Yes! Self-Published!
The Beginning:
If any of you clicked on that fabulous link to my radio interview, you probably heard that one of my goals this year was to self-publish a short story. Well, I'm happy to report, I have succeeded! I was planning on coming out with a self-pub Christmas story, but then... I decided "why wait?" I had a short story that I had been working on, that wasn't for a specific call, but could be subbed to a few different places. So, I took the plunge.
Hiring the editor:
Though I admit I can be a great story-teller, I will also admit that I am NOT an editor. I do my best with my drafts, and have them sounding pretty good, but it's the editor's job to make them shine. As I know I am NOT an editor, I knew I would have to hire one. Luckily, I just happen to know one from one of the publisher's I had worked with.
Enter the lovely Deadra Krieger. A brilliant editor, who was looking for new clients AND had reasonable prices. Along with multiple authors from her last publishing house gushing over her, she was definitely the perfect candidate!
One contract later, and I had a certified editor to look over my work. And I was left to more important things... like cover art...
The Cover Artist:
One thing I didn't like about Amazon's Direct Publishing was the fact that I couldn't credit my cover artist in the listings. She deserves so much credit! But, I digress. After hours of scanning royalty free photos, watching YouTube videos on the free GIMP 2.0 software and trying my hand at several designs, I came up with one that I had a pretty decent feeling about. I posted it to my writing group, and received GREAT constructive feedback, AND a wonderful little note... "Hey, Lisa. Send it my way, and I'll be happy yo create one for you." Music to my ears! She kept the same original design, but did so much more to it! And it's beautiful! Don't you think?
Thank you! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart Ms. Janice Foy!
The Publishing:
Two weeks... two weeks, I read every single detail about self-publishing from Amazon's Direct Publishing. I watched YouTube videos (again... gotta love classes at anytime) asked questions on Twitter, FaceBook, and just about everywhere else. You see, I'd downloaded people's self-pubbed titles before, and have to say that I wasn't that impressed with the quality. Some had glaring errors in the formatting, and I really didn't want that to happen. Besides, I had already spent money on a great editor, had already found an amazing cover artist, I really didn't need the formatting of the book to be a reason people would leave negative reviews.
First - Let me just say, your manuscript needs to be a CLEAN copy. I'll write a post on that in days to come. What a time I had until I figured out that basic rule. After that, it was zip, bam, boom, book!
It's Live!
The Interview went live Oct. 4th, 2014 to little fanfare. I hadn't even posted it on FaceBook or Tweeted about it. By 5pm, I decided to check in on my baby and start the promotions. I was already #4 on the Short Reads-30 min- Gay and Lesbian stories, and I couldn't be more happy. Throughout the week, I eventually made it to #2, but never did make the coveted #1. Oh, well, Something to strive for next time.
Want a copy for yourself?
Purchase The Interview for just .99!
Enjoy your adventures, and until next time...
Keep Reading!
~Lisa
