But I'm going to do it. For a long time, I've gone the traditional route, and I haven't completely given up on it. I'm just at the point where I need to feel like I'm moving ahead. So, I'm going to take Songbird and self-publish.
I'll do another round of edits and change some minor things, but as a whole I'm pretty happy with the way it's written. I don't really see this as something an agent will pick up. The number of times I've read things like "don't use flashbacks" is countless, yet that's what this book is about. A girl who lets her memories control her choices.
Today, I went on Create space and started working on the cover. Last year I had used my free proof copy from the Nano competition to creat one, but that was too dark and I felt that it didn't really work with the romance genre of the book. This is what I have so far:
The photo was a generic one that Createspace offers but I'm pretty happy with it and I'm going to play around with it to see if I'll be able to use it for my Smashwords (ebook) cover as well.
The blurb on the back is:
There are defining moments in life when everything changes. For Dani Mays, it was the day she witnessed her father kill her brother. Now seventeen years-old, she still hasn't put it behind her.
After Jace's death, she bounced between her alcoholic mother and foster homes, until she found a permanent place. And a reason to stay: Reece McCabe. He's her best friend, yet Dani wants more from Reece. When he turns her down, he shatters her illusions again.
Faced with losing Reece, Dani struggles to define his place in her life and escape the memories of her brother's death and the influence it has over her choices. Even as she weaves the pieces of her heart back together, the past becomes more than a memory when a former foster brother reappears and Dani begins receiving threatening phone calls.
There are still a couple of points in there that I'm considering changing, so feel free to make suggestions!
I'm actually really excited about this! I still have a ways to go since it'll take me a week or so to edit then another to format. then the wait for my proof copy, but I'm hoping that I can have the Smashwords version up sooner. Then I'll have to work on the marketing aspect!
Hi Angie. A lady I know formed her own publishing company. It sounds impressive but all it involved was forming a company and registering 10 x ISBN numbers and bar codes. She laid out her little story with watercolours and text into a PDF file and took them to the local printer who printed them. She then laid out her Dad's watercolours in a format that looks like a sketch book and published that. She knows some quite impressive folk in the climbing and yachting field and got them to write a foreword and reviews in Amazon! I am going to see the printer tomorrow about a brochure I am preparing for the Criccieth Tourist Folk (with my paintings!) so will make inquiries about cost of producing a little book of my paintings.
ReplyDeleteI guess this is different to publishing a novel. Emily once got a poem published in one of those "Vanity" books - Cost me £25 but it was nice to see it in print!
The little publishing firm is at www.delfrynpublications.co.uk
Good Luck. Uncle Robert
Good luck!!!!!
ReplyDelete'Don't use flashbacks' is one of those oft-quotes rules of writing, but all the rules can be broken if you know what you're doing. In your extracts that I have read I was impressed with the way you used flashbacks which flowed seamlessly with the current action.
ReplyDeleteI should also point out that I have heard of another novel called Songbird, although I don't know how well-known that is.
Best of luck, I can't wait to buy a copy! :)
Thank! I definitely think you should get some of your work done! Luckily I'll be able to get this started with no cost at all, unless I decide to purchase some of my own books to sell.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Emily! I've been debating changing the title, but I still feel that it works with the story. I'll have to do another search of it on Amazon, to see what pops up. If it seems pretty popular I may just have to change it.
ReplyDeleteSybil and I are publishing under the same imprint. If you'd like to join us, it would cost you nothing. I can give you more details if you're interested. you can email me at luvfisk@yahoo.com. And she has a lot of really great marketing ideas.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel and why you've made this choice. I have a project I am working on that's close to my heart, but it's not something I figure is going to be snapped up by and agent or publisher. I've pretty much decided to self-publish it myself later this year. So good luck with this. I know it will be lots of hard work to get everything done, but you can do it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joy! I've done another round of edits, and then started again today and caught 5 in the first chapter! The endless amount of editing I'm going to be doing is the scariest part :)
ReplyDelete