Hello, dear reader. I know you’ve been following my Facebook updates regularly, curious to find out the next turn in my self-publishing adventure. You’re clamoring for a list of what I’ve done so far, and what I’ve learned from…ah, who am I kidding.
Dear Jessie:
Here is your Toadhouse Trilogy self-publish list to date:
- Write the first in a young adult trilogy about a sister and a brother who learn they must travel into classic literature to save themselves. Books ARE magic.
- Submit to your agent. Have her love it.
- Due to her connections in the industry, have all major publishers reject it in record time.
- On May 14, 2012, choose to self-publish, as if you have another option.
- Submit book concept to Crowdspring so graphic designers can begin designing possible covers.
- Choose to begin distributing your book only on Kindle so you can take advantage of the Kindle Select program. Immediately mourn your relationship with indie bookstores, whom you love. Wonder if you are a horrible human being.
- Figure out how to format a book for Kindle and what other requirements they have.
- Decide to go with CreateSpace for the hardcopy version of your book.
- Choose to purchase an ISBN through CreateSpace that you can take anywhere with you, even if it means you have to pay $99 and CreateSpace won’t let you distribute them to libraries. Also, stumble across mention of fleurons and realize you must have them in your book.
- Hire a copyeditor, as you’ve already the manuscript substantively edited by the best in the business.
- Contact your web designer and come up with a plan for the new website. Scare her by saying you’d like it up and running by June 1.
- Develop a promotional plan, the key focus of which will be to get free reviews, which can be a challenge for independently-published books.
- Realize that to get good copyediting and solid reviews, June 1 is way too soon. Move The Toadhouse Trilogy, Book One, publication date to July 4 because you like fireworks.
- Wonder if The Toadhouse Trilogy, Book One, is a lame name for the first in the series. Discuss other options with your close friend Burgermeister Meisterburger and decide that you both like the title just fine.
- Write a first draft of a press release. Throw around names for your fake publicist. Judy Doright? Jack Donaghey?
- Sit back impatiently, awaiting edits and your book cover so you can go to the next phase: advance publication date promotion.
More to come!
