First Publication… First Time Reflections…

Posted on by kaisywmills

FullSizeRender

James and I learned quite a few things while publishing and marketing our first collection of stories:

1. Have a handful of reviews available for readers the day of release – James and I had no idea that we needed a few reviews for readers the day of release!  What a great lesson!  Creating a fan base will hopefully remedy this for future publications.

2. Schedule the cover art in a timely fashion – James and I have the perfect artist!  I wish we found her sooner!

3. Don’t go to the eye doctor the day of your release date – Ha!  Ha!  James and I did not have a “set in stone” release date.  We received the cover art and decided to publish the electronic version of the anthology immediately.  This was not a problem until I realized I had a follow up eye doctor appointment.  Oops!  James was on his own for a few hours while my eye readjusted from dilation!  You know, that horrible feeling of blurred vision and a small amount of burning… I couldn’t read a damn word for a nice two to three hours!

4. And, of course, take your time – Even though James and I really wanted this first publication out earlier, we are glad we are waited through the continuous brainstorming, editing, beta reading (this really helps – thanks to all of our betas), and revising, and rewriting.  If we released the first version… oh my!  Yikes!  🙂  There are still little things we would like to change, but…

…you gotta start somewhere!

Check it out!  The Dystopian Nation of City-State: An Anthology is available via Kindle and the Kindle app for only $1.99.  Search “The Dystopian Nation of City-State” on amazon.com.  The hard copy text is coming soon.  AND… individual short stories are coming soon for only $.49!

***Kindle Unlimited members read for free!  🙂

James and I would love to hear from you!

40 thoughts on “First Publication… First Time Reflections…”

  2. I’ve been sitting on a couple of short collections that I am pushing through the pipeline of self publication, and I agree with just about everything here. I’ve read a good deal on various blogs and Reddit about taking your time with publication and not getting too excited about it, but that first jump from an unknown to having something published isn’t talked about much, so thanks for the post.

    Like

    Reply

  7. Thanks for the follow and the tips. As you will have seen from my blog, I am writing my first novel and decided to blog about the hurdles and issues I have whilst writing it.

    I will be following your blog from now on.

    Like

    Reply

  8. Yeah it definitely is. The biggest problem seems to be getting the initial idea, be it for the book as a whole or a chapter, on to paper and into words that other people will understand. I will need to send you my work for “grading” 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Hello and congratulations on the publication. I guess its best to learn from other’s mistakes, eh? So, I am saving this for when I am ready to publish my first. This is overwhelming. No experience!! Right now I am just putting the material together. I will cross that bridge when I get to it and ask for help! 🙂 Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you found something that blessed you. I will be sharing more soon on hearing the voice of God. You also keep up this great work! 🙂 have a great day!

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the comment! You are sweet!

      Yes, the biggest hurdle is just to get the first piece out there. Again, just take you time… we have been waiting patiently for the hard copy of our anthology to come out, and it will be done next week. However, I wanted it done A MONTH AGO! 🙂

      But… patience has paid off, and the anthology looks a lot better than the first proof.

      Have a wonderful day! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. Of course! We published on Create Space via Amazon, so that is the extent of our knowledge as of now. 🙂

        If you are getting close to publication, I suggest finding a cover artist ASAP. Artists will take their time with their pieces just like you take your time with your writing. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  16. I downloaded your book today, and I plan to read it over the next few days. Congrats on finishing it and sharing it with the world!

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much! If you want (of course you don’t have to), let us know what you think via a review. Like I said in my blog, positive an negative comments help writers grow.

      Lastly, our writings are short stories. If you purchased the anthology, and you are stuck on a story, move on to the next. You are never trapped in a collection! 🙂

      Thank you so much! Have a wonderful day! 🙂

      Like

      Reply

    1. No problem! Thanks for visiting City-State! 🙂 I would rather go to the dentist than the eye doctor… the dentist is quick! The eye doctor an all day event – especially with the dilation process! 🙂

      Like

      Reply

    1. Hello! James and I use KDP – Kindle direct publishing for all of our literature (right now). We are still learning the process, but we plan on expanding into other outlets later. We can only handle one thing at a time! 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  19. Pingback: Go like. | Live Love Laugh

Leave a comment