\u2022 Got the proof files from Duncan, both cover and text.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Registered my copyright.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Registered both ISBNs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Got some professional author photos. (For those local to Norfolk, Manning Studio<\/a> is the BEST.)<\/p>\n \u2022 Worked with the Hubenstein on a cover reveal graphic.<\/p>\n \u2022 Sent to Duncan the first two chapters from my next book (The Founder\u2019s Seed: Fallen) as a teaser for the end of Phagey\u2019s ebook version.<\/p>\n \u2022 Put together a few pull quotes with graphics and began to release them one per week. \u2022 Invited more people to subscribe to my newsletter (10 per day)<\/p>\n \u2022 Set up a Kindle Direct Publishing<\/a> (KDP) account; this is different from a regular Amazon account. Uploaded my files and ordered a proof copy. I\u2019d expected proof copies from Amazon to be free; I\u2019m not sure where I got this idea, but it\u2019s not true. Also, Amazon\u2019s proof copies have a grey banner across the cover from back to front, left to right, that says NOT FOR RESALE, so I\u2019m not sure why they charge for the book when it can\u2019t be resold. (shrug)<\/p>\n \u2022 Uploaded my files to IngramSpark; had difficulties at first, but Duncan made them all go away. The second attempt went through smoothly.<\/p>\n \u2022 Sent out Phagey\u2019s cover reveal to Niveym\u2019s newsletter subscribers and put the Phagey cover teaser up on social media.<\/p>\n \u2022 Received my proof copies from Amazon (even though they have a mistake that was fixed in the IS upload); took photos of the box opening for more Phagey cover reveal teasers on social media.<\/p>\n \u2022 Ordered a new Amazon proof copy with the corrections made.<\/p>\n \u2022 Wrote the next Quill\u00a0newsletter<\/a> installment; tracked down relevant photos to go with it.<\/p>\n \u2022 Queried Duncan about graphics for promo materials.<\/p>\n \u2022 Ordered (and received) an easel for the mounted Phagey poster I want to have made.<\/p>\n \u2022 Started a list of little things I want to change in a second edition (down the road).<\/p>\n \u2022 Sent out the cover reveal to subscribers.<\/p>\n \u2022 Revealed the cover on social media the day after subscribers got their mailing.<\/p>\n \u2022 Participated in an in-person critique session (courtesy of Hampton Roads Writers<\/a> and The Muse<\/a>), reading from a new novelette-length WIP called \u201cDeer in Headlights\u201d; took advantage of the opportunity for Phagey marketing and brought along newsletter sign-up sheets, homemade palm fliers for Phagey, and business cards. (It\u2019s also a marketing opportunity for \u201cDeer,\u201d which I hope to publish after the first of the year.)<\/p>\n \u2022 Set up “Books<\/a>” and \u201cUpcoming Titles<\/a>\u201d on both my personal website and the Niveym Arts<\/a> site.<\/p>\n \u2022 Started the process of getting Phagey added to the GoodReads<\/a> library. (This is taking longer than I anticipated. But it\u2019s worth noting that GR librarians, those responsible for adding new books, are all volunteers with lives outside their obligations to the GR following.)<\/p>\n \u2022 Added over 250 names to my mailing list for The Quill<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Announced the release date of October 14, 2022, for Phagey.<\/p>\n Still want\/need to do:<\/p>\n \u2022 Set the ebook up on Amazon once I get the file. I don\u2019t expect to have time to allow for preorders, but I will plan to include that buffer period the next time around.<\/p>\n \u2022 Get promotional materials printed (mounted poster, palm fliers, bookmarks, etc.)<\/p>\n \u2022 Reach out to book reviewers and book bloggers to set up a book review or promo tour through their sites (where they either review your book or interview you for their followers) once the book comes out. If I have time, I\u2019ll try to get them in before the release date, but I\u2019m not sure that will be viable.<\/p>\n \u2022 Take the other classes I\u2019ve signed up for, mostly in marketing (the task I find most daunting).<\/p>\n \u2022 Once I receive and approve my IngramSpark proof, order author copies (these are resellable) from them.<\/p>\n \u2022 Start tracking (and back-tracking) all the steps I took along this journey so far so I can repeat them next time when I publish my second book (and the third, and the fourth). Thank goodness for this blog! I can come back and read all my own words!<\/p>\n \u2022 Using the list of steps I\u2019m creating (above) and the start\/complete dates from Phagey, set up a timeline with more relaxed deadlines for my next book. I\u2019d prefer to have more time to complete each stage of the process so that I\u2019m not panicked and anxious as every deadline nears.<\/p>\n \u2022 Purchase a Square reader and set up a Square account so that I can take credit card payments once I start selling the books in person.<\/p>\n \u2022 Enter one copy of Phagey into the BookCrossing<\/a> program. Order the labels and send a copy of Phagey out \u201cinto the wild.\u201d (Can\u2019t wait to follow its journey!)<\/p>\n \u2022 Put a copy or two into local Little Free Libraries in nearby neighborhoods.<\/p>\n There is still much to do. The Hampton Roads Conference<\/a> is coming up in less than 2 weeks, but I still don\u2019t know if I will have books in hand to promote and sell. Beyond that, I\u2019ll have all the last-minute details in the days leading up to and following my release. I know there are details I haven\u2019t foreseen, things I\u2019ll have to scramble to complete, but I don\u2019t mind. It\u2019s all part of the process, right?<\/p>\n This has been\u2014and still is\u2014a multifaceted learning experience so intricate that it\u2019s impossible to include every detail here. I am sometimes frustrated (with myself as well as things that are well beyond my control), often anxious, occasionally overwhelmed, and always joyful for the journey. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of holding in my hands the physical manifestation of three years of hard work! I\u2019ve made mistakes, yes, but I know I learned from them. Next time, I\u2019ll do better.<\/p>\n My best advice to authors who want to follow this path is to give yourself more time than you think you\u2019ll need (trust me; you\u2019ll be glad you did), and most of all be patient. Take breaks. Give your brain, and your hands\/wrists, time away from the computer keyboard. When things get hectic, you\u2019re going to need that fresh perspective.<\/p>\n Stay tuned and know I’m wishing all the best to you in your self-publishing journey!<\/p>\n **Please note that I am not a professional. Outside the writing part\u2014for which I have taken numerous classes and workshops, and for which I’ve seen enormous improvement over the years, but which I am still learning\u2014I mostly have no idea what I’m doing. I’m reading everything I can get my hands on, looking at how others who have been successful have done it, and learning this process as I go. I don’t want any reader of these posts to think I’m teaching THE way to self-publish; there are as many ways to do this as there are writers on the path. I am only sharing how I have done it. Your mileage may vary.<\/p>\n Photo credits:<\/p>\n “Copyright” Image by\u00a0Gerd Altmann<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TheQuillHeader2.jpeg?resize=406%2C208&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/ProofCopy.jpg?resize=350%2C467&ssl=1\")
There is probably much more that has slipped my mind just now. This is why I started a \u201cTo-Do\u201d list, though sometimes I\u2019m not in a position to note things when they occur to me. It\u2019s also why I want to start a list of steps so that next time I don\u2019t drop as many balls.<\/p>\n