all my ducks in a row
I started writing this post, in draft, way back in January. After several posts in the closing months of last year detailing the progress of Book 2, The Darkening Days of John Mann, I suddenly leapt to a post declaring it finished and published without me having said anything about the very last part of that process. That is what the bulk of those January scribblings were concerned with, so rather than let them die a quiet death I post them here now.
I published The Darkening Days of John Mann on 26th December 2014. I self-published it in ebook format, on Smashwords.com and was very happy to see it ship quickly to Barnes and Noble. I'm thinking though that I could have chosen a better time of year to launch it, and wonder if its impact wasn't blunted by putting it out at Christmas. At the time I just chose a moment when I had a bit of breathing space in the mad dash that is the festive season.
Two weeks prior to launch day I had drawn up a list of some 20 tasks I needed to complete before I could publish. These ranged from resizing my cover image and making a Nuclear (bug free) copy of my text to testing and fixing all my internal links, and writing two versions of the blurb to accompany the book. At the time, all the preparations for Christmas and a New Year trip away were also making demands on my time but I soldiered on with that task list with a fierce determination. I've mentioned here before how little I enjoy this part of the business of self-publishing, but I was still striking items off my list like a demon and I suddenly found that I had done everything that I needed to do. All my ducks were in a row and I was ready to publish.
So my finger hovered over the Upload button. The final hurdle I had to clear was the familiar fear of putting my work out there in the world. I'd encountered this saame hesitancy when I was about to upload Book 1, The Stolen Days of John Mann. 'What if it's rubbish and everyone hates it?' I think this is a common response and a lot of writers would identify with my fears, especially self-publishing writers without a big publishing house behind them saying 'But we wouldn't publish your book if it were crap.' I also remember thinking that I could just bury the Book 1 manuscript in a folder on my hard drive and no one would know the difference. The world wasn't waiting for it with bated breath and wouldn't miss it if it never materialised. I can be very de-motivating when I want to be. But thankfully I'm also quite stubborn. I had been determined to publish that first book and I did. This, the second time, the second book, around I was prepared for the initial faint heartedness and put it aside more easily.
Perhaps the world won't care that I've published two books now, but I care, it means a lot to me. I like being a writer, I like that my books can be downloaded from the internet. I get a buzz when I find them on websites in Japan, Australia, Brazil and India. All this is important to how I see myself in the world. I don't think that's putting it too strongly. I move differently in the world as a writer.
I published The Darkening Days of John Mann on 26th December 2014. I self-published it in ebook format, on Smashwords.com and was very happy to see it ship quickly to Barnes and Noble. I'm thinking though that I could have chosen a better time of year to launch it, and wonder if its impact wasn't blunted by putting it out at Christmas. At the time I just chose a moment when I had a bit of breathing space in the mad dash that is the festive season.
Two weeks prior to launch day I had drawn up a list of some 20 tasks I needed to complete before I could publish. These ranged from resizing my cover image and making a Nuclear (bug free) copy of my text to testing and fixing all my internal links, and writing two versions of the blurb to accompany the book. At the time, all the preparations for Christmas and a New Year trip away were also making demands on my time but I soldiered on with that task list with a fierce determination. I've mentioned here before how little I enjoy this part of the business of self-publishing, but I was still striking items off my list like a demon and I suddenly found that I had done everything that I needed to do. All my ducks were in a row and I was ready to publish.
So my finger hovered over the Upload button. The final hurdle I had to clear was the familiar fear of putting my work out there in the world. I'd encountered this saame hesitancy when I was about to upload Book 1, The Stolen Days of John Mann. 'What if it's rubbish and everyone hates it?' I think this is a common response and a lot of writers would identify with my fears, especially self-publishing writers without a big publishing house behind them saying 'But we wouldn't publish your book if it were crap.' I also remember thinking that I could just bury the Book 1 manuscript in a folder on my hard drive and no one would know the difference. The world wasn't waiting for it with bated breath and wouldn't miss it if it never materialised. I can be very de-motivating when I want to be. But thankfully I'm also quite stubborn. I had been determined to publish that first book and I did. This, the second time, the second book, around I was prepared for the initial faint heartedness and put it aside more easily.
Perhaps the world won't care that I've published two books now, but I care, it means a lot to me. I like being a writer, I like that my books can be downloaded from the internet. I get a buzz when I find them on websites in Japan, Australia, Brazil and India. All this is important to how I see myself in the world. I don't think that's putting it too strongly. I move differently in the world as a writer.
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