Guest Writer Barbara Barth Talks About Self-Publishing
I
was very naïve when I wrote The Unfaithful Widow, the memoir of my first
year after I lost my husband, I just knew I wanted to get my story out there in
the world. I had no idea about publishing a book. I Googled the word publishing
and was overwhelmed with articles and websites. Trying to find an agent seemed
too time-consuming. I wasn’t getting any younger. My husband died in 2008 right
before I turned sixty. Two years later I had my finished memoir and to my
horror, was almost sixty-two. I had to release my story to move forward with my
life. I said a little prayer asking for
help.
I found a vanity press, which I thought
was self-publishing. I paid big bucks to have my book designed and published. I
just thought self-publishing meant you didn’t go the traditional route. I
didn’t know the word vanity press until an author corrected me on a blog post
that I had not self-published and explained the difference to me.
The company I used was Outskirts Press. If
I had been a better editor or had taken the time to hire an editor, I would
have saved the expense of the corrections after the fact. I told them what I
wanted, worked with their team to design the interior, paid my money, and they
brought my vision to life. They did the interior PDF.
My sister (who now does my book designs
under my own imprint Gilbert Street Press) composed the altered art pictures
and photos for that first book and a good friend of hers designed my book
cover. Here is the funny thing about my widow memoir. I own my story and the
cover PDF. Outskirts Press owns the book PDF because I used their ISBN. (Who
knew at the time about ISBNs? I didn’t.) That meant if I wanted to do anything
different in the book, corrections, etc, I had to pay them to do it. Their PDF
is a locked file that I can’t access. The other alternative, I could buy the
program again and use my own ISBN, an expensive process I didn’t want to do. My
book was already selling on Amazon by then.
Am I sorry I used a vanity press? No. The
book is awesome looking. I am proud of it. And somehow for a gal who didn’t
know the first thing about writing or publishing I got it done. In April 2010
my first box of books arrived and later that summer I took my book on my first
blog tour with WOW! Women on Writing. The Unfaithful Widow placed as a
finalist in the 2011 USA Best Book Awards. I’ve made incredible friends through
my widow memoir. I think I have the man upstairs to thank for helping me find
the right path to follow.
Over time I learned more about the real
world of self-publishing, so my fictional naughty thriller (yes, every gal
needs one) was self-published in 2014. If you hang around my blog tour, I have
another guest post on November 22nd with more information on
self-publishing and why I like the control. I’m a Leo and I think that makes me
a bit of a control freak, but a nice one, I hope. The bottom line, to quote
loosely from a Frank Sinatra song (anyone old enough to remember him?) I like
to do it my way.
What a fantastic story! There is so much that new authors don't know. I haven't published anything yet (other than my blog) and I've already been overwhelmed by the different routes you can take. I'm glad everything worked out in the end and you're pleased with the result. I have to admit, your title alone draws me in and makes me want to read your book :) Great guest post!
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