Finding Self-Publishing Help Written by Rita Emmett
When I started writing my first picture book, I didn’t know how to find help, especially self-publishing help. However, I have written several other successfully published books.
My first draft was 2,000 words. I attended a seminar, heard that books should be approximately 800 words or less, and decided to trim it down a little bit. Then I took a webinar and learned that each page must be written to the illustration. In my book, Farkle Shark, You Are Not Stupid, the first four pages are the same two fish talking to each other.
Boring. It Was Time for A New Perspective
So, I decided to give my character, Farkle, some goofy sayings. Big sister Sparkle would mock him and ask him to imagine if that were true. Then, a cloud would float over their heads while she imagined whatever it was he said.
Then I went to FIVERR.com, selected an illustrator (who turned out to live in Romania), and placed my first order for illustrations. Farkle’s opening goofy saying was, “Holy Mackerel Manhole.” I envisioned a mackerel popping out of a manhole in the middle of the street and bystanders looking astonished and amazed.
Brilliant, yes? I thought so.
Leave It To Kids To Point Out Something I Never Considered
The next day, my 11-year-old neighbor (one of my beta readers) told me kids would think that a manhole is a man’s butt hole.
Oh. Crap. Self-publishing isn’t easy.
After several awkwardly worded emails, that is exactly what the Romanian artist thought. If you read the book and see the mackerel popping out of a mailbox, you will be one of the very few people who know that “Holy Mackerel Mailbox” was not the original quote.
When looking for more help, I stumbled across Chrissy at Indie Publishing Group. She formatted the book for Kindle and Create Space. Then gently took me by the hand and led me through the next steps for publishing and promoting a picture book.
No more wasted time. No more embarrassing mistakes. If you ever are hitting a wall not knowing what the next step is, I recommend reaching out for help. There are many people out there who promise a lot but ultimately end up delivering very little. Marketing and publishing books, especially self-publishing, is hit and miss. What works for one may not work for another. Perseverance and the ability to learn and adapt are essential for any authors thinking of publishing their books.
Finding Self-Publishing Help – Conclusion
Thank you, Rita Emmett, for your guest post on finding self-publishing help.
It’s interesting to note that for every author, there’s a similar but very different journey they go as they journey through the self-publishing process.
At Indie Publishing Group, we’re proud to assist Canadian and North American authors in self-publishing their work. If you are in the process of writing a book and need any assistance with paperback or ebook formatting, cover design, professional editing, or uploading to self-publishing sites such as Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark, please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us.
Our experienced and professional self-publishing team is standing by to assist you with your self-publishing dreams.
Rita Emmett’s book Farkle Shark, You Are Not Stupid is available on Amazon.
