Required: Determination and Persistence

by Kelly Damron
(Phoenix, AZ)

Tiny Toes

It wasn't my idea to write a book. Truly, I never considered myself a writer. But I do have an amazing story. So after a lot of prodding by others, I decided to give it a try. I attended writing seminars to learn about the book business, how to start writing, what to do once I had the written words typed, etc.

A retiree from the traditional publishing world advised me to self-publish because it was unlikely that a traditional publisher would want my book and I was going to have to do all of the marketing myself anyway. One of the benefits and drawbacks is that all of the decisions are yours. How will I know if I pick the right title, eye catching graphics on the cover, inspiring text on the back of the cover, etc? With traditional publishing you have other people helping you make those decisions - kind of. With a self-published book it is all up to you.

Once I decided to go the self-publishing route I purchased the Dan Poynter book on Self-Publishing. As helpful as this book was, it was also a little overwhelming. From the information in this book I created an Excel spreadsheet to track tasks, due dates, dates completed, etc. It helped keep me sane! I didn't accomplish every step Mr. Poynter discusses, but I did complete most of them.

One lesson I learned was that everything takes two times longer than you expect it to. Writing and publishing a book is a real project. There are things that have to be completed in a specific order. Get your ISBN, bar code, editing, proofreading, interior design, etc. It's helpful if you learn a little about the publishing world before you embark on self-publishing or even trying to land an agent.

I hired a professional editor so that my book wouldn't read like a "self-published" book. The editing took about 3-4 weeks longer than the original estimated time frame. My goal was to have a book I could be proud of if I was given the opportunity to appear on national TV. I'm happy to say that I have a book I'm proud of, however, it wasn't cheap.

From editing I moved to proofreading, which took about one week longer than I hoped. But I've only heard of one typo in my book, so it was time and money well spent. After the proofreading was completed I sent my book onto interior designer. My designer was fantastic and her prices were reasonable. A friend of mine helped me with the external design of my book and it’s clean and simple.

Once the pieces were all together, than I thought "Now what?"

Off to the printer for high-quality books for books I sold directly. In addition, I set up an account with a POD services so that I could get my books on Amazon.com and BN.com. Easy enough! The hard part about self-publishing is not the book itself, although it is time consuming and expensive. The hard part is marketing.

How do I market my book? Where do I spend my time? Do I setup a blog? Done. Should I do podcasts too? Done. Press releases? I send one every time there is an announcement or I'm speaking for a group. Article Submission? Four articles submitted and working one more. ... There are a million ways to market your book so how do you decide which one is best for your title? I'm still working on that. Marketing has been the biggest challenge of mine. It's a new concept to me (I'm a CPA by trade).

My book has received great reviews, an award, and recognition by a national non-profit organization. I'm still learning how to leverage the momentum and build a platform so that it makes sense to write and publish a second book.

Visit Twin Peas.

Jun 04, 2008
Rating

When your first story is the one that needs telling
by: Steve B.

Kelly, yours is the 2nd self publishing account I've posted from a Phoenician today. Yet what strikes me is how circumstance dictated two worlds apart approaches to writing.

The other writer is a novelist. She launched into her writing career with admirable caution! She knew that writing is a skill, usually developed over a long time and with much trial and error. She went back to school and got a degree in Creative Writing. Afterwards, the first novel she wrote she describes as a "test novel." I thought that was a hoot...and brilliant. As someone who's spent half a lifetime on his craft, I'm all for new writers understanding that it's a craft and not easily mastered. "Bravo!" I'm thinking as I read this lady's story.

Then, a few hours later, along comes you! And you, you've got a (non-fiction) story to tell...and you want to tell it while it's still fresh. No test books for you; you're gonna start in the big leagues.

And, in your own way, you take the whole writing/publishing endeavor just as seriously.

The writers on this site speak often of having to know your market and how to reach it. Some would prescribe not writing a word until you know who your market is and where to find them.

I think you perceived a market and an opportunity and went about writing in serious, crash course fashion. After all, traditional publishing has taught us that you strike when the iron is hot. No one told J.K. Rowling to write something else and then come back to all those Potter sequels.

So I commend you for what you've done...and I have no idea what to believe anymore! But I thank you for sharing everything you've learned. Please come back once you're marketing that second book, okay?

X Close Editor

Jun 04, 2008
Rating

Submitted by: Steve B.

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Comment
Kelly, yours is the 2nd self publishing account I've posted from a Phoenician today. Yet what strikes me is how circumstance dictated two worlds apart approaches to writing. The other writer is a novelist. She launched into her writing career with admirable caution! She knew that writing is a skill, usually developed over a long time and with much trial and error. She went back to school and got a degree in Creative Writing. Afterwards, the first novel she wrote she describes as a "test novel." I thought that was a hoot...and brilliant. As someone who's spent half a lifetime on his craft, I'm all for new writers understanding that it's a craft and not easily mastered. "Bravo!" I'm thinking as I read this lady's story. Then, a few hours later, along comes you! And you, you've got a (non-fiction) story to tell...and you want to tell it while it's still fresh. No test books for you; you're gonna start in the big leagues. And, in your own way, you take the whole writing/publishing endeavor just as seriously. The writers on this site speak often of having to know your market and how to reach it. Some would prescribe not writing a word until you know who your market is and where to find them. I think you perceived a market and an opportunity and went about writing in serious, crash course fashion. After all, traditional publishing has taught us that you strike when the iron is hot. No one told J.K. Rowling to write something else and then come back to all those Potter sequels. So I commend you for what you've done...and I have no idea what to believe anymore! But I thank you for sharing everything you've learned. Please come back once you're marketing that second book, okay?

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Required: Determination and Persistence

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