u/Foreign_Client2019

Hi everyone,

So I just self published my first book. I absolutely loved the whole process of writing it. I even enjoyed editing, formatting, making the cover, which involved learning about punctuation, how to use all these interesting functions in Word, and image editing. While hard, it was all fun.

Now the book is published. Full steam ahead. I made a bunch of social media posts, posted on some larger Facebook groups I’m in (I think about 7 people who I don’t know personally bought the book). Sold just over 20 to friends and family. I did a friend’s podcast and talked about the book. I’ve been looking into book readings, authors festivals, reaching out to other podcasts..

Even just writing this feels utterly exhausting. I already have a full time job. I wrote and published the book because I honestly love the book and enjoyed every process. Marketing is deferent. I don’t want to just continue bother friends in my circle on social media, the whole thing makes me emotionally tired. Talking about my book on a podcast for an hour felt like running a marathon.

That was my general rant. Here is my question:

Does anybody enjoy marketing their work? Is there a fun side to this that I am missing? If I can find something enjoyable about it, I think I make a real go out of it. And if I can’t, I’ll just continue working on the second book, which I do enjoy lol 😂 😭 🤓 📕

I’m a third generation American and am feeling a bit cynical about our culture. It seems that worshipping fame and money is the cornerstone of our culture if we have one. Or maybe because the USA is so huge we just have tons of little unconnected cultures. Thoughts?

Hi all!

What are the typical page margins for a 6" by 9" page? I know that it needs to account for the fold of the book. Thanks!

Hi! So I am currently in the final stage of having my book formatted for self publishing, the cover is finished, and am circling back to the idea of trying to get it published by an indie publisher. Something I have been seeing on submission pages is that having the manuscript assessed is favorable for publishers.

Can anybody speak on manuscript assessment? Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

P.S. trying to "sell/pitch" my book, and trying to convince people that it is "good" feels pretty strange (it's my first book) but I guess I'll have to get used to it.

Hi all,

So I have been working with an editor I found of Freelancer. She did a great job at editing my book, finding typos and fixing punctuation. Now that she is trying to format it for KDP, it just isn't going well. She has been trying for months (radio silence for a few of those months) and now sent me a final version that still isn't right; * * * chapter breaks are all uneven, a few black and white pictures for the end of the book are all stretched out, and she typo'ed the title. While I appreciate her time, I feel that I need to move on and find somebody who can help me now.

I have the cover made and all content in the book is finished. I would like to find a formatter to finish this project up with me. Will pay what is reasonable for the job. Please reach out if interested. Thank you.