Perks
When I finished writing Bougainvillea Blues, I had already decided to self-publish, partly because I wasn't sure it was good enough to get a literary agent or a publisher and partly because I didn't want to give someone the opportunity to say "no." Also, I had been in a writing group and two had already used the self-publishing arm of Amazon, Createspace. Since then I've encountered other writers who used the service, which allows you to buy as many services as a book publisher provides or nothing, meaning the cover, interior design, and editing is all done by the author.
I chose to get a fairly inexpensive version of all three.
I had some idea of the work involved, but, as a friend whose daughter self-published said, it's almost as much work promoting the book as it was to write it.
But the major surprise as been the feedback. Some writers have told me how much they like the writing. One friend said he knew I could write, but had no idea how well until he finished reading the book. Some men said they could identify with Joey and his sexual trials. Some women said they had no idea how boys felt. A few said they cried while reading certain sections.
So far the most surprising response has come from someone I have not talked to in forty-nine years, my senior prom date. She wrote a 3-page handwritten letter. She called the book a page-turner, complimented me on how well I captured San
Diego in the 60s, and wondered how much of what Joey suffered was autobiographical. Then she went on to tell me about her life and family.
I'm not sure why I wrote this book though it started as a way to deal with the craziness and discomfort of my youth. Then it became a fun puzzle, figuring out how these fictional characters (with some connection to people I grew up with) would interact and how I could make them entertaining as they encountered disappointment, love, and death.
When I told my marketing guru friend that it took me about 20 years to complete, he asked if I could commit 10% of that time promoting it. Ten percent seemed like such a small amount of time, so I said I could and am now almost three months into the marketing campaign with only twenty-one to go.
Two book signings down, four set up over the next four months in Reno, La Canada, and Ramona, and many more to arrange. Maybe my next book will be about how to market a self-published book.
I chose to get a fairly inexpensive version of all three.
I had some idea of the work involved, but, as a friend whose daughter self-published said, it's almost as much work promoting the book as it was to write it.
But the major surprise as been the feedback. Some writers have told me how much they like the writing. One friend said he knew I could write, but had no idea how well until he finished reading the book. Some men said they could identify with Joey and his sexual trials. Some women said they had no idea how boys felt. A few said they cried while reading certain sections.
So far the most surprising response has come from someone I have not talked to in forty-nine years, my senior prom date. She wrote a 3-page handwritten letter. She called the book a page-turner, complimented me on how well I captured San
Diego in the 60s, and wondered how much of what Joey suffered was autobiographical. Then she went on to tell me about her life and family.
I'm not sure why I wrote this book though it started as a way to deal with the craziness and discomfort of my youth. Then it became a fun puzzle, figuring out how these fictional characters (with some connection to people I grew up with) would interact and how I could make them entertaining as they encountered disappointment, love, and death.
When I told my marketing guru friend that it took me about 20 years to complete, he asked if I could commit 10% of that time promoting it. Ten percent seemed like such a small amount of time, so I said I could and am now almost three months into the marketing campaign with only twenty-one to go.
Two book signings down, four set up over the next four months in Reno, La Canada, and Ramona, and many more to arrange. Maybe my next book will be about how to market a self-published book.
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