The fun side of self-publishing

I see countless articles by ambitious and savvy Biznik go-getters with lists of essential to-dos that will lead to business success. I'd like to contribute as well. I hesitate to tell other Bizniks what they should be doing - maybe because I suspect I'm a dilettante who isn't takin' care of business as seriously as she should. But I do have successful experiences with self-publishing a book series. My subject was costume design for bellydancers. Yes, it's definitely what they call a "niche market," but that is especially suitable for self-publishing. My status back then was a complete beginner - my know-how in multiple platforms was self-taught within a few months. A mentor or advisor would've smoothed out the learning curve. But if I did it, so can others. The fun side of self-publishing is something that makes it more than just a business venture. Here goes the list; it may convince you why such a project is worth it: 1. Creativity: I enjoyed making a distinctive photo-image and graphic to appear on each cover, and assembling the most gushing testimonials of satisfied customers on the back cover. Like this: "I just love your books. It's like a form of candy to read them over and over." "Oh, Sister Goddess of Art and Creation, our thanks for sharing the bread of your Sacred Knowledge with the starving masses! You GO, Goddess!" A professional publishing house would NEVER allow an author to make decisions about the cover design or layout - or the inside pages either. That is what I heard from a colleague in the business. 2. More creativity: I enjoyed doing photo shoots, photographing my dancer friends modeling costumes. I had to borrow a digital camera and learn how it works - MAGIC! My husband learned the same so he could shoot ME. Our living room was the "studio". I learned how to use Photoshop to improve the images. That's extremely useful in many contexts. I learned to retouch flaws, so that my models and I looked like movie stars - they were thrilled! I learned how to make vector images in Adobe Illustrator. A bunch of new synapses formed in my brain. Before that, I was drawing detailed illustrations in pen & ink, just as in my art school days, then scanning them. 3. Gratification: publishing a book can afford you a nice little ego trip at times. I enjoyed gaining fame (sort of) and encountering fans. I was invited to hold workshops for student dancers in London and Barcelona when we traveled to Europe & Egypt, enabling me to write off those parts of the trip as a business expense. My husband's teenaged niece in Hawaii impressed her fellow dance students who were discussing my books by announcing: "Oh, she's my aunt." A friend in my own neighborhood was astonished that her sister in Oklahoma knew of me from her bellydance classes. 4. Future income: I like having a "cash cow." Am I getting rich? No. Will you? Not likely. But payments continue to come in every week, years after the work was completed. 5. Convenience: I like to get 100 printed each time, and so avoid the classic vanity-press dilemma of storing thousands of one's own books, of which only a tiny percentage are likely to sell. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A little background: It's a good idea to explore other options before deciding on a the self-publishing venture. In my case, I got to know a self-publisher for whom I contributed a chapter in his anthology. We had a verbal agreement that he'd next publish a book of my material. Later he changed his mind about doing another book. Lesson: best to depend on yourself. A fellow designer, in the meantime, presented her own self-published book. It got positive reviews because no one else was doing this, and dancers were hungry for guidance and instructions. So I knew the market was there for my own book. I researched suitable publishing houses for my particular topic, and submitted proposals, using their guidelines. Some publishers appreciate creative submissions; others want just the facts. All rejected my proposal because it did not fit a category they were interested in. This is a common response. Now I'm glad I was "rejected," because it's great having complete control over the material. I will share what I know about the nuts & bolts of creating a printable book layout at my workshop in Seattle on Sunday, March 8th: "<a href="../../../events/self-publisher-tells-all">Self-publisher Tells All</a>." I'd be pleased to answer any questions! 2009-02-17T18:54:12Z

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the-fun-side-of-self-publishing

2009-02-20T03:47:49Z

Self-publishing is an ambitious and challenging project. But it's creative and fun as well.

The fun side of self-publishing

2009-02-24T09:49:25Z