On the path to self-publishing…

Hello my lovely friends.  I feel somewhat neglectful of my chilly chickens of late. It’s not that I’m lacking in the will to blog, it’s simply a case of finding enough hours in the day. Here’s a wee post to update you on how my self-publishing dream has been developing! 

My first book, Lighthouse Love, has been top of my to-do list for the last few months, and I’m happy to tell you all that it is finally, at last, with Book Baby, being converted into eBook formats, and will soon be available for your reading pleasure.

It’s been a long journey to get to this point, but one that has been on the whole, a very positive experience. Sure, there are still days when I wonder what on earth I’m doing, but each step of the way I have had amazing support and people cheering me on.

Using www.pledgeme.co.nz was a fabulous way to get my publishing dream moving. Crowd Sourcing enabled me to get people interested in Lighthouse love, and to build a core group of supporters that I now refer to as my WellyChelle Cheer Squad. These amazing people have invested in my dream, they have encouraged me and given me their opinions on book covers and made me feel like I’m not a one wo-man show!

Much of the writing process is solitary. I love those times when it’s just me and my characters, working out our dramas and our journeys.  But it’s also a wonderful feeling to finally be able to share my work with others. That Lighthouse Love might be meaningful to others is a very exciting prospect.

I decided to use www.bookbaby.com for conversion and distribution to ebook retailers, for three main reasons:

1. Their website is well set out, very professional and easy to understand.

2. They do the conversion work for me, which I felt was important. I’m very much a newbie when it comes to publishing, this being my first time, so I didn’t need the anxiety of trying to work my way through it myself.

3. I liked the idea of paying upfront, and then all the royalties from my book sales coming to me.  They have a yearly 19USD charge but I like the idea of knowing this upfront, rather than another organisation taking a cut from royalties.

I have also been super lucky finding a wonderful editor Rebecca Gumbley at Department of Correctness and my fabulous book cover designer Nada Orlic who have both helped in getting Lighthouse Love to this final stage.

I am so glad I got the experts in at this final stage.  Having their advice has lifted Lighthouse Love up and tied up loose ends. It feels like a real book now!

So here we are. Almost there…. exciting and a little bit daunting.  It’s been worth all the highs and lows, the ups and downs to get here for sure.  I feel quite proud of myself.  I wasn’t sure I could take on such a big job, but I’ve realised that with a little help and a lot of support from friends and family, I’m almost ready to put a big tick on that list of long term goals!

 

 

 

Tagged: crowd sourcing, eBooks, Lighthouse, Lighthouse Love, self publishing