SELF-PUBLISHING 101 - STAGE ONE

MY EFFORTS TO document my journey into self-publishing step-by-step have been hampered by everyday events. As much as I’ve tried to document everything, it’s been impossible because I find that time is passing by so quickly—so much to do, so little time. I’m behind in my reading in school (ditched a couple of classes--horrors!), I have about two assignments I haven’t done, my house is a mess, and I’m inundated at work.

04.28.06 – I APPLIED FOR the Copyright and ISBN on line. The fees were $30.00, less than Morris Publishing charges.

06.24.06 – I MAILED OFF the application for the copyright application, along with a draft, bounded copy of the manuscript to the Library of Congress. The fee was $30.00.

06.26.06 – I SUBMITTED THE manuscript to Morris Publishing—WOO-HOO! Thanks to my favorite cousin and all-around great guy, Luis, who has the Adobe Writer software on his computer, I was able to use the company’s instructions on how to create a PDF file, and send the file electronically (the wonders of the computer age) before sending the hard copy. For this, Luis gets a free copy of the book (this is the only free copy I’m giving out; everybody else is going to have to pay this time around).

SINCE I COULDN’T understand the on-line application process regarding the UPC bar code, I’m having Morris apply for me ($20.00).

07.03.06 – TODAY, I RECEIVED the cover proof of my book (the one above is the preliminary one I did on my own) and the page proofs via FedEx. I had received an e-mail message telling me that the package had been sent on 6/30/06 so I thought I was going to miss the FedEx guy, but instead of leaving a note telling me he would return, he stuffed it (literally) into my mailbox; I could hardly get it out. The manuscript wasn’t damaged and I should’ve been miffed, but I was just glad I wouldn’t have to wait an additional day.

I FOUND THREE minor errors, which I should have caught before submitting the book, considering how many times I looked at the manuscript. But nevertheless, I have a chance to correct them before the book is actually printed. There is a fee of $1.00 per page, which isn’t bad. I have to return the proofs in three days.

ALL IN ALL, I’m very pleased with the cover, considering that even with a traditional publisher you have no say-so in the cover design. Although the cover is a “stock” design, it looks good with my title on it, and I feel like I had “choice” in the cover. The only error was that they didn’t italicize Boricua Morena. I showed it off to some of my family members at our 4th of July barbeque and they liked it, for the most part. Ordinarily, a major publisher will ask you not to show the cover to anyone because they’re afraid someone may “steal” the concept. It’s quite possible that someone may use the same cover for their book, but that’s the chance you take when you use a stock cover. I’m still excited.

07.06.07 – I SENT THE cover and page proofs back to Morris via UPS Next Day. I didn’t ask for a second proof because if I do, I know I will find more errors and at this point, it just isn’t that serious. If I decide to publish it with a small press later on, they can edit it then.


IN OTHER NEWS, I heard from the NY agent and I thought we had an appointment for a phone conference last Friday (06/30/06), but we didn’t connect. She’s interested in why the book didn’t sell the first time, but she said she’s had stuff that wasn’t accepted so this isn’t a problem. Wait ‘til I tell her that this is actually the second time it didn’t sell and that this is a ten-year odyssey.