Self publishing a lesbian YA fantasy school story

Isobel Lindley · Dec 19, 2014

My final cover has been approved, my Amazon preorder page is up, I have Google+, Facebook and Twitter set up, my website is pretty much ready to be published... Seems a good a time as any to start a diary.

Two years ago, I finished my first draft of Pegasi and Prefects. I won't go over all the reasons I decided to aim for self publishing, but part of the appeal was having total control of the end result. For all my research, I had no real idea what that would mean in practical terms. I allowed myself two months for editing and rewrites, aarghwhatwasIthinking. Two years later, I'm finally happy enough to release it... After one last polish and one more check over by someone else, of course.

For all that, I have no regrets over following this route, and still won't if I never sell a single copy. It's been hard work, but also a joy. And everything from tense to cover art is the way I want it.

I'm going KDP at first at least, because they accept Australian Business Numbers and Draft2Digital and so forth don't as yet.

Rather than following advice on aiming for certain markets, I wrote the book I always wanted to read myself and didn't yet exist. As a lesbian school story set in an alternate 1950s Cornwall in which everyone has magical gifts, it's definitely a niche. Sometimes I worry that it's a niche consisting of myself, my wife and maybe people who read Malory Towers fanfic. I'm hoping at least some people are also longing for books like this, but there's only one way to find out.

A big decision was to split the original novel into two short novels priced lower and released a few months apart. I think it was absolutely the right advice to follow, but I know I have to be prepared for reviews complaining if it misfires, and that's my biggest worry right now. I intend to package both halves with a bonus short story or two as an eBook and CreateSpace paperback down the track.

So... Wish me luck?

Old Hack · Dec 20, 2014

Isobel Lindley said:
Two years ago, I finished my first draft of Pegasi and Prefects. I won't go over all the reasons I decided to aim for self publishing, but part of the appeal was having total control of the end result.

But those reasons are exactly what we want to read about.

For all my research, I had no real idea what that would mean in practical terms. I allowed myself two months for editing and rewrites, aarghwhatwasIthinking. Two years later, I'm finally happy enough to release it... After one last polish and one more check over by someone else, of course.

Ha! I know that feeling. I'm glad you're doing things properly.

Rather than following advice on aiming for certain markets, I wrote the book I always wanted to read myself and didn't yet exist.

The advice to aim for certain markets has (if I'm interpreting you correctly) always seemed wrong to me. I think you did right.

As a lesbian school story set in an alternate 1950s Cornwall in which everyone has magical gifts, it's definitely a niche. Sometimes I worry that it's a niche consisting of myself, my wife and maybe people who read Malory Towers fanfic.

I read all the Malory Towers books when I was young. I loved them, but they were so far away from my experience that they seemed like fairy stories.

If there's anything in your work which identifies it as Malory Towers fanfic, you would be wise to remove it. The Blyton estate vigorously defends its rights, and you risk getting hammered.

A big decision was to split the original novel into two short novels priced lower and released a few months apart. I think it was absolutely the right advice to follow, but I know I have to be prepared for reviews complaining if it misfires, and that's my biggest worry right now. I intend to package both halves with a bonus short story or two as an eBook and CreateSpace paperback down the track.

So long as each book is complete in itself, and you don't leave your readers hanging, you should be ok.

So... Wish me luck?

Luck! Definitely.

Isobel Lindley · Dec 20, 2014

Don't worry, I didn't mean to suggest it was fanfic.

When I was googling, back in the research stage, to see what else was out there about lesbians at boarding school, I basically turned up Malory Towers fanfic, small amounts of literary fiction that wasn't really "school stories" in the rescuing girls from burning dormitories Girls' Own sense, and porn.

As for my choices... I think I have decision fatigue and a reluctance to hash it over again by now! I have family who have successfully gone both the agent and big publishing house route and the making a small but decent living through little epubs route, so it was a bit of a big deal to decide I didn't want to even try for that. Certainly it isn't a choice made for the money. (Mind you, my writing for publication history under my own name is strictly on the academic side, so the idea of being paid for writing is almost alarming.)

I think the crux of it is, it feels more like an adventure this way, and making endless slogging over rewrites feel like an adventure is a treasure in itself. I'm very much taking this as it goes, as a kind of joyful experiment in creation and seeing if anyone wants to share in it with me.

TessB · Dec 20, 2014

I never read Malory Towers, but I inhaled every Chalet School book I could find at the public library when I was a kid! I'm intrigued by your premise. Looking forward to the release date! (Do you have a bottle of champagne tucked away for the day you go live? I hope so!)

AndreaGS · Dec 20, 2014

Oooh, I love the premise! I went over and read your blurb. Nice cover

I know what you mean about the endless rewrites; I sat on mine for over a year before deciding to do something with it. It's easy to get stuck in that phase, I think! Do not pass Go and all that.

Good luck! Is there going to be another book after the first two?

Isobel Lindley · Dec 20, 2014

No champagne--tea is more my style of celebration! Born boring.

I'm fond of the later Chalet School books too, the ones with the triplets. My school story collection is hundreds deep.

Another thread reminded me one of the reasons I decided not to submit to specialist lesbian presses, which I originally was going to aim at. The ones I was interested in had strict rules regarding under-age characters having sex, even off page. While there is no explicit sex, I didn't want to be bound by that, as the characters are on the verge of adulthood.

A lot of the school story genre is very Class S. In the earlier books especially, girls hold hands, embrace, kiss, declare eternal love. You get terribly earnest lines like "Alas! I love her! I love her! I love her!" (The Rivals of Maidenhurst, for reference.)

But they are not lesbians, and not remotely intended to be read as such. While Charley is. And she's coming of age as a sexual person, because this is not actually a 1920s school-story-for-Christmas. As evidence by the unicorns and fairies in it.

AndreaGS said:
Nice cover

Thank you! It was exactly what I envisioned.

Good luck! Is there going to be another book after the first two?

I possibly have a detailed outline sitting in Scrivener.

Charley's story is done, but I had requests from beta readers for a supporting character to have her own book, and she was so much fun to write.

There are also lower formers. And so many school story tropes I really want to use and didn't this time. Not one girl was lost in a snowstorm, kidnapped, won a scholarship, found a hidden treasure, was trapped by the rising tide or turned out to be the dispossessed granddaughter of the local girl-hating aristocrat, for a start.

I am aware that if I keep writing, I will strain credulity about how many lesbians one school could attract. But I suspect, given how much time I need to put into rewrites to be happy, I won't be popping books out very frequently.

Old Hack · Dec 20, 2014

Isobel Lindley said:
Another thread reminded me one of the reasons I decided not to submit to specialist lesbian presses, which I originally was going to aim at. The ones I was interested in had strict rules regarding under-age characters having sex, even off page. While there is no explicit sex, I didn't want to be bound by that, as the characters are on the verge of adulthood.

Amazon's KDP also has strict rules regarding under-age characters having sex. They'll pull your book if they think there's even a whiff of it.

http://absolutewrite.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

Isobel Lindley · Dec 20, 2014

Old Hack said:
Amazon's KDP also has strict rules regarding under-age characters having sex. They'll pull your book if they think there's even a whiff of it.

I appreciate the heads-up. That does worry me. All I could find was their incredibly unhelpful:

Offensive Content
What we deem offensive is probably about what you would expect.

I didn't think a seventeen and eighteen year old being implied to consummate their relationship off-page qualified in a reasonable mind as either, so I didn't worry. After all, it's not something I think about much when I read it in YA.

I guess it comes down to how they define underage. Lesbian presses have it at 18, but the age of consent for women in the UK has been 16 since 1886, putting Charley well on the safe side.

I really do think that plot-wise it's essential as the dividing line between schoolgirl affections and something more serious so... bumping her up in age a couple of months might be prudent.

Thank you again for the warning. It doesn't come into play in the first book, so I have plenty of time to make sure she has a birthday.

Old Hack · Dec 21, 2014

Amazon's guidelines are notoriously vague, as it allows them to be more flexible, I think.

I'm not sure that the age of consent for lesbian sex has been 16 for ages: I seem to remember that male homosexuality was illegal here until relatively recently but female homosexuality wasn't mentioned because Queen Victoria, who was involved in making the laws, didn't believe that women would do that sort of thing. But that story might well be apocryphal, so don't quote me.

I hope you do well with your book. It's wise to do all you can before it's published, even though it's stressful for you: it will make it go better once it's out.

I've dealt with a few problems after publishing and it's never fun. It's easier if you're only dealing with electronic editions: when one has a large print-run coming in from China and one realises it's got a major problem which one can't do anything about, one's stomach does tend to get rather knotted.

Ahem.

TessB · Dec 21, 2014

Isobel Lindley said:
I am aware that if I keep writing, I will strain credulity about how many lesbians one school could attract. But I suspect, given how much time I need to put into rewrites to be happy, I won't be popping books out very frequently.

On the plus side, if you include bisexuals, your numbers open up considerably!

Isobel Lindley · Dec 21, 2014

I am sorry to resurrect any memories of last inute changes trauma!

I have an idea for a birthday scene that will actually add to the second book and should be fun, not just exist as a safeguard, so perhaps it's all for the best.

TessB said:
On the plus side, if you include bisexuals, your numbers open up considerably!

Hee, yes!

I've been going through the nitty gritty set-up tasks the last couple of days: website, facebook, google+, Goodreads, LibraryThing, basic twitter announcement. I thought they would be overwhelming and tedious, but instead I'm enjoying. Even with a toddler on my lap insisting I put on Kinder Surprise opening videos on Youtube instead.

After all, it's evidence that I am finally doing this thing. Finding it already listed on Upcoming Lesbian Books made it seem very real!

Isobel Lindley · Dec 22, 2014

I have four preorders, and I only know who one of them is. Tiny, tiny successes are still exciting.

My mother gave me some money as an extra Christmas present today, so I spent it on a domain name and upgrading from free hosting. It was something I wanted, but had difficulty justifying to myself out of household money, as a non wage earner, so that is awesome. It also came with some advertising vouchers for Google and Facebook so... we'll see after release. I'm not sure they are a very successful technique for self-published YA, but I have them, might as well use them. I'm going to go for very specific, rarely used search terms on Adwords, I guess.

Also started serialising the first chapter on Wattpad on a "can't hurt, might help" kind of basis.

It's fun, even if I don't gain traction (most of the f/f stuff there seems to be explicit fanfiction or erotica, not PG rated original stuff.)

And for the rest of today, I'm going to focus on catching up on neglected laundry and housework and playing with play dough. My son has told me, very firmly, "No 'puter." (Small victories go together: he's just started stringing two words together!)

TessB · Dec 22, 2014

Can you see the names of the pre-orderers on amazon, or just the numbers?

Isobel Lindley · Dec 22, 2014

Just the numbers, AFAIK.

TessB · Dec 23, 2014

Then I'll admit to being one of those. Call it a thank you for the Chalet school nostalgia! I look forward to reading it in January. <3

Isobel Lindley · Dec 23, 2014

<3 Thank you! I hope you like it.

Isobel Lindley · Dec 30, 2014

So, after a couple of requests for an epub, I changed my mind and decided to go wide, at least for now, instead of Select.

Draft2Digital was a dream to upload to. Smashwords... Well, I am glad I didn't face the Meatgrinder without Scrivener.

Productive writing day today, too. Made good use of my toddler's naptime. Feeling cheerful all around!

DahlELama · Dec 30, 2014

Very exciting - congrats! Added myself to your list of pre-orders; always looking for more writers of f/f YA to support

yayeahyeah · Dec 30, 2014

DahlELama said:
Very exciting - congrats! Added myself to your list of pre-orders; always looking for more writers of f/f YA to support

The ONE TIME I find a book that I think I can alert you to, rather than the other way around, and I get to the end of the thread and you're already here!!

Book sounds intriguing; I'll be getting it. Best of luck Isobel!

Isobel Lindley · Dec 31, 2014

yayeahyeah said:
The ONE TIME I find a book that I think I can alert you to, rather than the other way around, and I get to the end of the thread and you're already here!!

Book sounds intriguing; I'll be getting it. Best of luck Isobel!

Thank you so much, both! It is really lovely knowing people who have never met me are willing to take a punt on my little book. I really hope you enjoy it.

I must say I am enjoying the whole self pubbing thing very much. All the things I thought would be daunting actually feel good, because I'm taking responsibility for them myself. I never thought I had such hidden control freak traits. No one looking at the chaos that is my home would suspect it.

Isobel Lindley · Jan 8, 2015

So, it goes live across all digital platforms tomorrow. Amused to relate I am #78 in Teen/GLBT on Amazon, which is kind of a big thrill despite it apparently not taking very much to break top 100 on that particular sales chart.

I am having all kinds of panic now it is out of my hands, especially about multi book plot arcs. Trying to bury myself in writing #3 (plus my side project) in my free time to keep doubts out of my head, and to be proud that I have taken the step of letting the book loose on the world. Because seriously, what's the worst that could happen?

My wife bought me a bracelet charm resembling an alicorn filly, a supporting character in her own right, to celebrate. I'm using it as a symbol of relaxing and enjoying the ride.

AndreaGS · Jan 9, 2015

Happy early book birthday!!

You had to let it go at some point, and you'll figure out the multi book plot arcs. Wishing you the best!

yayeahyeah · Jan 9, 2015

Very much looking forward to reading this! Happy release day for tomorrow.

Lena Hillbrand · Jan 9, 2015

Good luck!

Isobel Lindley · Jan 9, 2015

You are all so nice, thank you! <3

Self publishing a lesbian YA fantasy school story

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