Pushed through with Psychic Toolbox, finally managing to get the cover graphics in reasonable order, then clicking my way through the Lulu processes and the click: Done! Up on the screen comes this message: congratulations! You have just published your book!
Only it is not quite as simple as that, because now I need to see what the book looks like in print, so have ordered a copy. And the peculiar thing is that now it has reached this stage I seem to have become detached from it, which is the same thing which happened with my first book. It's like I haven't actually written it but someone else has. Odd that.
Anyway, waiting for the post now. Meanwhile, I was going to crack on with the third book in the series but my mind kept on having other ideas coming in, to do with writing a tarot card instruction book. This one is a free ebook or pdf download, and is about 20,000 words long.
And the thrill of starting off a new project, and seeing the word count rise. At 1,600 words, there is a long way to go yet.
Although the subject I write about may not be a topic you wish to explore, I hope the fact that I am self publishing acts as an inspiration to you. And one of the things I am learning, is that you need to establish a raft of work, some of which has to be free downloads, so that your potential reader can engage with who you are as a person. That if you have just one book done, then that is likely to become submerged along with all the other millions of books which are on the market. But if you keep on building a portfolio of work, and also build a good sized web site to go with it giving plenty of info about who you are and why you do what you do, then this will ultimately build a following.
I am not so sure about only using the blogging route, as that is time consuming. I tend to write these blogs as a diary for me to look back on to see how far I have come, and it would seem that if you want loads of followers on the blog then you have to invest acres of time in visiting everyone else's blogs, which is minimizing your writing time. So I tend to come and go with my blogs, but I do value people when they visit me and I do go visit them although don't always have the time to leave a comment.
I think that a website would be heftier to do than a blog, but it would tidy up your writing work and make it more see-able for your reader. That is what I think, anyway. And you could always build a theme upon which to sit your work. Someone I know has built the theme of an old castle/house for their website, inserts blogs into certain 'rooms' and writes in association with the theme. For myself, I have a professional website which the books I write support, and when I move on to other subjects, such as smallholding and novels, then Labartere.com will be the vehicle for those books, the 'Snippet' blog being the foundation for that project.
So while I wait for my post to arrive, I hope I have 'posted' some ideas into your mind!
My goodness, a finished book! I'm in awe. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteStop by my place. I have an award for you.
Love reading your musings Vera. Some blogs just don't flow but yours has a sense of purpose. I'd rather read good stuff occasionally than drivel every day. Technical question. How do you set up Networking blogs which dosplay the image of the most recent post. I have set up a few which list the most recent blog title but not the image?
ReplyDeleteP;) thanks for visiting, and thanks for the award.
ReplyDeleteSteve at Little Hat: Have left you a message on your blog about the tech question, and thanks for your comments about my blog. I only write when I something happens which I think might make an interesting read, so there are gaps when my life is quiet.
ReplyDeleteVera, I think you are perfectly right: blogging is time-consuming. When one starts out on this electronic diary-writing, so to speak, it is not too bad. One just writes. Then there comes the reciprocal side of blogging, reading other offerings. Commenting on them, sometimes as a matter of politeness!
ReplyDeleteThere are literally millions of blogs on the internet now; some excellent and interesting. Others can be mediocre and even boring. One has to be selective of course.
My blogging started out as a mini-autobiography and was mainly for my own benefit. Then it drifted into making short ad hoc videos simply because I had a new 'toy'.
Now, like your above posting, I have made far fewer postings. Nothing stays the same for long, with me that is.
One blog I enjoyed immensely was 'The Diary of Dagenham Dave'. This chap emigrated to the USA and he wrote of his workplace and those he had to supervise. Absolutely hilarious. His postings were infrequent, probably due to lack of time, but his spontaneous and witty writing was just my cup of tea.
His blog has simply disappeared! Tried googling it, no joy. I'm very sad about that. Still, that's blogland for you.
Cheers, Phil
Hi Phil: I drift off and on with blogland. Like you said, it is time consuming, especially when it comes to the networking side. But I won't write if I have nothing to say, or I am feeling not quite myself. And I would agree about missing favourite bloggers when they shut down, or when they die as one recently did.
ReplyDeleteSo blogland is a mixed blessing, but one which I would not like to be shut off from for too long.