My adventures in self publishing

NightMaster · Oct 18, 2013

Hey all,

I'm a long time lurker on the forums (despite registering back in 2007 and posting rarely) but I'm hoping to get in to the swing of talking about writing with you lovely lot.

I'm in the final stages of prepping a book to self publish on Amazon in the next couple of weeks. I've been working on the book for years, and I'm looking forward to it finally seeing the light of day.

It's a YA fantasy, and I'll spill the beans on what it's all about once I've finalized the cover design in the next few days.

I'm going to be spewing my experiences on the forums here and I'm looking forward to the adventure. I don't know where it's going to go, if anywhere at all, but I hope you're happy for me to vent here on the AW forums

Literateparakeet · Oct 18, 2013

Welcome out of the shadows

And congrats on your book. I look forward to hearing more about your journey.

Mclesh · Oct 18, 2013

Welcome, NightMaster! I look forward to hearing about your progress. Good luck!

AgathaChristieFan · Oct 18, 2013

Good luck Nightmaster! Looking forward to reading about your publishing journey

merrihiatt · Oct 18, 2013

Looking forward to reading about your journey.

NightMaster · Oct 20, 2013

Thanks all.

Reading everybody's stories doing the same thing is very inspiring - all the joys, successes and even the sadness and non-successes (I don't want to use the word failure - if you've written a book you are certainly not a failure!) certainly encourage me to press on.

I'm not expecting to shoot to the top of any charts that's for sure, but I'm confident that I have a great story behind me which I guess is a good start! The book is currently being read by the final proofreader as we speak, who is giving me some very encouraging feedback, so my fingers are well and truly crossed.

Ann Joyce · Oct 20, 2013

Seems like a great many of us start out as lurkers. LOL It will be fun to watch your progress, NightMaster. I wish you much success.

PortableHal · Oct 20, 2013

NightMaster, glad you're here. I look forward to hearing what happens next in your adventure.

profen4 · Oct 20, 2013

Welcome! I am looking forward to seeing your cover and following your journey. Good luck!

NightMaster · Oct 21, 2013

Ok, here is the front cover:

Be brutal

WriterBN · Oct 21, 2013

I like the cover overall, but I got distracted by the black/gray blobs in the foreground. I couldn't figure out what they were meant to be. Maybe it's just the resolution of the image.

Spell-it-out · Oct 21, 2013

Nice cover! Best of luck with it.

Literateparakeet · Oct 21, 2013

I love the title.

The cover doesn't move me either way (love or hate).

Motley · Oct 21, 2013

Welcome and good luck! It will be fun to read about your progress.

M. H. Lee · Oct 21, 2013

Good luck!

The cover looks a little more MG than YA to me, but I'm not a big YA reader, so I could be wrong on that. I think it may be because a lot of the YA covers I remember seeing use real people on them and this one uses a drawing.

Also, are the dimensions right for KDP? They say the ideal height/width ratio is 1.6 with 1563 (width) x 2500 (height) as the best size.

NightMaster · Oct 21, 2013

M. H. Lee said:
Good luck!

The cover looks a little more MG than YA to me, but I'm not a big YA reader, so I could be wrong on that. I think it may be because a lot of the YA covers I remember seeing use real people on them and this one uses a drawing.

Also, are the dimensions right for KDP? They say the ideal height/width ratio is 1.6 with 1563 (width) x 2500 (height) as the best size.

You're right, it is MG - why I put YA I'll never work out. Possibly because something else I've been working on is YA

And no, it isn't the right dimensions for KDP yet

Norman D Gutter · Oct 22, 2013

Hi, N.M. I hope things go well for you as you work through the final tasks to get this book published.

NDG

Sarah Godfrey · Oct 25, 2013

Mike -- I can definitely be brutal with covers since cover design is one of my favorite things. I'll just give you some viewpoints from my perspective, but it's all up to you!

I can definitely tell it's MG (by the way, I love the title 100%), but the typography doesn't speak to me. I'm not sure if it's the stark white against the warm colors or the black border (perhaps both), or the font choice. The cover image is so mysterious and creates a particular mood that disagrees with the font choice for me.

Also, the image is very busy at the bottom, so the author name gets caught up in all the distractions there and doesn't stand out clearly.

This is all personal opinion, of course! Art's a subjective thing, after all. I'm sure others will disagree with me.

Also, good luck! I was one of the many lurkers (and still am), but it's a lot more fun to participate.

NightMaster · Oct 28, 2013

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. My cover has gone through a slight redesign, so here is the new version which I'll be going live with

Old Hack · Oct 28, 2013

That image is much too big, I'm afraid: please reduce it so that it falls within AW's guidelines. It can be a maximum of 400 x 400 pixels. Thanks.

Sarah Godfrey · Oct 28, 2013

I definitely like the font choice much more than the first version! The width x height ratio also feels better.

M. H. Lee · Oct 28, 2013

I don't know why, but for me the change in font also lost the MG vibe.

NightMaster · Nov 13, 2013

My book has gone live! Let the constant refreshing of sales figures commence

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1493514024/?tag=absowrit-21

Spell-it-out · Nov 13, 2013

Congrats on the new release! I hope it goes well for you.

Preacharomantic · Nov 14, 2013

I mean really?

Yesterday I got a call from someone offering to "help" me market my self published book by getting me a Kirkus Review. I didn't have time to talk so I told them to email me.
Imagine my shock when they sent me a quote of $3100 but would give me a 'discount' for the low cost of $2600. I mean, I'd just been to the Kirkus site and it advertized reviews for $400-500 dollars.
I'm reading all I can on the process of publishing and this site has helped me a lot. The sharks out there are mindboggling!

My adventures in self publishing

NightMaster

Literateparakeet

Nerdy Budgie

Mclesh

It's too hot

AgathaChristieFan

proud writer

merrihiatt

Writing! Writing! Writing!

NightMaster

Ann Joyce

It's all about grace

PortableHal

Not-so-new

profen4

NightMaster

WriterBN

Spell-it-out

I'm gonna give all my secrets away

Literateparakeet

Nerdy Budgie

Motley

New kid, be gentle!

M. H. Lee

NightMaster

Norman D Gutter

Engineer Sonneteer

Sarah Godfrey

Who did the thing

NightMaster

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Sarah Godfrey

Who did the thing

M. H. Lee

NightMaster

Spell-it-out

I'm gonna give all my secrets away

Preacharomantic