Putting the “Self” into Self-Publishing by Annmarie Miles

Annmarie Miles joins us again for another month with the Writer’s Fun Zone. In today’s article she shows us how to put the self in self publishing. Enjoy!

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Are you a parent? One great sadness in my life is not being able to have children. They say the first time that you hold your own baby is a memory that never leaves you. I always imagined myself being a mother and was very upset at the thought of not having that vocation of motherhood in my life.

In the light of that you may appreciate what a tremendous joy it is, at 41 to realize that I do in fact have a calling. Maybe calling isn’t the right word, but I’ve found my thing – there’s no doubt about that. Writing has brought me more joy and fulfillment than I ever dreamed possible.

So you’ll understand why I’m so excited at the thought of holding my firstborn – my first published book.  I should have a copy of “The Long & The Short of it” in my hands next week.

Publishing was not something I planned on and I certainly didn’t intend to go through the tremendous amount of work that I know authors do, to get their book in front of agents and publishers. So self-publishing was a perfect option for me. I was very fortunate to find a new company in Ireland providing what I would call… Self-publishing PLUS or ‘Assisted Self-publishing’  if you like; and that company is called Emu Ink.

I would have had to pay an editor, pay for my book cover design, arrange ISBNs, get the file ready for epublishing, get it up on Smashwords or somewhere like it, then get ANOTHER file made for the print version. Then there’s the promotion (which you will know that even the most successful traditionally published authors have to do a certain amount of themselves). Then there’s negotiating with book stores, distributors, the press releases, the launch, more promotion and on it goes…

Emu Ink did all of that for a fixed fee; and a very reasonable one at that. And to top it all they are also a digital lending service; so my book goes into their online lending library and I get a % of the lending fee every time my book is ‘borrowed’. They have helped me find a great print-to-order price for the paperback and for a very modest fee will deal with distribution of the paperbacks for me.

With these guys I have the best of both worlds. In fact I reckon I have the best of about 7 worlds.

If you decide to go down the self-publishing route make sure to look at all the options out there. There are plenty of companies who will ‘edit’ you manuscript and process an efile for you. I suggest you do some research, shop around to see what services are available to you. See if you can find a company that goes the extra mile. I know for certain that Beth’s own website www.bethbarany.com has a host of different services. From working with her, I’ve seen how dedicated she is to serving and encouraging writers. I’ve been blessed to find that kind of service here in Ireland too.

It’s out there, so don’t settle for anything less if you decide to self-publish.

I’m in the mood to celebrate the arrival of my ‘firstborn’ and Beth has kindly allowed me to do that by running a little writing competition here.
Write me a 350 word short Christmas story. I’ll send the winner a signed paperback of The Long & The Short of it. I’ll add all entries on to my fiction blog as part of my Christmas Story series AND I’ll include the winning entry in my December Writer’s Fun Zone post.
Email your story to me amowriting@gmail.com with your details by December 1^st

Details of how you can get hold of a copy of The Long & The Short of it be it ebook or paperback, can be found on www.emuink.ie after the launch date of November 21^st.

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Annmarie Miles is 40-something, Irish, Christian, married, and proud to be all of those things. She loves words, music & chocolate. She mostly writes about the things that life has thrown at her and how she has tried to learn, love and laugh at it all along the way!

Where to find Annmarie:

Email: amowriting@gmail.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/amowriting Google+ auntyamo
Twitter: @amowriting
Personal Blog: www.auntyamo.com
Fiction Blog: www.ficticiousamo.wordpress.com