Is that Skye in my featured image, the lovely protagonist of Find Me, book one of Immersed? I’m so close to sharing Skye with the world, this photo of my niece modelling the cool swimsuit she designed, made me do a double-take – it was like recognising her: is that Skye? It’s not. But it could be. My beautiful niece was kind enough to let me post her image.
Is it only me, or is getting your head around the pointy end of digital self-publishing brain-exploding stuff? Sure, I’m exaggerating. But those metaphors about vices and heads feel painfully accurate.
I’d be completely lost – strike that – not even attempting it if it wasn’t for David Gaughran’s Let’s Get Digital. I’ve mentioned his book more than once, and in being a slow writer talked about how I inadvertently did the opposite to his advice. But in just about everything else, his book has been my self-publishing bible.
Where am I at with my self-publishing venture? Okay. I’ve got my cover, my ISBN, my much edited manuscript, my author pic. Got my table of contents (apparently an Amazon requirement: not one I object to, had a blast coming up with chapter titles). Got my dedication (made me tear up). Got my title page, my acknowledgements (more difficult than I anticipated). So that must mean…I’m ready to format. Eeeeep!
So the eeeeep led of course to my digital self-publishing bible. Following directions, I tried to download the free kindle app to this cute pink-gold laptop.
Turns out that living in New Zealand, that’s a no-go. So I searched my phone’s kindle app book for the link to Guido Henkel’s formatting guide, couldn’t work it out from there, so visited David’s actual site for the first time. In addition to getting the link, and signing up for David’s newsletter, I learned that he is making his book, my self-publishing bible, FREE.
This is fantastic news for all of you who share my brain-in-vice feelings, who lack a good practical guide to follow. I cannot stress how helpful this book has been to me, so if you are in the midst of it, or are even vaguely considering entering the world of e-books as an author, get a copy! And whether you do, or don’t, may your navigation through the landscape of digital self-publishing be as rewarding as it is challenging. Happy writing, all.
