fionna barr: Self-publishing: A personal journey First step: write the book. This might take months, years or even a lifetime. In my case I wrote it a few years ago and completed the final draft while studying for my MA in Creative Writing and Authorship which provided me with useful feedback and encouragement from tutors and fellow students alike. So there you are: youâ??ve written THE BOOK. Step two: find a publisher or an agent. I can say in all honesty that I hoiked my manuscript around for the best part of two years sending it to all and sundry (carefully selected all and sundry, you understand, from the writersâ?? and artistsâ?? yearbook 2009-2011) both in hard copy and via email, and collected about 40 rejections. Some with encouraging comments, some with one-liners in the genre of: thank-you-but-no-thank-you. I spent money on editing, on meeting â??consultantsâ??, on paper, ink cartridges, envelopes, postage. I followed all the guidelines on cover letters, synopses, the right packaging. I read books about: how to find an agent/publisher etc. Nothing, niente, nada. Finally I gave up, which led me to: Step three: self-publishing. This is an entirely new ball game. Oh, the relief: people listen, people are interested, people work for YOU. People are encouraging, wanting your masterpiece, wanting your attention, wanting your money! Yes, dear reader, it is expensive. Be under no illusion. Whoever you choose, however you choose, it will cost you. I looked on the internet and picked the one at the top: Authorhouse. They are all very similar, charge roughly the same and promise you the earth. Most of them are based in America. Authorhouse is as good as any. They do what it says on the tin. You choose your package according to your financial situation and start the ball rolling. You are in charge! This is a major plus. You can choose your own artwork for your cover, your own font, colour of paper, size, anything you want and they do it for you, professionally. The end result, in my case, was great: A lovely glossy cover with exactly the right colour, picture, lettering. Brilliant. But beware the money-trap! They will rope you in for additional packages you absolutely canâ??t live without: e-book presentation, Kirkus review (very expensive, that one), website/blog/author page. In the end I paid twice as much as I had bargained for. But some people are more savvy than others and can do these web/blog/what-have-youâ??s themselves. Keeping a lid on the expenses was my personal challenge. What to go with, what to reject. Do your research, find out exactly what they mean and how it works and whether you will benefit from it. I spent hours on the phone to Jim and Jerry and Jerzy (do they only choose operators with names beginning with J?) to ask questions and got it all confirmed in emails. I am still chasing my website/blog/author page two months after the novel went â??lifeâ?? and was available and displayed on Google, Amazon, Kindle, Waterstoneâ??s, and Authorhouse Bookstore. So now you have your book in your hand, awesome, and here comes the next challenge. Step four: PROMOTING YOUR NOVEL. This is almost more of a challenge than writing the blessed thing. You tell all your friends and family, you email all your contacts, but how to get it â??out thereâ?? to the general public? This is the major drawback of self-publishing. You have to do the self-promoting as well. Itâ??s up to you to contact newspapers, magazines, radio stations asking for a review, a book signing, an interview. I left flyers wherever I went, in all my favourite cafes where people know me, on trains to London, in shops, in bus stops, on park benches even, absolutely everywhere I could think of. I went on Twitter following hundreds of people in the hope they would follow me, I went on Facebook and made friends with friends of friends, I went to bookshops armed with copies of my book, to libraries. I targeted book clubs. The big ones have so far eluded me: the national newspapers, Richard and Judy, the glossy magazines, but Iâ??ve done quite well locally and people come up to me telling me theyâ??ve read about me in the local newspaper, seen me in the parish magazine, come across me on Google. Good news. But are they buying my book? I donâ??t know and wonâ??t find out till I get my first royalty cheque in August. Ah, good point: find out what percentage you get of the sales of your book. This may vary with each company. Authorhouse doesnâ??t give you a huge amount. Donâ??t be under any illusion that youâ??re going to be rich or even recoup your money in a hurry. Itâ??s more about having your book â??out thereâ?? than being able to rake it in and live in luxury for ever and ever amen. You wonâ??t, yet. Youâ??ve got to become famous first. Iâ??ve had an email from Jerzy: Discounted Deal! Sign up now to publish your next novel at half-price! A once-in-a-lifetime chance! Not to be missed! Iâ??m still paying (in monthly instalments, oh, yes, you can) for the last deal. But you know what: I did. In monthly instalments. So now I have to write the next novel, wonâ??t I? An incentive if ever I saw one! Oh, the expense of it all. But what the hell, itâ??s worth every penny. I am a published author. Iâ??m up there with the greats. Iâ??ve made my dream come true. And furthermore: John Grisham started out like that and many others like him. Get your first novel â??out thereâ?? and who knows what can happen. I might be famous one day. Yeah, right, one step at the time. |
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fionna barr: I'm the author of The Darkness Within, a fictionalised memoir about three little girls growing up in The Netherlands in the 1950's. I've also had several short stories published on the net. I'm working on my second novel about the goings on in a Charity shop.I have been shortlisted for the Yeovil Literary Prize Novel category 2012, one of 17 out of over a thousand international entries. Winners to be announced. |
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