For those who don’t know (like, where have you been?), I published a book- many years ago. But it didn’t really “take off”. Why? Because, like many new authors who don’t know much about publishing a book, I made some mistakes. This week I’m doing a collaboration with Heather Kirchhoff, talking about the mistakes we both made publishing our first books. Like myself, Heather has published a couple of books in the past, but she too didn’t do much with them. Head on over to her blog to learn about her journey and the mistakes she made, and what she will do differently next time.
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Just a Thought was my (book) baby- still is. A book full of heart, it is a collection of 100 poems I wrote throughout high school. It was my first book- written and published- and I love it dearly. But boy, oh BOY did I make some mistakes in doing so.
Let me just clarify one thing: I never like to look at them as mistakes, because I wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t make them. I like to look at them like taking a detour through the park. It took ages to get to the other side, and I’m tired from the trek, confused by what I saw during my walk, and a little unsure how I got here. But I took my time and looked around on my journey, talked to people who have been to the other side already and learnt so much about myself along the way.
With that in mind, here’s what I learned about publishing during my walk in the, ahem… park.
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My story is one of complete cluelessness. I had some words, I stupidly told my little brother that I planned to try and publish said words one day, so he took it upon himself to make it happen. (I think he was bored to tell you the truth.) We edited it together- him telling me why stuff was wrong, followed by me telling him why it wasn’t. (Admittedly, sometimes he was right.) And then we asked Uncle Google “how to publish a book”. We spent a couple of hours looking around the interwebs before deciding that finding something that worked for me would take a while to find and it was time for lunch. Basically, we found that (to the best of our understanding at the time) traditional publishers wouldn’t publish a debut author (let alone one with poetry) and self-publishing would cost hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars to do. I put my email into one site to get a copy of their “free guide to publishing a black and white book” and left the computer.
Low and behold, said company contacted me via email to “reach out” about my publishing questions. I said that I couldn’t really afford it, but that I would look at the guide and consider it at a later date. They called me back the following week with a discounted price and I decided to take a risk and go for it. I figured that the only way to get my book published was to act and make things happen. And so, my correspondence with the company began, and I had a copy of my book in my hands as little as 3-4 months later.
So, what went wrong? Nothing- at the time. Ok, well, not nothing. For one thing, it cost me around $700 just to publish. Sure, that included the help from the company I was working with on cover design, formatting, ISBN etc. But I didn’t know that I could actually do that stuff by myself back then. Nor did I know that you had to purchase your own copies if you want to sell them yourself. And once I had that pretty book in my hand, I couldn’t afford to buy any copies for signing. And I certainly didn’t have any money to invest in the “reasonably priced” marketing options they gave me. You guessed it- didn’t know I needed to market a book either.
Pretty much, most of what I thought I knew about the publishing industry was wrong, and there was a whole stack of stuff I just didn’t know at all. (Like, really…. Clueless.)
My biggest issue was this: I wanted to publish a book.
Period.
I wanted to hold a copy in my hand. I didn’t care about becoming famous, being an Amazon best seller, or earning a bunch of royalties. I just wanted the book. Which was fine at the time, but now that I am taking writing seriously, there is SO much I wish I did differently.
Let’s be real. There’s one big thing I will do differently next time. Research. Sure, if you break it up you could say that I’ll market my book better, use beta readers, do more editing- to be fair though, the poetry didn’t need a lot of editing, but with a novel it will… same goes for rewrites and the like. I will also let people know that a book is coming out before it does, hype it up, tell people I am a writer, utilise social media…. The list goes on. But it all comes back to one thing.
Research.
Now, I have to tell you, I hate research. Hang on… I don’t think you read that right…
I. HATE. RESEARCH.
Tell me everything I need to know in conversation, but for the love of god, do not ask me to look it up.
Yet, it really is the most important thing- and I say that for a reason.
No matter how much, or how little, research you do, you need to do something. Get a sense of what you’re working with. I beg of you, do not think you have everything figured out (if you don’t) and go in blind.
Get an understanding of how the publishing industry works, get a feel for how to market to your target audience- do you know what your target audience is?-, learn how to keep accurate records of your book sales... You don’t have to become an accountant or marketing wiz, but arm yourself with enough info to make you feel comfortable going into the publishing battle.
And honestly, research doesn’t need to be a chore. YouTube, podcasts, writing groups on Facebook, blogs… There are plenty of ways to soak up loads of information in a way that doesn’t make you want to paint your wall with the blood spatter from your forehead, from repeatedly beating your head against it. To visual? Sorry, I’ve been watching too many Jenna Moreci videos- I think it’s rubbing off on me. You know, she has so much information about the writing process from outlining to character profiles, drafting, marketing, avoiding clichés, publi… Do you see where I’m going here? I started my knowledge sponge with a six-month binge on YouTube videos by Jenna, Kristen Martin and Kim Chance. I had never used YouTube before, and man did I learn a lot in six months. For instance, did you know you have to put some money into marketing whether you’re self OR traditionally published? Or that outlines are a thing? Or that Beta readers exist? Or that a company that charges you to publish your book with a fee attached- usually with the incentive of additional services (like editing, cover design, layout etc)- are often referred to as “vanity press”?
I did not know ANY of this 1 year ago. And there is so much I am still learning every day. And I will keep looking for more information until I feel sure that the next time I publish I am completely happy with my choice, not just at the time, but for years to come.
Here’s the thing. The biggest lesson I learned from my publishing journey is to look at what I did, and decide what I didn’t like, then work out how I can do it better next time. For example, I never liked the price that was set for my poetry book. But I believe I heard somewhere that when you self-publish (through something like KDP) you can set the price for your book yourself. (Well, how about that!) For the most part I will hit up my favourite gals on YouTube. But I also know that there are plenty of forums, blogs, articles, podcasts, writing coaches and so much more that I can learn from.
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So, my biggest tip for those just starting out on their publishing journey? Take your time. Do the research. But when it comes down to it, do what’s right for you. Remember how I said I don’t look at my journey as being filled with “mistakes”? For me, the fact that I had very little drive (and money) to “push” my poetry book, caused a pause between then and now (a five-year pause!) But in that time, I learned a lot of things about myself- including how important writing is to me. Would I do it differently if I could go back? No. But will I do things differently going forward? Hell yes. Do what’s right for you. Make your own mistakes, and then learn from them.
It’s part of the process after all.
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Head on over to Heather's blog post on Wednesday 28th November to read about her experience publishing for the first time. Make sure to also check out her Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as well.
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And what happened to Just a Thought after all these years?
After reflecting on the “mistakes” I made back then, and doing some soul searching about what I want for my future books, I ended up terminating my contract with the company I originally published with. This means that you can no longer buy new copies online- as they aren’t available for print.
But you can buy them from me- I’ll even sign it for you! There is a limited amount of copies left thought, so if you’re interested in getting a copy- before my second poetry book comes out- make sure to send me an email or a DM on my social media accounts.
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