\u2022 Succeeded in getting Phagey added to the Goodreads library.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MeAndPhagey.jpg?resize=225%2C300&ssl=1\")
\u2022 Claimed the book as my own and updated my author profile on Goodreads.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Notified all those who received ARCs that Phagey is now on GR and they can post their reviews; reminded them to use a statement saying that they received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Got my IngramSpark proof copy; proofed it and found it acceptable. Noteworthy\u2014the page weight on IngramSpark books is slightly less than that of Amazon books, so that the IS books were maybe 1\/8th inch thinner in size. Therefore, the cover\u2019s spine and back was shifted by maybe 1\/16th of an inch, but it was still within acceptable parameters. This is something to keep in mind for future books.<\/p>\n
\u2022 SOLD MY FIRST BOOK! This was the IS proof, and the only saleable copy I had on hand.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Placed my first order for 50 books from IngramSpark. (Ouch; it would be less expensive from Amazon, but I couldn\u2019t order them there yet without that \u201cnot for resale\u201d gray banner across the cover)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sent an email to my tax guys regarding sales tax and asking them how to get started.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Designed and printed a poster and palm fliers\/postcards for Phagey; bought a frame for the poster at the suggestion of other authors with more experience than I.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Set up a sales tracking spreadsheet for tracking costs vs. income; included info like order numbers, when they were ordered, when they were received, and what my net profit was on that specific order. Also included each buyer\u2019s name, the sale price\/tax\/total, when it was sold, and what method of payment was used. I\u2019m sure this spreadsheet will grow and evolve as I recognize new tracking needs along the way.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Set up an account with Square so that I can take credit card payments. (And got free processing for either the first 180 days or $1,000 in sales because a fellow writer who also uses Square referred me! Keep this in mind when it\u2019s your turn; ask a fellow writer to refer you.)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Bought a Square credit card swiper\/reader; you can do this for free online when you set up your Square account, but I was on a deadline. I purchased
\nmine at Target, and filed a request with Square for a reimbursement, which they promptly sent.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ran my first ever vendor table at the HRW Conference in mid-September. Sold 10 books. Pretty sure I signed each one. Yay! Note: Make sure you track your sales and be sure to add applicable sales tax when calculating your total sale! I did not, and now will have to take the sales tax for those ten books out of the cover price, which cuts into my net (not much, but still). Next time, I\u2019ll be smarter.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Connected with two other authors who do local book-signing events at local farmers markets and so forth. Tentatively signed up to do one the very next week, barring rain.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Learned a bit about Virginia sales tax, thanks to Dylan West, who posted a long, helpful thread on Twitter about this subject. With Dylan\u2019s guidance, I registered on the Virginia Tax site, set up my business as a tax-paying entity, and printed out my certificate. Luckily, I had not yet gone more than a month since I took my first sale; apparently, you can be penalized for failure to file, even if you had no sales that month.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Went on to my IngramSpark account to upload my Virginia Tax certificate and learned two things I wish I\u2019d known a couple of months ago: 1) Virginia![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/KeyboardWorkGlenCarstens.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1\")
is one of about three states that requires its resale people to file multiple sales tax certificates, even ones for Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania, in addition to the one for Virginia, and two others\u2014six certificates in all. You can download them one at a time or have IngramSpark email them to you. You\u2019ll have to fill out, sign, and return to IS; and 2) any sales tax on orders you placed through IngramSpark before you filed for your tax certificate are non-refundable. Not sure whether the Virginia Department of Taxation will refund that money or credit it on these sales I\u2019ve already made, since I paid the tax already. I emailed their help contact info, but my email bounced. (Apparently, it did go through since I received a response later. See below.)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Signed up to participate in Amazon\u2019s tax-exempt sales, so that I won\u2019t have to repeat the learning experience from Ingram. By the time Phagey goes live, I should be set up to purchase author copies tax-free and resell them out in the world.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Entered Phagey into the BookCrossing Program<\/a>, printed out a label with its unique BookCrossing ID Number, labeled the book, and set it free on the Virginia Wesleyan University campus. Now to begin tracking its progress!<\/p>\n \u2022 At a tip from my editor, I found a reviewer willing to write an exclusive on Phagey for Chesapeake Style Magazine; received the review, sent it in by the deadline with a note saying the book comes out in October, and received word from the editor that they would do all they could to insure it went in this upcoming issue; distribution of this award-winning magazine is around 85,000, so this is great news for both Phagey, and for Vince, the reviewer, who also has a release coming up this month!<\/p>\n \u2022 Got word that Phagey would be included in BookTuber LeeReads\u2019 September Round-Up<\/a>; watched it with a bit of thrill as she talked to her subscribers about Phagey, then shared the link on my social media. Great feeling!<\/p>\n \u2022 Paid my first month of sales and use tax in Virginia \u2013 a whopping $10.12. Learned later that there is a way to avoid the double-tax, by claiming limited exemptions for the tax I already paid on my tax filing. Lesson learned.<\/p>\n \u2022 Got the final epub file from my formatter and uploaded it to Amazon. Celebrated when it showed up by dancing all over the house, then shared the link with my social media peeps. Made one preorder sale before the night was out.<\/p>\n \u2022 Created an author page on Amazon. This is easy to do, but you need to have an account on Author Central. (I already have two other Amazon accounts: one for my own personal purchases and one for publishing.)<\/p>\n \u2022 Reached out to a half dozen written reviewers and a few YouTube book bloggers; so far, no one has responded. I\u2019ll keep trying.<\/p>\n \u2022 Received my Certificate of Registration for Phagey\u2019s copyright. Totally framable.<\/p>\n \u2022 I\u2019ve started carrying at least one book with me everywhere I go. I made four sales doing this at the salon where I get my hair cut. The only place I\u2019ve gone where this has *not* garnered a sale was at the Norfolk Circuit Court cashier\u2019s office; even so, the clerk who helped me was most interested in the book. She looked it over and said she\u2019d be watching for it. Whether or not she does remains to be seen. I looked on it as good exposure.<\/p>\n \u2022 I\u2019ve set up two separate launch parties: one at The Muse Writing Center, where I have taken many great classes and learned most of what I now know about writing well; and one at a dear friend\u2019s home. The launch at The Muse will only be about an hour long, with a reading from the book, a Q&A session, and a book signing opportunity for those who attend. There is a minimum donation, depending on what type of launch you want; I went all the way, and chose a combination of in-person, livestreaming, and recording so that I could share it with folks outside of town who can\u2019t be here. The party at my friend\u2019s house will be more relaxed, with wine, some jamming among my musical friends, a fire bowl, and some time for deep conversation. I\u2019m looking forward to both events!<\/p>\n Still want\/need to do:<\/strong> \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 Put a copy or two into local Little Free Libraries in nearby neighborhoods.<\/p>\n There may be other things I\u2019ve forgotten, but these are the major steps I took in the last 4-6 weeks. I\u2019m deliberately waiting until Phagey\u2019s release date to publish this entry. Most of the set-up is completed, and the book is half-way published; tomorrow will be its big birthday, and I can\u2019t begin to express how proud and relieved I am at this major milestone.<\/p>\n Phagey is about to spread its wings, and while I\u2019ll still have to maintain momentum on its progress, I also have other projects in the works. One, a dark fantasy\/ecofiction novelette, is now out with beta readers. Another novelette project is almost there, too. Once it is out with readers, I\u2019ll get back to my Founder\u2019s Seed trilogy, and begin revisions. I can\u2019t wait\u2014it\u2019s been too long since I felt able to step away from Phagey long enough to create more words you\u2019ll want to read!<\/p>\n Stay tuned and know I\u2019m 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\u2019ve seen enormous improvement over the years, but which I am still learning\u2014I mostly have no idea what I\u2019m doing. I\u2019m 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\u2019t want any reader of these posts to think I\u2019m 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:<\/strong><\/p>\n Me and Phagey, by The Hubenstein<\/p>\n Keyboard work, Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Inspector.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1\")
\u2022 Three days prior to my release date, I pushed the \u201cPublish\u201d button on the print version. Amazon says it could take up to 72 hours to review the submission and make it live on the site; mine took less than 24 hours, but I had no graphics (other than the cover and tiny scene dividers). Maybe that helped it go faster? Either way, the print book was available the very next day. I did not announce this on social media because I didn\u2019t want to make a big deal out of it until the release date, when buyers who\u2019d preordered the ebook would also be able to get *their* books. Still not sure whether I\u2019ll do it this way next time. I\u2019ll see how it goes. Also, it\u2019s worth noting that if you are using an imprint (for me, it\u2019s Niveym Arts LLC), the imprint name you list on Amazon must match EXACTLY the imprint name on the Bowker\u2019s site, where the name is associated with the ISBN you purchased. I mistakenly put a comma in the name (i.e., Niveym Arts, LLC) in my print book\u2019s Publisher field, and the automated system would not accept it, but gave no reason why. It said to fix the \u201chighlighted problems,\u201d yet I saw nothing highlighted. I had to chat with an Amazon rep to figure it out. The fix took all of 10 minutes, and the rep was quite professional, patient, and helpful.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Take the other classes I\u2019ve signed up for, mostly in marketing (the task I find most daunting).<\/p>\n