Self-publishing: Interview by Keri Jaehnig

A bit over a year ago I came face to face with reality and decided to stop blogging about social media marketing. I started writing to heal instead.

The friends I had made in Cyberspace followed my change of course and one of them, Keri Jaehnig, asked me to participate in a Q&A session with her exclusive Insider's Club. Keri Jaehnig is the Founder and CMO at Idea Girl Media. 

Shall you wish to listen to the interview, here's the unlisted link for you. A summary follows below.

Click here to View

Here are the Questions and answers from that day:

Keri: What led you to authorship?

Verónica: It was a consequence from events in my life from 2014 to mid 2015 that are summarised in this 30 second video.



Due to an introspection born from problems in my health, in my birth country Venezuela and my adoptive land, Cyprus, I decided to stop blogging about Social Media Marketing in April 2015. I wrote an article on Linkedin about this decision and many people reacted to it. The article's title is "The underrated commodity of being available".

Shortly after, there was a women's writing competition and I decided to expand on this article and other issues that I realised were bothering me. There was a target of 50 thousand words. All the issues mentioned above and in the video led me to write to organise my ideas and write positive outcomes to what had touched my soul.

Keri: Why did you write THIS book?

Verónica: There are 4 main reasons why I wrote this particular book.

1. It is an autobiographical novel, which is fictitious by definition. This allowed me to use my imagination and present idealistic outcomes to problems I was facing or people dear to me were facing. For example, the main character, Clara, an old lady who cannot talk or move. was inspired by a family member who went through that. I invented the Mind-Reader-Writing machine so she could communicate with her relatives somehow. 
2. I wanted to write about my past as I felt my time was limited. I wanted to leave a written legacy to my children for when they were ready to find out about their ancestors. Since they are not growing up where I did, I wanted to write about my perception about my own upbringing. 
3. I needed to start a conversation with like-minded people. I poured my thoughts and beliefs through Clara. Some of the issues have to do with parenting, success, Latin America's social inequalities, migrating and marrying a foreigner. 
4. I wanted to pay tribute to the heroes fighting for Human Rights in Venezuela. 

Keri: How did you make your choices on publishing electronically and in soft-cover?

Verónica: Once I found out that I wasn't long-listed on the writing competition, I felt the need to publish the book anyway. I had 50 thousand words in a manuscript and I really wanted to put the book out there. 

Online search results suggested I find an agent or go home. There were also sponsored links from self-publishing agencies and I submitted my manuscript to them for free, They all answered, mostly to offer services costing an average of US$2000 to publish my book professionally and to get some exposure. 

I also found ONE article with a thread of comments where one person stated that he always published electronically on Amazon's self-publishing platform for FREE. That led me to Kindle Direct Publishing. I started to share the link to my ebook on social media and used the #WriteToHeal as part of my branding. 

Keri: How have you used social media in promoting your book?

Verónica: It started with my beta readers. I used to share some of my favourite passages while I was writing the manuscript and the positive comments encouraged me to carry on. I asked for suggestions and about 5 people were interested. Only 2 answered with suggestions and that was enough for me to complete the book. I took them from Facebook to e-mail. 

I then shared the links to the e-book and the printed version for people to buy on Amazon and also shared comments from readers. 

On Twitter, I used relevant hashtags and connected with other writers and people who share content about wellness and mindfulness, which are themes in the book. My handle on Twitter and Instagram reflects this: @VeroWellbeing

Keri: What if social media was not part of our world - How would this have affected the process?

Verónica: Without social media, I wouldn't have found out about the competition so I wouldn't have completed the manuscript. I wouldn't have found my beta readers who provided valuable feedback and I wouldn´t have had the possibility to share my book with so many people whom I wouldn't have considered interested. 

Keri: Translation - What was involved? Why and how this happened?

Verónica: Spanish speakers on social media asked for a translation as the book was conceived in English. My father helped me with the first draft in Spanish. There was a lot of editing both in English and Spanish after I published the first draft. The current English version has been revised with the help of an English teacher. 

In doing that, I realised that Spanish is the language for me to write in. 

Keri: Is there another book in the works?

Verónica:  there is a series of 5 books in Spanish about 4 friends who let go of toxic relationships to find more fulfilling ones. The first book has been completed and I entered it in a competition for Indie Authors organised by Amazon in Spain. 

(There is a discussion about cover design here, around minute 35 on the video)

Keri: If you could do it over again, how would you do things differently?

Verónica: I would edit more before hitting publish. 

Keri: Where is Verónica going in the future?

Verónica: I want to complete the series in Spanish. I am waiting for the books to be discovered by the people who could increase my exposure to the right audience. 

I am blogging in Spanish to create a community interested in writing for healing.

I also keep my English social profiles updated with articles about wellbeing, microbiome, neurology and epigenetics. 

I have a blog in English (this one!) on which I write occasionally, kind of 'on demand.' 

There is a secret Facebook group for anyone interested on "Heal by Writing" for English and Spanish speakers. It will evolve depending on the audience as well. Let me know in the comments if you are interested. 

In closing, I have learned that I cannot just throw messages into the noisy CyberSpace. I need to find my tribe. 

Thank you.

Self Publishing? Beware of your EGO!

Are you looking for ways to publish your own book? 

It's been over a month since I did an internet search on How To Publish a Book. I sent applications to all the publishing companies that offered an easy to fill form and requested either a few chapters or the whole manuscript. 

Everything was ready for a Writer's Competition, so after not being selected for the long list, I decided is was time to move in a different direction. I had heard of self publishing but wasn't sure of what it entitled. The result? After submitting the forms I went on to read articles about the topic of self publishing. 

What I learned from articles about Self Publishing

• There are many companies offering services to help new authors publish their book
• Some companies belong to large traditional publishers and specialise on self publishing
• Smaller companies have been created by authors who self published themselves 
• There are options for all budgets and needs
• You can publish for FREE on Amazon and get 70% in revenues
• It is not easy to design a book cover
• It is very difficult to design a printed book
• Marketing your book is a big issue for authors
• Indie Authors don't rely on any publisher to put their written work out there

Beware of your Ego

You probably worked very hard to get to the final version of your current manuscript. Of course, you'd like to see it reaching as many potential readers as possible. It might be tempting to sign a contract and contribute towards production costs, especially if you're not a known author.

Beware! There seem to be thousands of potential authors and new authors wanting to do exactly the same thing. Competition is fierce, otherwise there wouldn't be so many companies offering to help you self publish your book. Of course you want to give your baby creation the best possible chance for success, just make sure it's not your ego making all the decisions. 

Take Your Time

Don't make any decisions based on how the publisher approaches your manuscript. Let's face it: it it's really THAT good, they wouldn't ask for a contribution from you, since they'd know for sure it would be a selling success. 

I understand you must invest if you want to get a return, but how about your time? It takes hours of your day to write and polish your ideas. It will take time to work together with any editor, marketer, graphic designer and public relations team to reach the level of success you want to achieve as an author. 

Your Turn

Are you an aspiring author? Do you have experience with contracting the services of a publisher yourself? 

I'd love to hear your input on this matter. Let me know in the comments. 

Cheers,

Veronica 

From Blogger to Indie Author.

A bit of background

After blogging for 3 years about Social Media marketing, I decided to stop this past May. Since then, I started putting my thoughts in writing and discovered how cathartic it can be. It helps me organise my ideas and get in touch with my feelings.

I ended up using fantasy and wrote a novel, based on my own experiences. So you can call it an autobiographic novel.

Why a Novel?

The great thing about novels is that they are by definition, fictitious.

Getting in touch with your inner self and the possibility of using writing as a tool for visualisation is a powerful combination.

Once you discover what your fears are, you can write a positive outcome.

That person you find a bit harsh? You can soften it in your novel.

Writing can be cathartic.

Writing can also help you realise how far you've come. You can write down all the good things that have happened to you, even just what you're grateful for today. Then, read it.

Writing Clara Thinks To Us took me back in time, to better days that I chose to revisit. I could sweeten certain facts that I had perceived as not so happy. I personally found it very therapeutic. Like a visit to a counsellor.

A Long-term process. 

During the weeks that I wrote, there were times when I turned to my online connections for feedback. I found some beta readers who made very useful observations. Most importantly, they kept me going. Some of them were people I didn't expect would be interested in reading my draft. But they did and they were 'hooked'.

This is something that you can only do when you are working on a long-term project. If you write blog articles, they have to be published quickly, there's no time to mature the ideas as much as there is when you don't have a, say, weekly deadline.

I'd love to hear from you.

Do you blog? Do you write? I would love to connect with you and hear your story. Let me know in the comments below. You can visit my full profile from the bio on the right and check my social profiles, there might be something that interests you.

Clara Thinks To Us

I have published an electronic version of my novel on Amazon. It was an amazing feeling, very fulfilling. I am officially an Indie Author. I know my writing is not perfect and my book might never become a best seller, but it has already touched the life of a few people who are part of mine.

That is my reward. Thank you to all my beta readers, to the ones who have written a review, to those who are happy for me and to YOU for reading this article.

Happy writing,

Veronica