The Path to Self-Publishing

For those of you considering self-publishing, let me be frank: it’s not as easy as you might think.

For those of you who have already gone this route, let me kiss your feet because, my dears,  you are my heroes.

Seriously.

As I enter week 2 of the journey to self-publishing my as-yet unnamed contemporary romance, this is what I’ve accomplished so far:

1. I’m about one-third of the way through editing the book.
2. I’ve seen a rough draft of a cover.
3. My Name That Book blog contest has generated some wonderful title ideas. (I’m leaning toward one in particular, but there’s still time to enter with your ideas! :))
4. I have a list of blogs to approach for reviews.
5. I have another list of blogs to approach for a blog tour.
6. I’ve lined up the E-book Formatting Fairies to handle conversion for me (and to hold my hand through this whole entire process!).
7. I’ve set up accounts with Kindle, Kobo, and Nook for uploading the digital files when they’re ready.
8. I’ve found three authors who have kindly agreed to read the book and give me cover quotes.

Now let me share with you what I have learned :

1. I’m a much better writer than I was when the book was first published three years ago.
2. I’m going to have to do a proofread in addition to this edit.
3. I really am a control freak. *sigh*
4. I have been seriously undervaluing the role my publisher plays in getting my books ready for market.
5. I don’t ever want to be a full-time publisher.
6. Publishing a book is darned hard work.
7. I need to have accounts with Kindle, Kobo, and Nook in order to upload files.

I think the sheer volume of details is what’s caught me most off guard in this process. While I hadn’t expected it to be easy, neither had I expected it to be quite this intensive (and remember, I’ve hired out both cover and conversion!). Of course, I’m probably not helping myself by moving into the project immediately after finishing Sins of the Lost (in retrospect, a short break might have been nice), but hey, a writer’s gotta do what a writer’s gotta do…write? 😉

Anyway, progress is being made, so stay tuned. You may not learn much, but I can guarantee you’ll be entertained! 😀