Where is Luce?! She’s working hard to launch her debut novel, DELICIOUS SURRENDER!
There is a good reason you haven’t heard from me in the last month. This self publishing pursuit has given me plenty of challenges to navigate – and I think it would be cool to share a bit of the adventure with you.
So you’ve heard me say I will launch in December, in time for Christmas and Chanukah! But, what will it take to get there…
- Developmental Editing Done by Kristen Corrects✅
- Review edits, tweak and return for round 2 and 3✅
- Register my LLC – Live Life Juicy Books✅
That stuff was pretty straightforward and I bumped along and got it done. When I created my to do list back in June, I thought I’d captured all the pieces of this giant puzzle. Not even close! How can you know what you don’t know?
Talk to experts, that’s how! Start with friends with countless fabulous contacts : Kimberley Clarke! Amazing authors who have been down this road : Allison Graham & Beth Gelman! Indie Publishers who have done this loads of times : Jeanne Martinson, my book coach!
Did you know that the person who designs the inside of the book is different from the outside of the book? Yup. Internal matter needs a skilled formatter : Christine Lee! Front cover, back cover, Kindle cover all get designed by a professional Cover Designer : Kari March!
What if you want something truly original? What if you have scoured the royalty free photo sites and the best pictures are already on lots of other books in your genre?
Then you think outside the box and open a conversation with a gorgeous, professional model. “So, what do you think about being on the cover of a juicy erotic romance?” I don’t want to say too much right now and jinx things. I promise to let you know if this wild idea comes to fruition.
More tasks showed up on the list:
- Hire experts to navigate Social Media!✅ Hurray for Sweet Honey Marketing!
- Source a Contract for Image Rights ✅ Thanks Google and Creators Legal!
- Buy a DocuSign license and fiddle with it for half a day✅
- Purchase a Package of ISBNs ✅
Did you know that each and every format of a book needs its own ISBN (the 13-digit International Standard Book Number)? You do now. Digital, paperback, hard cover, audio, special editions etc.
I almost forgot to mention the critical vendors that will get the book into a buyers hands!!
- Open account at Kindle Direct Publishing✅
- Sign up at Ingram Spark so it’s stocked at Barnes & Noble, Target & more ✅
As I sipped my coffee this morning, I contemplated all the things that never occurred to me when I started jotting down the story of a feisty gal with juicy dreams and a hard-edged entrepreneur with trust issues. Things like cover color schemes, fonts, paper weight, chapter styles, binding…the blurb, the bio, the BLOG, oh my!
You know there’s more, but I don’t have time to lay on this couch and ruminate. I need to finish this blog and get on Instagram!
For more on Delicious Surrender and how to Live Life Juicy, follow me @lucesutherlandwrites. And if you like this blog, please share it with your friends!
xo
Luce