Self-publishing is HARD!!!
I wrote the book and designed the cover. I've formatted, and re-formatted, and re-formatted until I've figured out how to configure everything for both Kindle and Create Space. I've edited and copy edited over and over and over again. Traditionally published folks get to have other people do this for them -- I could, too, if I wanted to pay horrendous fees.
I always thought of writing as a hobby, but it's like having a second job! I've spent hours and hours, re-reading Half-Vampire some 13 times since last June. I have STACKS of essays and tests and projects that lie ungraded right now because I'm so behind -- because I've had to spend so much time on the book! (The librarian really wants paperbacks available by next week so that he can buy a bunch to use as a book of the month for January.)
At times over the last few months, I've been so sick of this book that I've wanted to throw it someplace and not look at it again for a year.
Sigh.
I just submitted another ePub file to Kindle and another PDF to Create Space. I hope to heaven that THIS time I've finally fixed everything and that I can really start promoting the book -- especially since the librarian wants t-shirts and bookmarks, etc.
And maybe then I can start working on my other manuscripts that have been so neglected.
Oh yeah. And grade some papers.
Sigh.
I can tell you from experience that self-publishing is tough. Once you finally get it written, then you have to market it.
ReplyDeleteI had a physical book and it took an incredible amount of time doing signings and speaking engagements.
I think you would agree that people who think writing is easy live in la la land.
To me, signings and speaking engagements sound like a heck of a lot more fun than formatting.......
ReplyDeleteIf epub is such a pain, have your tried using a combination of openoffice and mobipocket? I write in openoffice, save it as an html and then convert to 'prc'. Kindle takes it without a hitch.
ReplyDeleteI did a few blogs on it a while back:
http://mwilloughby.blogspot.com/2011/03/kindle-publishing.html
http://mwilloughby.blogspot.com/2011/03/kindle-publishing-part-2.html
http://mwilloughby.blogspot.com/2011/03/kindle-publishing-result.html
Actually, ePub is a snap -- TONS faster uploading than Word.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that the ms is old and was not originally written in or formatted for e- publishing, which did not exist in 2003. The problems have come from taken a ms formatted for regular business size letters (the format preferred by agents) on an old Apple Works program and transferring it to the size requirements and formatting of a MUCH more sophisticated program, Pages.
If I had typed the ms in the correct format originally, all the formatting problems would've been non-existent.
Of course, I made the mistake of trying to do all this in Word first. Stupid. Pages was much easier, and, like I said, uploading it onto kindle is MUCH easier with ePub than with Word -- and faster.
It's just been a huge learning experience. The next book won't be anywhere near so hard, as I now know what to do.