Publishing Adventures
Enjoy Your Adventures in Publishing . . . It’s vital to your success!
As an author, you may have experienced both lows and highs if you have managed to publish a book series! It's a true accomplishment, regardless of whether you planned it or not. But while you were promised great things would emerge at this point in your writing career, you are facing more than a few challenges. Allow me to tell you about issues I have confronted during the publication of The Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian mysteries, published to-date by Artemesia Publishing LLC…
ELEMENTAL CONSISTENCY
One of the first issues I faced was avoiding the possibility of copyright violation in my use of the aphorisms (quotes) that I use to open each chapter. The easiest way to do that is select quotes from writers who have been deceased for a very long time. In the first book, Prospect for Murder, I did use a quote from a friend for a funeral scene; in that case I was careful to have her sign a release that I gave to my publisher. Another concern was avoiding repetition of the same quotes in either the same book or a subsequent one. During pre-publication review of Murder on Mokulua Drive, I discovered I’d reused a quote from Prospect for Murder. My records of aphorisms now indicate when and where a quote is used. Another discovery I made occurred when it was too late to correct…I had changed the color of a primary character's truck. I have since created an expanding document listing aspects of the series as well as individual characters, their work, their home, and even their pets.
CHARACTERS AND LOCALES
~ Initially, I had a male protagonist. Whoops…my writers’ salon found that “voice” more appropriate to a woman.
~ Names, their spellings, descriptions, and pronunciation must all be checked. Imagine my chagrin in realizing I’d changed a name’s pronunciation mid-way through recording PFM’s audio edition!
~ While my protagonist thinks in whole words, she speaks with contractions. I now begin each book by reviewing my chart of persons, places, and their characteristics.
PLURALITY
Promotional text highlighting aspects of a single book must encompass each title in a series. Having multiple titles often means having different editions. For PFM, I had hardcover, softcover, eBook, and physical and a digital audio edition. MOMD and Murders of Conveyance were available in hardcover, softcover, and eBook editions; I had to remember to omit audio references (like “Audible.com”) when describing books after PFM. Sadly, the fourth book, Yen for Murder is not available in hardcover...merely softcover and eBook.
PRINTING CHALLENGES
As a series develops, let alone a change in publisher, there may be a need to shift printers, or even if the printing company is the same, the paper, ink, printing equipment and/or process may change. And that does not take temperature or humidity into consideration. The bottom line is that although I chose to have the covers of the books feature the same gold frame based on Hawaiian heirloom jewelry, and the artwork created by the same talented Artist (California’s Yasamine June), there has been some variation in the layout of text, and coloration between Yasamine’s original work and the final printings. And then there’s the matter of using the images on the internet…but we won’t go there except to say that one should try to make sure images are saved as a RGB color model.
PRESENTING YOURSELF
If you have a publisher or literary agent, they may have guidelines for presenting yourself personally, online, and in traditional and social media. If you’ve never been in the public eye, you may be grateful for their suggestions about wardrobe, hair, accessories, and makeup [yes, men sometimes require makeup].
PRESENTING YOUR WORK
I should warn you that when you reach the point of making public appearances and giving readings (live or recorded), you will definitely find flaws in your work. There’s simply no way to avoid it. Years after doing oral history interviews in Hawai`i, I realized that both my interviewee and I had mispronounced an Hawaiian word…that’s when a Mea Culpa disclaimer is necessary!
Well, having described the challenges of the publishing and presenting process, I will still maintain that it is all worth your effort, and the cost. For if you are fortunate enough to have your work published, you deserve to enjoy your work…and the joy it will bring your readers and listeners!
Aloha to you in your work as a creative professional, Jeanne
