"It’s all a
process.” Since I started
self-publishing, I think I’ve told myself that four or five times a day.
Usually, I think of the word "process" as one of those meaningless
corporate catch-phrases, adored by bureaucrats and middle-management stooges.
Surely I, the great Lilia Ford, must have a grander, cooler, wittier word
for describing my experience becoming an author and part of the self-publishing
community?
Apparently, my
inner self is nostalgic for my years as a paralegal/administrative assistant.
Rather
than striving for impressiveness, I will try for candor. So why
“process?” I’ll give two reasons. First of all the word actually works as
a kind of mantra, a source of calm and comfort when I approach the "vortex
of despair." Just watch: I knew nothing, and I mean nothing, about self-publishing before I started.
Therefore, I make mistakes. Sometimes I beat myself up and call myself
dreadful names like “loser” or “incompetent” or “vile idiot who is worse than
Voldemort.” This is the "vortex of despair." Enter the
Mantra. This is a process, it says soothingly. I am learning as I
go. Mistakes are inevitable. Other people make them too. None of my
self-publishing mistakes are threatening the lives of my children. Sanity
is restored.
Why does it
work? Well, that's the second point. Process implies incremental:
I’ve always known writing is an incremental process—I spent seven years on my
dissertation. It turns out, so is learning an entirely unfamiliar
business. I finished a draft of my book: now what? Here’s an
incomplete list of things I had to do: Find an editor. Find a cover
designer. Figure out how to format an ebook for Kindle. Figure out how to
upload the book. Figure out how to get the chapters to click and upload it
again. Figure out how to format for Barnes and Noble. Figure out
what Kobo and Smashwords are. Figure out how to format for Apple
ibooks. Discover I need ISBNs for my books and figure out how to get
them.
Books are
uploaded--hurrah! OMG: I have to get people to buy them!
Introducing a
concept called “publicizing”, otherwise known as HOLY SHIT! Get on
Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads. Figure out where to advertise and then
design ads! Reviews! Kindle Author Page! Get a domain name and then
design a website! (I designed this website all by myself! With no
help! It shows? Well duh!) Discover there is something called
"branding." Try to get over my complete skepticism at the idea
of a "Lilia Ford" brand. Wonder endlessly what else I should be
doing. See Mantra above.
Bottom line: It’s
been a nerve-wracking, exciting, tedious, useless, necessary, wonderful,
time-wasting, fulfilling, humiliating, glorious, never-ending PROCESS.
A few high points:
exchanging advice and support with other authors in various Yahoo groups; just
about everything to do with Goodreads; selling twice as many books in November
and December as I did in September and October; having readers reach out and
say they loved the book.
A few low points:
trying to figure out how to get my chapters to “click”; learning how to design
a website (sort of); selling lots of books based on my Facebook ads, only to
have the ads banned because of complaints that my book cover was too steamy;
proudly opening my book on my new Kindle Paper White and discovering I had to
completely reformat it.
Soooooooo… to get
to my ultimate point. In this latest stage of “the process,” I have
decided to add a blog. I don’t have an agenda for subject matter.
Posts will likely include book reviews, hopefully updates on the WIPs, musings
on reading/writing/self-publishing, and maybe even my recipe for the MOSTDELICIOUS whole grain chocolate chip cookies in the solar system if not the
galaxy. I also don’t have a hard plan for how often. Once a
week? (Should be doable.) Twice a week? (Within the realm of
the possible.) Once and then again in May? (Also within the realm
of the possible: in the history of blogs this has happened. It's even
happened to me.)
I hope you will
stay tuned for this stage of the process. And the cookies really are
delicious.
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