Learning Project Update 6: Publishing Options & Serendipity

If you’ve been following along on my learning journey, you may recall that this (publishing time!) is usually when I come to a thundering halt in progress! BOOM! BAM! For reference, I have recapped my original plan below:

WEEKS 9-10: Great Big, Scary Dive into the Publishing Process

Focus: Publishing options….the part of this tale where my momentum thuds to a sudden stop

Tasks and Resources:

• This stage needs to be fleshed out in more detail, as it is also the part that scares me the most. (STILL TRUE!)
• Make sure my final draft is complete and formatted correctly for submission. (Final draft complete, must consider formatting based on submission option chosen).

The Actual Plan: Exploring Self-Publishing versus Traditional Publishing

For the next few weeks, I have decided it’s best to explore and compare my publishing options, beginning with self-publishing. Picturing myself holding my finished book – one that I dreamt, wrote, brought to life – is exciting and incredibly overwhelming!

Sometimes the universe has quite the sense of humour when nudging us toward our dreams. Two weeks ago, my children were selling their 3D printed dragons (a different long story) at a local trade fair. Our booth happened to be placed next to a teacher from my division, Theresa Eppich (name/story shared with permission). Theresa is one of those lovely work colleagues we all have; someone whose bright, kind demeanour invites casual conversation at larger work events, but who you may not know very well. Imagine my surprise when she was selling…a self-published book! Fate is a bold mistress.

We spent an hour discussing her book, A Legacy of Love: How a Holocaust Survivor Inspired Me to Live with Greater Freedom and Purpose, and even more time outlining the pros and cons of self-publishing. Inspired and guided by this conversation, my research has focused on the following questions and options.

Why Self-Publish?

As I learned from Theresa Eppich (doesn’t she have the best teacher/author last name ever?), self-publishing isn’t just a “backup plan.” It’s a legitimate, empowering path that provides authors with:

• Creative control: While constructive criticism and advice are available, no one will dictate story or illustration changes that clash with my overall vision.
• Fast-paced timeline: I won’t be waiting around for months or (gulp) years hoping for an agent or publisher to say YES!
• Potential higher royalties: Traditional publishers act as middlemen; in other words, they take a big cut of the profits. With self-publishing, I could potentially earn more per book.

After my serendipitous meeting with Theresa, I was left with additional questions, like what platforms work well in Canada, how on earth would little ol’ me handle printing/distribution, and could I still get my book into bookstores and libraries?

Options, Options, Options

With a little bit of research, I have come across – what I think – are two of the best self-publishing options for Canadians, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and IngramSpark.

For my own research purposes and potentially helping others navigate the scary, exciting world of self-publishing, I made a comparative chart.

Self-Publishing Comparison

Based on my research, I am left considering my primary mode of distribution. If my goal is to sell mostly online, and I want an affordable way to get David’s Imperfectly Perfect Creations into reader’s hands quickly, KDP is a great choice. And if I want my book available in flesh-and-blood…sorry, I mean, brick-and-mortar bookstores and libraries, IngramSpark will be perfect!

Potentially, if I choose a self-publishing route like Theresa, I am leaning toward a hybrid approach: KDP for eBooks and Amazon sales, and IngramSpark for print distribution. In my opinion, this mixture gives me the best of both worlds, as long as I am willing to take a chance and put in a substantial amount of self-marketing elbow grease.

Final Thoughts and New Plans

It’s always funny to me how life works. If I hadn’t been seated next to Theresa, I might never have thought self-publishing was a viable option. While the limitations and struggles of self-publishing have always held me back, I can see that there’s something incredibly fulfilling about owning the entire process of making my children’s book a reality. My book would exist because I made it happen.

For the next week or two, I’ll switch gears and explore traditional publishing. Once I have settled on my distribution path, I’ll finalize my manuscript submission…and then, who knows?!

Once again, thank you for following along on this journey. Please feel free to leave feedback, insights, and/or resources!