So… you become a photographer because you love to take pictures. You start a community newspaper because you love to write. You coach because you love teaching kids.
But like most dream jobs, there are lots of not-so-romantic duties that always come with the territory. And you soon discover how few hours you actually get to spend doing what first attracted you to the profession!
The idea for this blog came just a few days ago as we were unloading 5,000 reprint copies of our books from a freight truck in near zero temperatures.
There was getting the 75 cases into the back door of our large Victorian home and then hauling them the length of the house and up the front stairs. Then it was along the upstairs hallway the entire length of the house again to one of the six bedrooms where we warehouse our stock. And this shipment arrived on time and without damage!
That is just one of the many glamorous tasks that accompany being a self-published author.
With true self-publishing (not Print-on-Demand) every step of the process is in your hands.
After writing the best book you can possibly write (a difficult, but fun part!), there is editing to oversee, and the illustrator(s). There are files to be prepared, and the printer hired, the purchase order sent , the proofs to approve and sign-off on, and, oh yes, the shipments to receive and stock and inventory.
And then the work really begins!
You don your public relations hat alerting the media and pounding the pavement, marketing and distributing your latest work. And don’t forget to maintain good records and file your taxes!
Like the grunt work involved in climbing a high peak, the payoff is the view at the summit!
And for us, the payoff is meeting and interacting with our readers at book-signings and schools and libraries and special events. The view from that summit is amazing, making all of the effort worthwhile, and always inspires and encourages us to keep on writing.
A bonus is the fan mail that comes, including those notes from astute readers who may find a typographical error which we correct in the next reprint which copies are ordered and arrive in cases by freight truck, delivered once again, to our back door!
For those who happen to be in the Central New York area, the West/Central Upstate Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers will be holding its Annual Spring Fever Conference on March 23rd and 24th af the Embassy Suites-Destiny USA in Syracuse, New York. Grace Lin wil be the keynote speaker and I (Gary) will be one of three panelists on Sunday afternoon in the session entitled, “To Self-Publish, or Not to Self-Publish, “That is the Question”
For more information: https://westcentny.scbwi.org/events/annual-spring-fever-conference-2019/
[sharethis-inline-buttons]
© 2018 Adirondack Kid Press, Ltd.
