Essentially my news is fairly straight forward.
Finally, after much hair tearing, endless delays caused but the intrusion of other aspects of my life, going back over my MS I don’t know how many times, I have all my files for the book ready for uploading to the printing company Lightning Source.
Notice I say “printing company” rather than “self-publishing company”. That is because Lightning Source is plain and simple a printer.
Unlike many vanity presses masquerading as “self-publishing” Lighting Source is a printer. They don’t try to sell you various “services” to “improve” your manuscript. They don’t sell you packages to market your book.
You have to do it all: editing; layout; cover; uploading the files for the cover and body; supplying an ISBN. Also, you set the retail price and decide on wholesale discount and returns policy. In short you are the publisher. (Some of you will remember I registered a business as a small publisher a while ago)
After that they list the book on Ingram (of which they are a subsidiary) so book stores can order it and they make it available to mobs like Amazon and The Book Depository (in Aussie English a mob is not a group of gangsters but any group).
So after tonight I have to wait for Lightning Source to send me a “proof” copy of the bound book to make a final check. Once I approve that (assuming I don’t need any last minute changes) I am in the market.
So that is my big news. I am on the way!!!!
This is such a relief after far too much time bogged down in the last few details.
I am really excited, in fact I should probably say ecstatic about having got this far.
I have a little fantasy that once this all happens I will be able to spend more time working on my WIP. In reality I guess that if I want Veiled in Shadows to work I am quite likely to have less time to spend on the WIP.
I am going to have to market my baby myself. And that is going to be a big job!
The trick over the coming months is to come up with clever ways to increase my visibility. In terms of efficiency that effort has to be mainly targeted on the web.
In comparison to markets overseas, in Oz the market is tiny (there are only 20 million of us in the whole country).
SO now for my request.
As I said I have to come up with ways of marketing my little piece.
Now last night I came up with a few words that I hope are punchy, brief and raise interest in the book.
But I am no marketing expert, so I was hoping to ask all my blogosphere friends to do me a big favour and have a look and comment.
Here we go:
In a world divided by conflict.
In a storm that consumes friend and foe alike.
In a war fought in the shadows…
those who live may do so at the cost of their humanity.
Two lovers united by passion
…and divided by hate.
As they fight for survival…
their most implacable foe might be one another.
What do you think?
Would that attract your interest?
What kind of book does it sound like?
And are there any improvements I could make?
Finally a couple of piccies I took yesterday arvo/evening.
A rainbow in the Yarra Valley
After so many years of drought it is a real luxury to see the decent rain continuing past the occasional downpour. A rainbow is just icing!The Sunset over Yarra Glen
