Notes on my self-publishing journey

And the many ups and downs that were involved along the way...

Hello lovely,

I’ve wanted to write this post for a while, but haven’t up until now because I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to take it in.

Disclaimer: This is not a guide to self-publishing, it’s more of my personal recollection and experience. If you do want a guide, check out the lovely

sonja ringo

’s post on ‘how to self-publish a poetry collection’. If you’re an aspiring poet or author, this is the absolute bible! I only wish it was around when I began my self-publishing journey. This guide is pure gold. Thank you Sonja for the inspiration to finally get this post out of my mind and into the ether.

My self-publishing journey was both messy and beautiful, and one I wouldn’t change. It’s taught me a lot about myself and my perseverance along the way.

My journey began back in 2021, after I decided to start posting my little poems on Instagram in the February. Bear in mind that publishing a book was never a huge burning dream of mine, but a more quiet one. One that I thought, ‘hey, it would be cool to publish a book of some sort one day’.

I don’t recall the exact date that I began work on my first collection, Magic & Musings of the Universe: Explore. But what I do know is that I had gone from dabbling in poetry to self-publishing my first book in just six months.

Now I don’t say that to impress you, but more so to show how much that small dream took hold of me so quickly and how I knew in my heart that I’d finally stepped onto the path I was always meant to. The path I felt that was leading me home.

Those first probably 4-6 months were full of trial and error, some tears, and a lot of hard work. In the past, I had seen adverts floating around the internet about Amazon KDP, a place that offered you full creative freedom to self-publish your very own book.

I had a look into it, along with a couple of other self-publishing services, but Amazon stuck out most for me because it didn’t require you to pay any upfront fees, and offered a print-on-demand service, which meant I didn’t have to buy 100s of copies of my books to then sell them on myself.

Looking back now and looking with an outside perspective, publishing my first book involved a lot of back and forth, and a lot of fumbling not really knowing what I was doing. Yes, I was winging it back then and still am today!

My first collection now feels a little less put together as I would’ve liked, and I have thought about potentially updating it, but then it wouldn’t be reflective of that entire journey I went on.

I watched YouTube videos on how to create the cover, which I then created using Canva and one of their premade book templates. I loved the idea of doing everything myself and having that full creative control. Which is why a lot of poets and authors are now turning to self-publishing in order to get their words into the world instead of going down the traditional publishing route.

I really liked the idea of having a simple cover and so, she was born.

I’d also like to thank the lovely

Kirstie - If In Doubt Create

for her invaluable help when I began my journey. I found Kirstie through a post on Pinterest and ended up asking her so many questions about her own experience with self-publishing and I am grateful for her advice and kindness.

In terms of the interior manuscript for Explore, I laid it out on a Word Document and had my wonderful Mum and now husband on hand as my editors to check grammar, and to make sure everything flowed nicely.

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When it came to publishing my second book Magic & Musings of the Universe: Love, in February 2023, I went straight onto Canva to create both my cover and manuscript, as I quickly found that designing the manuscript through there was a much smoother process than using Word. Again, trial and error my friends!

Something I have a love-hate relationship with in regards to the manuscript section is deciding which poems to include. It can be both a beautiful and heart-wrenching process, because some simply won’t make the cut for that particular book and you have to be a little cutthroat at times. However, after sitting on the floor surrounded by printouts of poems, eventually the collection starts to come to life.

I found that whilst this collection still presented challenges of its own, I was much more thoughtful with how I curated it and the themes I wanted to cover throughout.

Jumping to my most recent book published in April of this year, Breakfast on the Terrace & Wine by the Sea, I found the process of creating it an absolute labour of love, or should I say, as I mention in the book ‘perhaps labour is the wrong word, because every time I’ve worked on this book it has filled my soul with so much joy and contentment.’

The most challenging part of this collaborative coffee table poetry collection was choosing which of the stunning photos to include! There were so many and I loved them all. This took the cutthroat part to a whole new level!

I am beyond grateful to have had such a talented team of photographers for this collection and loved being able to showcase their work alongside my words. This was hands down my favourite book to create simply because of the passion I had for this idea - of words and photos coming together to tell a beautiful story.

So, what’s coming next?

Currently, I’m working on the next collaborative coffee table poetry book in the series which is Autumn-themed.

Prepare for a book full of cosy words and photos to get lost in on those crisp Autumn days.

Here’s the exciting part! I have recently finalised the photography team for this next book and will be going through their photos over the coming weeks to decide which to include - yikes, I think I need a coffee... or a wine!

The challenge I’m currently facing however, is finishing the collection of poems! I am very much a seasonal writer (and avid summer lover), so trying to write about Autumn at this moment in time is proving a little trickier than I’d thought, especially since I’m trying to soak up all of summer’s goodness! But fear not autumn lovers… She will be available to hold in your hands and snuggle up with in the next few months!

They’ll be more updates soon, so if your heart resides amongst the crisp, golden and auburn leaves, subscribe so you don’t miss a thing!

I announce everything on Substack first, so you’ll get all the exclusive news before it’s available anywhere else!

If you have any questions about my journey, or about your own journey to self-publishing, let me know in the comments below! I’d love to help you get your words in front of the souls who need them.

Check out my books using the links above, you never know which might call to your soul.

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