So you've finished your manuscript masterpiece, you've even let an editor pick it apart, and allowed a slew of beta readers to test your scribblings and they have rewarded you with a chorus of praises. You may have even cracked open that bottle of bubbly that you have been chilling for this occasion, and may even be nursing a hangover from drinking the whole bottle. And yet, you are left with one nagging question. Now what?
In the first part of this blog I discussed the planning, writing, and editing process for my recently released novel, The Watchers of Ur: Cradle. In this installment I will focus on the process of preparing to self-publish, and the importance of the cover design.
Now that I have finished planning, writing, editing, and publishing my first novel, I thought it would be good to reflect on the process and share my experience with those who may be considering a similar undertaking, and anyone else who has a perverse interest in the world of writing.
For anyone making a serious foray into the world of self-publishing, marketing is certainly the most daunting task. Contrary to what most people would think, the writing is the easy part. Figuring out where, when, to whom, and how to market and sell your book requires a writer to step out of his/her comfort zone, learn new skills, take risks, and even fail.
When I began my novel writing adventure my instinct was to sit down in front of my MacBook and begin typing in Microsoft Word. But when I thought about all of the other documents that support a writing project of this magnitude, I realized that a standard word processing application may not be the best choice. How could I easily find, clip, and access all of the notes, websites, images, and other pieces of content inside my writing project easily and without losing stuff?
I wrote the following short story a few months after my grandmother (Ama), Mary D. Rakowski, had passed away after a battle with esophogeal cancer. Her effect on my life was more profound than any other person I have known, and her love, grace, and wisdom is something that I will cherish forever. I can't wait to see her again, someday.
The good nuns of St. John the Baptist Academy and Bishop Ludden High School taught me that before you write a single word on the page you must construct an outline. Indeed this advice has served me well through decades of higher education and especially during my MBA studies. Outlines are a very effective way to organize your thoughts and keep you on track as you move from start to finish through a writing project.
Back in 1989 I started writing a novel on a very early version of a portable computer. Not knowing much about computers at the time, I didn't give a thought to the safety of my scribblings. You can probably imagine what happened...I had a technical problem and everything I had written was gone in an instant. Some mysterious electron had shifted in it's orbit inside a piece of silicon and months of work was obliterated. Destroyed. Completely annilihated and removed from existence.
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