Adventures in Self- Publishing Mary R. Woldering

Self-Publishing the Series – Children of Stone I wrote my first novel at age 15 and many more through college and graduate school. Unfortunately, they were never published. In 1986, I decided to submit an 800-page typewritten opus - “Children of Stone”. After four rejections, I decided to concentrate on raising my family, while continuing to revise the story, first on 3.5” diskettes and finally in a Word document. I was ready to try again, but I learned the publishing world had changed. I could get my book published traditionally or I could publish it myself.

Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing Traditional Query the publisher. When it’s accepted, an advance is paid. It’s published, marketed and distributed by the publisher. Self or Indie The author IS the publisher. Prepares or hires someone for formatting text and cover art. Responsible for ordering copies, marketing, sales, shipping and everything else.

Benefits & Drawbacks of Each Method. TIME Traditional It may take years before you find an agent or publishing house & years before your manuscript is released as a book. Indie It takes about 3 months for a paperback & 24 hours for an e-book to be published. EXPENSE Traditional The publishing house sets a price & pays you what is agreed upon. Indie Can cost thousands of dollars YOU spend. You can reduce costs by doing your own work. CONTROL Traditional Editors may change your manuscript until you can’t recognize it, or make other changes. Indie The editing is up to you. You can edit or change your book as much as you wish.

Indie Adventures with CreateSpace/Amazon I contacted CreateSpace, a Print On Demand (POD) company owned by Amazon. As I prepared the manuscript for Children of Stone I realized it was already long enough to be a series of perhaps 6 or 7 books. I called the first book Voices in Crystal. I used the online tutorial CreateSpace provides and sent the PDF file. For a cost, they set up the interior, assigned an ISBN number and designed the cover. I learned that all changes cost extra. Soon, a review copy appeared online and the print copies arrived. I was published.

Learning to Save Money I sold books to friends and relatives, gave away a few and reviews (almost all 5 star) came in. I advertised on Facebook, learned to Tweet, tried hashtags, Googled, blogged, gave interviews, put up tables at craft fairs, made a LinkedIn and an Amazon page, met authors and joined a writer’s group. SALES WERE VERY SLOW! I authorized a revision and an e-book and published Book 2 - Going Forth By Day. This cost about half the price of my first book because my son Thom formatted the book. The more work you can learn to do on your own, the lower the publishing cost.

Odd Tricks, Shows, and Good Information 1.Promote, but don’t pester. Develop your best version of “The Elevator Speech.” 2.Forget Oprah, try local TV and newsletters. 3.Carry copies with you – just in case. 4.SWAG – What is it? 5.READ other author’s works and review them – no swaps. 6.Attend writer’s groups & genre conventions. 7.Learn what works for you and what doesn’t. 8.Don’t quit your day job. 9.Stay upbeat and happy. 10.KEEP WRITING!

What’s Next in 2016? Why, Book 3 of Course! I’ll promote Book 3 - Opener of the Sky. I’ll be learning more about marketing and how to save even more money. I’ll submit my existing books through Smashwords to reach more e-book markets. I’ll learn formatting and look into audio books and graphic novels. And Now… I’ll take your questions! Woldering/dp/ X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?i e=UTF8&qid= &sr=1-1 Woldering/dp/ X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?i e=UTF8&qid= &sr=1-1