Side of Forever.

Here’s what’s going on.

This Side of Forever is almost ready for its debut. I’ve received the proof of the print edition cover. Once that’s approved, I’ll be walking through the process of making both the print version and the Kindle e-book version of the novel available on Amazon.

My foray into self-publishing has been weird. I had no idea what I was getting into, at least not as far as technology is concerned. (I don’t even have a “smart phone.”) Now, I’m trying to learn the ins and outs of creating and maintaining a blog and a Facebook page (please don’t look there, yet) and keeping up with the likes of Twitter and Goodreads. That’s just scratching the surface of the marketing opportunities available to self-publishing authors.

The path hasn’t been easy. The learning curve is high. And I’m not done yet, not close. But the alternative for me as a novelist would have been to seek out an agent who would then seek out a publishing house (a very long process for a couple of my writer friends). The purchasing house would then do what good publishing establishments do: they would take charge of and dictate the future of my novel.

The thought of being at the mercy of someone else’s whim doesn’t appeal to me.

So here I am, right dab in the middle and muddle of getting the job done on my own. I’m running as fast as I can and wondering where I will ever find the time to write the sequel novel so necessary to my success.

Thus far, I think the effort and my tenuous grip on sanity are worth it. I’ll keep you posted.

I’d love to hear comments about your own journey into independent publishing.

2 Responses to The weird (#@%!) journey of a self-published (almost) author

  • Hi Jo. I so understand what you’re going through and I’m following close behind you. Best of luck. And YES it will be worth it in the end.

  • Hi Margaret,
    Thanks for your support. I just read your wonderful blog about negative thinking and have decided to weed out my stinkin’ thinkin’ about this fabulous journey I’m on. I mean, I should be so lucky, right?
    J0

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