I have wanted to independently publish a book for a long time now but I’ve been a little bit afraid cautious. I know many talented people who have successfully done exactly that which has only fanned the flames for me.
The problem has always been, I know how much work goes into publishing a book. I’ve talked to many independently published authors. I’ve talked to publishers too. They have given me a look under the covers and what I’ve seen has been a little daunting to say the least.
But now, Jeffrey Hite and I have taken the plunge to start our own imprint: Evil Alter Ego Press. We have ePublished our first anthology and, in less than a month, we will have our first print book out too.
That book is my YA Novel, Scouts of the Apocalypse. I’ve been doing all the things I’m supposed to do: revising, sending it to my editor, revising again and now, I’m doing layout (yes, a cover is in the works too – hopefully I’ll have something to announce in the next few days).
Layout has proven to be an interesting challenge. My Scrivener software does a fantastic job of providing the tools I need to do this simply and quickly. I’ve already learned several lessons on my way to producing my first, ready-for-print PDF file.
Some of the first, and probably most important of those lessons? Read the printer’s guidelines. More than once. Ask questions of people who have published before when clarification is needed. Ask the publisher questions too when you are confused.
Oh yeah, and keep a very close eye on your timelines. Everything takes time. Nothing worse than miscalculating dates, especially if you have a book launch in the works (like I do).
Once I have completed this adventure in independent publishing, I will do a write-up on what steps I took to make this happen. In the mean time, watch for the cover reveal. The book will be available for order on June 15th.
Awesome!