Publishing Take 2, Part 1: The Book

Something I've always wanted to do was share a more in-depth look at my publishing experiences. But I've hesitated because it didn't seem relevant or it seemed like too long a post.

Well, it's been eight years since Just a Thought came out, and a lot has changed since then- including how I view publishing and my books. So, today and next month I am sharing a two-part series of my experiences publishing Just a Thought and Emotional Ramblings, how I did things and my advice for those of you planning to self-publish in the future.

So, let's jump in.

NB* Please note that I published Just a Thought using Xlibris. This means that I handed over my manuscript and "they" helped me with things like formatting, cover etc. Where I say "they" in my post, this is who I am referring to.

While I have chosen to change my approach to publishing going forward, I will never tell a person TO do or NOT to do something if they choose. I will not be using Xlibris again for several reasons, but you are entitled to your own opinion. If you want to know more about them, click here to read a review.

Part One: The Book.

Size.

I'll admit, I never loved the size of Just a Thought. The 6"x9" dimensions seemed too big for a poetry book, and the overall page count seemed too small in my hand.

For Emotional Ramblings, we've gone to a smaller 5.5"x8.5" and added more poems. And by more, I mean I've DOUBLED the poem count. While JAT had 100 poems, EM has a whopping 200. I have condensed them on the pages (see below), but that still means that the page count goes up by approximately 60 pages- giving it a bit more beef to it.

Interior.

As some of you may know, I write my poems either or paper or on my phone, and then add them to a word document. I literally have them one poem at a time, running down the document, each one separated by "*". It is a simple process that requires very little effort in putting together while making it very clear where one poem ends and another starts. I've been doing it for years.

With Just a Thought, I handed over the manuscript and said "Each * is a new poem. I want one poem per page." and they separated the poems for me, in the order they were in the manuscript, one poem per page, with the * at the top to signal it. They did all the formatting for me, including two title pages and a copyright page. There was very little effort on my part.

When it came to Emotional Ramblings I wanted to make some changes to the interior.

First and foremost, I wanted the poems to have a certain "flow" to them. I always liked the idea that each new page is a new poem, a new feeling, a fresh start. But, while I wanted to keep that spontaneity, I also wanted to remove the jarring yank from one page to the next.

So, I spent many painstaking hours, on the floor, cutting up each poem into little strips and individually rearranging them. I made sure that multiple poems with similar vibes were grouped- heavy ones together, lighter ones together- and those groups ebbed and flowed.

This was done again as I tacked the formatting.

I decided to have two smaller poems on one page- if they fit the same vibe- which meant moving some around to keep that ebb and flow.

I kept the symbol before each poem, but this time I created something a little more special than *. This in and of itself took time and effort I hadn't accounted for- but it looks much better.

I created, edited and formatted my title page, copyright page, dedication- which I didn't even have for JAT- and about the author- which was on the back cover of JAT.

I would also like to add, when people say "go and find a formatted template, it makes it so much easier" they're right... sort of. I found the template for Emotional Ramblings at DIY Book Formats, and it was a great starting point. BUT, when they say to just copy and paste your chapters in... Every single poem- remember, there's 200 of them- had to be individually copied and pasted in. And individually edited- since I couldn't highlight them all or I'd be changing the settings for the "chapters" and page breaks etc. I don't say this as a complaint, but rather a heads up. Formatting can be a simple but tedious task. But consider what you're formatting when you workout your timelines for how long something will take. Just adding in the extra formatted "chapter" pages (to put the poems into) took hours that I didn't account for.

It was a lot more work than I thought it would be, but I am much happier with the end result. It looks more professional, has better flow, and will be nicer to read.

Cover.

Brace yourself, I'm about to blow your mind.

I made a whopping mistake when approaching the cover for Just a Thought.

Sure, it turned out ok, and I've had more than one person say that they really like it. But I've never really loved it- and I think I know why.

Much like the interior, when it came to the cover design, they said to me "send us a rough idea of what you want and we'll pretty it up" (yes, I'm paraphrasing). I jumped onto Microsoft Publisher and used some colourful shapes to get a simple image that I thought they would blow up into a colourful display to cover the... well... cover. Instead, they finetuned the shapes, added some shadowing and slapped the title in the middle.

When it came to Emotional Ramblings, I wanted to do more.

Nay, I wanted to do it JUSTICE.

I kind of felt like I never gave Just a Thought a CHANCE to really SHINE- on a shelf or in the hands of my readers. So, it was important to me to put in the effort to make Emotional Ramblings stand out, and for the cover to really, truly represent the thought and effort I put into the words.

I've shared some images on my social media pages recently that reflect just how much I am NOT an artist- in the visual sense. I can paint a picture with a pen, not a paintbrush. So it was essential that I bit the bullet at got a cover designer.

It was serendipity that I should come across Mandi Lynn just when I needed her. Not only does she have her own books, YouTube channel for writers, and the incredible Book Launch Planner, but she also offers cover design!

I jumped onto her website just to have a look, to get an idea of how much a cover might set me back, and some of the things I might need to consider before signing off on a designer. Low and behold, Mandi actually has heaps of AFFORDABLE options, including premade covers at a discounted price. Well, I was lucky enough to find one that I thought I might be able to tweak to match EM perfectly- if she was only open to the idea. As wonderfully kind as she is, Mandi agreed with the edits and was enthusiastic to work with me- so it worked out perfectly.

I kind of feel like I got lucky. I had no idea where to begin in my research for a cover designer, and the idea was so daunting- I was convinced the search was going to take forever and the cover was going to cost me an arm and a leg. I really stumbled across the perfect person for the job just when I needed them. But that doesn't discount the fact that I was willing to do the work to find someone do to my cover, even if it took much longer to organised or cost me more than that pretty penny. Because I OWED it to my book.

(If you'd like some tips on what makes a good cover, make sure to check out this video Mandi did on the topic. There's some great tips- and a few great covers- shown in this video.)

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That's it!

Those are the big changes I've made between Just a Thought and Emotional Ramblings. After eight long years, I view this book as my return to publishing, and as my first big step as a REAL author. I have big plans for a whole collection of poetry books, along with some novels, and so I really want to do everything I can to make my books shine. I'm not just publishing my poetry "for the sake of it" or "to see if I can" anymore. This means something to me, so I plan to give it everything I've got.

In saying that, I'm sure the next book will be better than this one, and so on as each new collection comes out. Because we're always growing and learning and improving on our craft the more we practice it.

Stay tuned for next months post when I share my experiences with THE PUBLISHING PROCESS including the POD set up, purchasing ISBNs, social media, ARCs and all that good stuff.