Don’t Call Me Kit-Kat – Page 3

Self-publishing Timeline

March 18, 2015March 17, 2015 K. J. Farnham

Are you a new author with a completed manuscript and you’re not sure what to do next?

That was me last spring after I’d completed my first novel.

My solution was to ask my developmental editor, Leah Campbell, for advice. Leah is a published author, so she was able to fill me in on what I needed to do.

Create a cover, or hire a cover designer.
Hire a line editor.
Read through my book. Again. For the 80 billionth time.
Figure out which print-on-demand service I wanted to use. (She suggested CreateSpace.)
Format my book for paperback publication.
Format my book for e-publication. (Or hire someone to do it.)

So I did everything she suggested, and shortly after uploading my book to CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing, voila. My book became a best seller within a few weeks.

Just kidding.

In reality, it took about four months to complete all of the above, and my work was still far from complete. Plus, I hadn’t even gotten to the most difficult aspect of self-publishing: marketing.

Slowly but surely, I learned new promotion strategies and came to realize that marketing a book is an ongoing job. I also realized something crucial. Marketing should begin months prior to publication. In light of this fact, I’ve done a lot more in preparation for my upcoming novel.

My Self-Publishing Timeline for Don’t Call Me Kit Kat

Summer 2014

Completed an outline of chapters and a descriptive list of characters.
Booked Okay Creations to design the cover in February.

*I booked the cover designer extra-early to take advantage of a promotion she was running. Otherwise, I would have waited until November/December to make the appointment.

September 2014

Started writing the first draft.

November 2014

Set up my website/blog. (This should have been done much sooner!)
Sent the first 30 percent to Leah.

December 2014

First blog post about Don’t Call Me Kit Kat.
Re-named the book. (It was originally The Me I See, but people thought it sounded too self-helpish.)

January 2014

Added a Don’t Call Me Kit Kat page to my website.
Sent the completed first draft to Leah.

February 2014

Revisions, revisions, revisions.
Blurb was written.
Set up my author Facebook page. (Up until then, I only had a page for CDR.)
Cover design began.
Found beta readers.

March 2014

Sent revisions to Leah.
Added book to Goodreads.
Scheduled cover reveal.
Sent book to beta readers.
Cover completed.
Find ARC reviewers.

April 2014

Cover reveal.
Post cover to all of my social media sites.
Set up ARC giveaway on Goodreads.
Set up a book blitz and review query through Xpresso Book Tours.
Make changes based on beta reader feedback.
Upload final draft to CreateSpace.
Order ARCs and get them out to reviewers.
Schedule a Facebook party for release day, and collect giveaway items.

May 2014

Make any final changes.
Format for KDP upload.
Upload to KDP.
May 15 – Release Day!

Post Publication

Continue to market, market, market! (Specifics to follow in another post.)

For more information about preparing a book for publication, check out the following posts from Jo Michaels and Cynthia over at Goodreads. Jo is extremely knowledgeable about self-publishing, so I also recommend that you subscribe to her blog if you’re a new author.

Marketing Plans

How to: Make Sure the Timing Is Right

Personal Tidbits, Self Publishing

My Goals for 2015

January 7, 2015February 22, 2016 K. J. Farnham

My one and only goal in 2014 was to finish Click Date Repeat. Now that that’s done—phew!—it’s time to really get to work. This year, my aspirations are much higher. I honestly don’t know how many of these goals I can accomplish, but the first step to meeting any goal is committing to it, right?? Plus, I’m the kind of person who likes to cross things off of lists, so I’m hopeful that putting my goals for 2015 in writing will keep me on task.

Goal #1 – Finish and Publish Don’t Call Me Kit Kat

I started this book in June of 2014 while Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations was designing the cover for Click Date Repeat. (One of the many things I learned about self-publishing: A cover designer must be booked anywhere from several weeks to months before you wish to publish.) However, I realized within weeks that three kids during summer vacation = zero productivity. So when I say I “started” this book, what that really means is I began planning it in my head. By the time September rolled around, I was able to draft an outline. The first third has been through a developmental edit, and I am now two-thirds of the way done. Now that the holidays are over and things are slowly returning to “normal” around my house, I expect to send the entire manuscript off for another round of developmental editing by the end of January.

Goal #2 – Stop Obsessing Over Click Date Repeat

The day after Click Date Repeat went live on Amazon, I did what most self-published authors probably do. I checked first thing in the morning to see if any copies had sold. Then I checked again a couple of hours later. Then again. And again. What’s worse is that I have continued to check at least once a day, every day. There have been times when I was ecstatic at the sight of blue and/or red lines indicating sales/borrows and others when I was devastated to see nothing. This obsession has to stop! So here’s my goal: I will only check sales once a week, on Mondays. Probably still a bit obsessive, but hey, it’s an improvement.

*The only exception is if I am running an ad or promotion and I need to check for effectiveness.

Goal #3 – Finish the First Draft of Click Date Repeat 2

This is another book that I have started writing in my head. I can’t help it. Sometimes when I am working on Don’t Call Me Kit Kat, an idea for CDR2 pops into my head. While this can be quite distracting, these brain lapses tell me that I have no choice but to write the sequel. My goal is to outline the story as soon as Don’t Call Me Kit Kat goes on sale. However, I promised my husband that I would take a break from novel writing, so I won’t begin drafting until August or September.

Goal #4 – Stick to a Blog Schedule

This post indicates the beginning of my new blog schedule. I will post on Wednesdays and every other Sunday. Wednesday posts will be either professional or personal, and Sunday posts will be book reviews. I may occasionally sneak in reviews on non-scheduled Sundays as well.

Goal #5 – Remember What’s Really Important

In my house, Friday nights are family movie nights. Each week, a different family member is supposed to choose the movie; however, I have been skipping my turn for months ever since I got into the habit of writing during the movies. Terrible, I know. Anyway, the Friday after Christmas we sat down to watch Disney’s Maleficent. It was so good that I didn’t type one word while it was on. My son noticed and said, “Holy cow! Mom actually watched the movie this time!” His excitement made me sad because it hit me that simply being in the same room with my family isn’t the same as paying attention to what’s going on around me, even if it is just a movie. So here’s my goal: I will watch the family movie every Friday night, and I will not touch my computer.

Have you set goals for 2015? Are any of your goals similar to mine?

Personal Tidbits

Writing to Achieve Catharsis

December 20, 2014 K. J. Farnham

As I write my second novel, there are no better words to describe how I feel.

It’s been a long time since I was a teenager, but some of the issues I struggled with back then are still tucked deep inside of me. While I am no longer plagued by low self-esteem and caring too much about what others think, I still find it difficult to grow close to people who did not know me during those formative teen years. This is why I created Katie Mills, the main character in Don’t Call Me Kit-Kat. She is my catharsis. By writing Katie’s story, I hope to release the small bits of teen angst that age and maturity haven’t helped me to shed. Her story is not exactly my own, but many of her thoughts and emotions mirror those of my teenage self.

What about you? What have you written to achieve catharsis?