As mentioned in my previous posts, one of the most common questions I received after publishing Mac and Cheese, Please, Please, Please was "How?"
This question came in several different forms:
How did you find an illustrator?
How did you find time?
How did you publish it?
How did you know how to do it all?
Fortunately, I was already familiar with the concept of self-publishing or "independent publishing", because many of the books I read are written by indie authors. To help me through the process, I did purchase the book, How to Self-Publish a Children's Book by Yvonne Jones. Jones' book is a step-by-step guide through the entire process of writing, publishing and everything in between. What I loved about the book is that it provided a slew of advice and various paths for me to consider as I moved through each of the steps. The book also ends each chapter with a to-do list for list-driven people like me! I 💛 LISTS!!!
I will put out a disclaimer that since Jones' book was published, there have been some changes to the self-publishing landscape. The most prominent change was that CreateSpace had already merged with Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) by the time I read the book. So I leaned heavily on YouTube to fill-in some of those gaps. God Bless YouTube! Honestly though, publishing to Amazon KDP was definitely the easiest part of the entire process.
For illustration, design, editing, etc., I used Fiverr.com. I personally found that Fiverr had what I was looking for and took some of the risk out of these transactions.
Fiverr.com is like the Etsy of services.
One more thing that I want to call out is that there are a BOAT LOAD of online "universities" out there that are trying to profit on helping people through the process of independent publishing. They are way overpriced and I'm here to tell you that you don't need it. Don't let anyone profit on making your dreams a reality.
Which brings me to my why. The reason why I decided to independently publish my very first book was because I didn't want to wait on anyone else to make my dreams a reality. I made my own dream a reality.
Comments