So What I am Learning

         I have not been writing this for a while since I have been doing more research and learning more programs such as Adobe In Design. Sorry for the typos in this. I was in a rush and it is 4 am!

      And before I go any further, I am making this statement. IF YOU WANT TO SELF-PUBLISH, DECIDE HOW MUCH TIME YOU WANT TO INVEST AND BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF ABOUT EXPECTATIONS.
            I have now watched dozens upon dozens U-tube videos our there on self publishing, how to promote you book and so on.  I have subscribed to a good many video channels and listened to a lot of different people about the process they went through and how it worked for them going back to about 2009...really from what I have been reading, self-publishing began really around the year 2000 and it has really put the publishing world on it's end.
             I admit I am from a certain generation.  I am older and was not raised with technology, and until I got a Mac, I must admit I was really frustrated with computers in general.  They just didn't make that much sense to me.  Now, due to necessity, I have become more computer savvy but it was not something I even intended!
              When I first started looking into the whole self promoting business, I knew absolutely NOTHING.  And now, I must admit, I know next to nothing.  Here are however, a few things I have learned:
*WHAT WORKS FOR ONE PERSON BOOK WISE, DOESN'T NECESSARILY WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE.  THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS GOOD AT TECHNOLOGY AND CAN GET A GOOD STRONG FAN BASE....INDEED I don't expect there are more than three people who read these blogs.  They are more for me so I can refer back when I have forgotten things and I can honestly admit this!

*NO EVERYONE WHO MAKES A BLOG OR VIDEO KNOWS A RAT'S ASS ABOUT MUCH OF ANYTHING EXCEPT PERHAPS THEY CAN USE A COMPUTER AND PUT A FEW LINES TOGETHER AND STRING OUT A SENTENCE. AND SOME FOLKS OUT THERE ARE TOTALLY FULL OF SHIT!  DON'T LISTEN TO EVERYONE ON YOU TUBE OR IN BLOGS.  LISTEN TO YOU BECAUSE EVERYONE THESE DAYS IS OUT TO MAKE A BUCK.

*HOW YOU GO ABOUT SELF PUBLISHING, OR NOT, REALLY HAS TO HAVE TO DO WITH HOW YOU WRITE AND YOUR STYLE OF WRITING.  IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO ENTERTAIN OR POP OUT A ZILLION SELF HELP BOOKS ABOUT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING IS FAR DIFFERENT THAN WRITING A WELL-CRAFTED BOOK!
a) so this brings me to a sub point.  From what I have been reading, there are three ways to go about getting your book published:
1.) by traditional methods-here be forewarned, there are a good many publishers that will treat you like shit, or cannot or will not communicate with you and give you a tiny piece of the pie.  The old days of publishing are long gone and now it is every man for himself (herself) and the nightmare stories ring out!  So before you get all excited because your being published, read the fine print or get a lawyer...or you may just be lining someone else's pockets!  If your a GOOD writer, who has laboured for years and has a really good piece of work, then by all means check out some of the BETTER publishing houses.  If you just want to say you were published by someone else and have no care about distribution or sales, by all means go to a small publisher that popped up over night, or as it is here in Canada, gets grants to do all publishing and good luck with a re-print.

2.)Another option is self-publish on Demand (POD).  There are a few things to consider concerning this process: a) how ambitious are you - do you want to make blogs, self promote, pound the pavement, and become your own editor, book cover designer, publisher, marketer and promoter?  And can you juggle this with your writing and eating?  If the answer is yes, then a few more things to consider, because from what I have been reading, the old days of throwing out free e-books for a few reviews and getting yourself sales on Amazon are already over. The times in the POD and becoming an over night success are over.  It still can happen, but unless your are looking at the writing on demand as a business, odds are it is will only be karma that gets you to the top and give you some revenue. The market is now flooded and everyone and their dog is popping books out to make money. So I have found you have to be a few things to go this route.  
       -have low expectations
     -have some money to promote or get quality book covers, blurbs, editing and structure for the book design 
      -or be really talented and stubborn
     -be really prolific and even though your books are mediocre at best, inundate the market, and then get into promoting using internet technology, 
IN THE END THE ONE GEM IN TOTALLY SELF PUBLISHING IS YOUR IN CONTROL AND YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.  NO MORE, NO LESS.  The more research, the more you figure out your strengths and weaknesses, the better your odds of making a profit off your work.  IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS AS A LABOUR OF LOVE AND HAVE NO EXPECTATIONS, THEN THIS IS THE ROUTE FOR YOU!

3.Lastly there is the hybrid method which I am still learning about which doesn't quite make sense to me since your paying someone in the publishing field to do what traditional publisher so old would do as part of the service for being their client!  Some of these services can be offered by a group or someone who has gone into the business, and now some are being offered by those who were in the buz and now are free-lancing but calling themselves publishers still.  It is all a little vague and nebulous but it appears they are just applying their expertise to help self publishers...however be forewarned, you do have to do your background checks and get folks who are professional and honest...and experienced, but if you want to pay to have the head aches go away and give yourself a better opportunity at success, then this could be the route for you.

*SO AFTER DOING THE RESEARCH AND LISTENING TO OTHERS AND THEIR STORIES, I HAD TO MAKE A CONSCIOUS DECISION ABOUT THIS WHOLE PROCESS.  IT HAS BEEN A GREAT PROJECT OVER THE PAST WINTER LAID UP WITH A BAD BACK WHICH IS JUST ABOUT HEALED.

*WHAT CAN I SAY I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT THIS AND MYSELF.
a) I love to write.  I love to draw, to learn and to create.
b) I am a private person and self-promoting is never going to happen the way some folks can. I have been to enough book launches and listened to enough authors talk about themselves to know I never will done such a thing. It is just NOT my style at all.
c) Which means I HAVE ALMOST NIL expectations of having success as a writer.
d) I will do it anyhow because it feeds my soul.  I enjoy learning about the design aspect of making a book cover. I enjoy the challenges of learning new programs like Adobe InDesign and Photoshop which are incredibly intense but I know I will get better at and really enjoy because they are really good tools and I always appreciate really good tools.
e) I dedicated the first half of my life to healing myself and to my art.  I always found when I worked and had the means to have materials to do the art, I didn't have the time or energy, and when I had the time and energy, I didn't have the materials.  Something always came up.  The writing thing is something I don't need much for which I now have so I can carry on and do exactly what I need to do.
f) I know I will learn and grow and do my best however I also know, since I am not designing covers or laying out books on a regular basis, I shall likely never achieve the same skill level as some professionals (and I do mean some, because there are good many people out there these days in the publishing field who are a lot like in other fields - they have three days of experience, MAYBE six months of experience, and they have no problem putting themselves out there as pros.  Just look at some of the crappy books coming out of these small independent publishing houses!  Total garbage in every sense of the word!
g) I am in no rush.  I am going to put my work out there when I am satisfied with it and not before!  I am not doing it to get rich or to make a fortune,  I am doing it for the same reason I did the art, because it part of who I am and folks can take it or leave it.  
h) I am not going to expose myself.  By that I mean, who I am is who I am.  Part of my protagonist is me, other parts are not.  Be that as it may, I have no desire to read reviews or listen to anyone else. As I said, I DON'T expect to get rich, I am NOT catering to any specific market and I am NOT looking to the universe or anyone else to make me rich!  I am just going to plod along, writing these boring blogs to myself (because honestly, I think that is the only audience I have or will ever have and that is not the end of my world!).  IF someone is actually reading this, well, then hello, nice to meet you.  
*IF YOU LOVE TO WRITE, AS I DO, THEN WRITE! IF YOU HAVE THE MEANS TO HIRE SOMEONE TO MAKE YOUR COVER AND FORMATE YOUR BOOK, THEN DO IT BECAUSE LEARNING THE PROPER PROGRAMS IS COSTLY AND TIME CONSUMING AND IS NOT FOR EVERY WRITER.  THESE DAYS HOWEVER ANYONE CAN WRITE A BOOK AND GET IT PUBLISHED.  DECIDE HOW GOOD IT HAS TO BE FOR YOU, NOT FOR OTHERS AND TAKE IT FROM THERE!
*ENJOY THE RIDE BECAUSE IT IS AN UP AND DOWN ONE!