I write children's books. It's fun. Amazing. And hard.
I'm my own boss, so I'm responsible for everything. My schedule, or lack thereof, deadlines, marketing, sales, projects...everything.
Recently, I had this idea - inspiration, let's generously call it. I set everything else aside and I wrote this dumb limerick in a week. It made me laugh and, after I finished, I realized that I quite liked the art style. It was bold and blocky and from that book, the idea for The Bear Lake Alphabet Book was born. I had loads of things I needed to finish before I addressed this idea. Unfortunately, that's not the way I work. It was the only thing I could focus on and it's taken 2 months to finish it.
In fact, I have a terrible tendancy to start projects and then abandon them midway through in favor of something I'm even more excited about at the moment. It's frustrating! I have several books started and two that only require minimal work to finish, but I'm too busy starting something else to finish them.
That's neither here nor there, in terms of self-publishing, but it's a character flaw that certainly makes the job even harder. This is my full-time job. I'm just trying to "make it work," as Tim Gunn, would say.
Writing and illustrating the books is the fun part. And even that can be a drudgery when I have to keep myself on task. About three-quarters of the way through a book, I get bored. It's all formatting and editing, and corrections. I have to come up with a sales description and a blurb. At that point, I'm dying to do something else. Anything else.
That's a problem. Aside from the cover, the description and blurb are two of the biggest selling points of a book. If it's not marketable, it's not going to sell, and I need it to sell, because, as I said - this is my job.
I read a strategy, discussing novels, not children's books, but it's still interesting and applicable, I think. Start with the blurb. Find what's selling and write your idea. What would you buy? Work from there.
My biggest issue currently may be that I'm writing for myself. That's not bad, per se. These are ideas I'm excited about, but they're not necessarily my best ideas, just the ones I'm most obsessed with at the moment.
So, I just finished The Bear Lake Alphabet Book. Now what?
Well, I have to choose a publisher. Createspace, my current printer, is closing. I'm being forced to migrate to a competitor and it's down to IngramSpark (who offers hardcovers) and KDP Direct (who offers a better Amazon outlet). I spent 4 hours yesterday doing research. Of course I'm able to read and use the resources and experiences that others have compiled and shared online - that's helpful! However, I'm still responsible for the final decision. It's hours of work and uncertainty. Right now, I'm torn. If I print through Ingram, I can not only offer hardcover, but I'll make ever-so-slightly higher royalties. But. (This is a big but). Sometimes other printers' books are listed as "out of stock" on Amazon. If someone finds my listing and the product is not available, I've just lost that sale. It's frustrating that Amazon does this and it forces many people to choose KDP (an Amazon owned company), which is, I assume, why they do it.
Along these same lines, I have to do marketing research. I'm learning a bit of Search Engine Optimization and advertising, among other things.
I have to keep track of my expenses, my income, and all other business related matters. It's not the part I love doing and these are things which take the majority of your time.
Self publishing. The Good.
I set my own hours and schedule. This is a bit of a double-edged sword. I tend to procrastinate and, as I mentioned earlier, I also tend to have a hard time focusing on a single idea or project at at time. I work about 60 hours a week. It's nice to be able to break up my day with tasks around the house and walk my dog, Lily. It's also wonderful to work from home right next to the coffee pot.
I love learning new things, so the challenge of mastering Photoshop (although, I believe, impossible) is hard but very rewarding. In the last year, I've really progressed in my ability to get an idea out of my head and onto paper. Learning new software has really helped that process.
It's been frustrating, too. I seldom get to work with watercolor, something I enjoy and wish I could better master, in favor or using digital color.
Let's move on to The Bad.
I draw on physical paper with pen and ink. I scan images into Photoshop and everything else is done on a computer. Eh, I'd rather be drawing. And, with my last project, It Wasn't Scary, I've come to realize just how much of my work is being lost in the scanning process. I'd like a tablet.
Which means that I've spent about 24-36 hours this week trying to familiarize myself with the options. There are so many. Every time I think I get a handle on the tablet market, I find another alternative. Or learn something new about the models I'm currently considering. It's been overwhelming. Plus, when I finally do choose a tablet, it's going to take weeks and months to learn how to use it.
Moving on to a more touchy subject, money is something that not many people aren't comfortable discussing. I'm no different; I'm not exactly excited to report that, under this pen name, selling and writing children's books, I've made zero dollars. That's not surprising considering I haven't released a book yet. But, the time I've spent branching out into something I really love doing has a high opportunity cost. Money. I could be working on a project which is lucrative and more marketable. Instead, I'm gambling my time on something I'm not sure I can make money at, but which I really enjoy.
Thankfully, my husband has been patient, supportive, and understanding. He wants me to succeed. Having a strong support system in place when embarking on a risky venture has been invaluable to me.
My sisters are another source of support. I doubt very much that they like self-publishing. I don't have an agent or publishing company, and sometimes (okay, daily), they're thrust into that role. I send them drafts, revisions, weird sketches, book ideas, issues, concerns, and frustrations, because they have impeccable taste and because there's no one else to listen or bounce ideas off of.
It's also hard to market to family and friends. You really put yourself out there when you self-publish. It's scary. You feel very vulnerable and exposed. It's nice to have a network of people who'll support and champion you and your work, but you can still feel pretty sheepish doing it.
Speaking of trying to make money, let's discuss The Ugly.
The business side of the venture has, for me, been a challenge. I consulted an attorney and an accountant and formed an LLC. It was huge learning process.
I've built a huge excel spreadsheet which is tracking my costs and income.
It hasn't been cheap. To file my LLC and a few ABNs, I spent $176. I have to pay Abode $30 a month for InDesign because the version of Photoshop I have won't export my files as a PDF. I bought a new scanner when my old one died, $84. I invested in an external hard drive so that I wouldn't lose my files in the catastrophic event that my computer died, $70. I bought a block of 10 ISBNs, $300. I have to pay an editor to review each of my finished books and, of course, order copies of proofs. Trust me, the costs add up. Quickly.
Speaking of that, your release on Amazon is crucial to the success of your book. If you can sell a certain amount in the first 30 days, Amazon will push your book higher in the search results, which means increased visibility. Learning to use AMS and Facebook ads is something I have yet really delve into, but can genuinely help in the critical first month window.
You are your product. You're responsible for launch, press releases, social media, social media posts, ads, budgeting...all of it.
It's a lot to take on.
The Take-Away
I've learned so many things since I started. I started an LLC. I've made Facebook, Instagram, and Blogger accounts. I have an Amazon Author page. I'm looking into marketing at events, like craft fairs, local markets, and schools. That means I'll need a sales tax ID number - even more research I need to thoroughly do.
So, long story short.
Self-publishing is a lot work. It can be frustrating, nerve-racking, and poor sales can be really hard on self-esteem. But if you enjoy what you're doing and have a passion for the projects, it can be worth it.
The first time I held a proof of my book in my hands, it took my breath away. I was holding a tangible thing, something which months before was just an idea in my head. And then it was real.
For me, it's worth it.
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