The Pitfalls and Potentials of Self-publishing
Do you know the expression of being over your head? Well, that is how I felt through most of my first foray into self-publishing. And whose fault was that? Admittedly, mine.
When I first contemplated the idea of writing a book, I thought it would be easy. Just select the most appealing essays and most delicious recipes from my tartetatintales blog, add an attractive cover plus plenty of attractive photos. And, Voilà! A book.
However, now that the book Tarte Tatin Tales has been published and I can reflect on the almost three-year process, I am horrified with my somewhat cavalier approach. But allow me to set the stage and forgo any further self-flagellation.
I knew from the get-go that publishing through tradition methods would be out of the question. No literary agent was going to pick up the memoire/cookbook of an unknown author. The only other option was self-publishing. However, navigating this world turned out to be much harder than expected. As a novice, invariably mistakes were made. However, with the positive reaction to the book so far, I can console myself with knowing that should I ever produce another book, the process will be considerably easier.
For today’s post, I thought some of you might benefit from a few “lessons learned.” After all, we all have a book in us, as the expression goes. Maybe your turn is next?
The genesis of the book
Several Christmases ago, my nephew Tony Boss and his family visited my late husband and me in Manhattan. Tony loves to cook as much as I do, one of our shared family traits. He asked me to send him ten of my favorite recipes to reproduce back home in his Florida kitchen. It occurred to me that these recipes already existed on my blog. Then, a light bulb went off in my head. What if I pulled together preexisting material from my blog and produced a book? It would be a lovely keepsake for my family and friends. Considering my friends are my best means for crowd-sourcing quotes, choice of topics, and even periodic help with editing, they might get a kick out of seeing their names in print. The book idea was launched.
Asking recommendations of self-publishing firms
Several of my friends, who had self-published their books, including Susan Sokol Blosser and Michaela Rodeno, gave me recommendations. After some cursory research, I landed on BookBaby to help with my first book. They offered a full range of services and publishing experts who promised to take me from writer to author. It never occurred to me how difficult the learning curve would be—especially for someone not particularly tech savvy—nor how many steps would be involved. Let’s not even mention the financial commitment which turned out to be considerable as well.
Step one: Preparing the manuscript
While I knew my book would never be a best-seller, nor was my motivation ever to make money on the project, it still needed to be professionally produced. At a minimum, the book had to be intelligently conceived, well written and beautifully designed. Call it self-pride. Yes, my expectations were grand but genuine. However, even before I could start a dialog with a Bookbaby, a manuscript needed to be produced. That turned out to be the easiest part, much to my naïve surprise.
Sending the recipes out for a test drive
Essays and recipes were chosen and loosely put into a book format. I asked Jan Hazard—who had been the food editor of Ladies Home Journal for years—to review the recipes. Jan took her job seriously and meticulously corrected my mistakes as an amateur recipe developer. Under her scrutiny, the directions were formatted correctly and made easy to follow.
Starting the self-publishing process
With the contents of the book assembled, I made the first call to BookBaby. Despite my initial brio about becoming an author, I was intimidated. Why? Because like many women my age, I suffer from the “imposter syndrome.” You know the one where you question whether you possess enough intelligence, creativity, and talent to do anything substantial, such as writing a book.
Nevertheless, I forged ahead and ended up having a productive conversation with a chatty sales representative who enthusiastically walked me through the steps of publishing. He later assigned me to George (not his real name!) as my project manager. I immediately took a dislike to George and he to me. This rough start did not bode well.
Red flag alert!
While the process initially appeared straight forward, everything had to be submitted electronically. I found Bookbaby’s site frustratingly challenging to maneuver and resented having to call George each time for instructions. It was a clash of generations. George preferred to communicate online whereas I was more comfortable with speaking on the phone.
George’s condescending attitude and poor people skills created such anxiety that I put off the book venture for six months. Eventually, I gave myself a pep talk and relaunched the project. Before I knew it, I had signed a contract and paid $2,290 for Bookbaby’s Deluxe publishing package. This was the soup to nuts version which included editing, design, production, some online marketing, as well as the all-important book distribution.
Project on hold: Poor photo resolution
With a downpayment made, I was ready to start. George walked me through how to send the book’s text and photos via Dropbox. Done. Easy enough. But a week later, I received a very upsetting phone call. As George explained it in his surly, monotone voice, “Sorry, Marsha, but the resolution of your photographs is inadequate. You need a higher DPI (dots per inch) for your photos to be printed properly. I suggest retaking everything using a better camera or iPhone.” Everything?
Given my book was heavy with photography, this news was devastating. Without the photos there would be no book.
Out of desperation, I walked to the Apple store for advice. I was almost to the point of purchasing a new iPhone when the Apple Genius casually suggested that perhaps the photos could be enhanced electronically. Immediately, I thought of Cici Williamson who produced a newsletter for Les Dames d’Escoffier. She’d know what to do.
Cici immediately put my mind at ease. “No sweat, Marsha, just send me the photos. I’ll change their DPI and, if needed, also enhance their color using Photoshop. I’ll have them back to you in no time.” Cici had saved the day!
The dangers of bad editing
Once the new, enhanced photos were inserted into my manuscript and resent to Bookbaby, I let out a sign of relief. I steeled myself for a conversation with George to find out the next step. “Now we start the first stage of editing.” This task was done quickly and sent back to me for review. When I questioned some of the edits and asked to speak to the person making the corrections, George responded matter-of-factly that would be impossible. Everything had to go through him.
If that were not bad enough, Jan’s carefully reviewed recipes had been mangled by Bookbaby’s editor. You may not be aware, but recipes are written following very precise guidelines of formatting and style. My editor didn’t know even the basics, such as how to present numbers. Revision #1 was unacceptable as was Revision #2!
Furthermore, my working relationship with George was rapidly deteriorating to the point where my friends were lamenting my constant complaining. It was time for change.
Switching gears: Hiring my own book editor
First, I requested that George be taken off the project. Angie (another invented name) became my go-to. She was charming, patient, and most accommodating. However, I had completely lost confidence in Bookbaby’s editing service. To protect the integrity of the book, my best path was to find an outside editor. This way, a dialogue would be possible, something which I felt essential to the creative process of producing a book.
As many of my friends are cookbook authors, they provided a list of excellent potential editors. In no time, I found the perfect person for the project: Deri Reed, a whipper-smart, dry-witted, no-nonsense professional with an obsession with grammar. She doggedly went through the essays and recipes with precision, artistic sensitivity, and a good dose of constructive feedback. We were back in action!
Refocusing the book
Deri also made intelligent recommendations on how to restructure the book so that the essays made thematic sense. Next, we worked closely together to make sure her edits were what I wanted as the author. The editing process was time-intensive but worth the effort. Her advice and multiple corrections put the book on a different level. It went from being marginally amateurish to respectfully professional. This gratifying, collaborative experience allowed me to be proud of what I (we?) would soon publish.
Dealing with the technical issues of book formatting
Putting a book together is not for the faint at heart. In the midst of all this, I had also undertaken the task of co-chairing a major international conference for Les Dames d’Escoffier (an organization for top professional women in the food, wine and hospitality business.) This eventually consumed almost all my attention. No longer did I have the luxury of extra free time to learn the intricacies of publishing. Out of desperation, I asked Deri to take the lead. Not only did she have the technical expertise to untangle the mess, but she was sincerely committed to making sure Bookbaby delivered a quality product. While it was an unanticipated added expense, without her intervention my book would still be up in the ether!
Cookbook design: My forté
Many aspects of producing the book remain a mystery to me. However, as a visually oriented person, the book’s design was one area where I could easily and quickly excel. To get started, I scoured my cookbook collection to ferret out the ones with greatest visual appeal. From there I gave Deri my preference for layout, color, and typeface. My vision for the book’s “look” was that it be clean, modern, and playful. Deri communicated this to Bookbaby’s designer who, surprisingly, hit the nail on the head on the first try. Except for the book’s cover which was problematic, the interior design was stunning.
One shot at a first impression
Given many people buy a book by its cover, it was critical that Tarte Tatin Tales be visually attractive. After several attempts incorporating different photos, we settled on the one originally used for my blog: a scrumptious closeup of a slice of tarte tatin taken with my old iPhone several years ago while dining at Buvette, Jody Williams’ Paris outpost.
However, our designer struggled with the background colors for the book’s title. The green he/she chose looked like overcooked asparagus and the brown like the inside of a baby’s diaper. Back it went until the brown resembled deep, rich caramel and the green, a more appetizing shade of spring fava beans. Now, we were off to the races. Well, almost.
The modern way of book distribution
Luckily, Bookbaby handled the book’s physical printing and online distribution which electronically went to the world’s largest bookstores. To do this they used a system called “Print on Demand.” This is a relatively new printing technology which allows for books to be printed once orders are received. This is a cost-efficient way to get your book directly to readers without worrying about unnecessary print runs, inventory storage, or shipping.
Commitment of advertising and promotion
Experts recommend that you determine early on whether or not your writing a book will be a serious business venture. If so, this will guide your approach to the process. Specifically, this means a serious commitment of time and money to promote your book. To be honest, making a profit was never my intension. My book was conceived as means to capture stories and recipes which I hoped might captivate the interest of a small, targeted audience of family and friends. However, if it also appealed to other readers outside my immediate world, that would certainly be welcomed although definitely a secondary benefit.
So, there will be no media tour, personal website, or advertising support to promote my book. Whatever happens will be organic. There may be a few press releases sent out and perhaps a book signing or two in the neighborhood. A panel discussion on the ins and outs of self-publishing is also on the back burner. Naturally, a quantity of books is being given to family and friends with the proviso that an on-line review would certainly be appreciated. My feeble attempt at a social media presence! But that is about the extent of my book promotion.
Self-publishing: No longer just a vanity project
Whether or not there will ever be a second book in me, is up for grabs. However, in hindsight, I must admit that diving into self-publishing taught me a great deal. For one thing, I never realized how many people use this method to get their book out to the public. In fact, if handled properly, it can be a profitable business. For example, sales of self-published books rose 264% in the past five years and now represents $1.25 billion in revenue according to WordsRated, a non-commercial data gathering organization.
While the release of my book will probably not move the needle that much in total book sales, that does not diminish how proud I am having completed the project and survived its many pitfalls. And, if you are seriously tempted to publish your own book someday, then you, too, can experience the electrifying thrill of seeing your book’s title up on Amazon and Barnes and Nobel’s websites.
Finally, here are several other self-publishing firms to consider if and when you are bitten by the book-writing bug: Amazon; Author2Market.com; and IngramSpark. Good luck!
Hot off the press: One of my loyal followers suggested that I republish how to purchase my book.
Click here to order your copy! If Amazaon responds that the book is “temporarily out of print,” welcome to the world of POD. They will eventually send you a book! Promise.