I did it. I am proud. I am unstoppable – or at least that’s how publishing my first book feels. Approximately three weeks ago, I began handing out my first order of books and since then, the sales have been as steady as the high fives and pats on the back in the halls. Planning to sell only 20 copies this year, I have sold 39 and counting! Stockton is filled with artistically excellent individuals, but I wasn’t sure how appealing poetry would be, especially that of an amateur’s. Luckily, many were willing to give it a chance and I have received so much amazing feedback and support. The book, Recycled Glass, is a collection of my thoughts, feelings, experiences, my confusion, my insecurities, triumphs and setbacks. It is everything I was; broken, lost, confused, scared, and it is everything I am; content, aware, more whole, less broken, brave. Recycled Glass in its essence stands for everything I want to become. Writing is so empowering for me, and to have the kind of urgency and concern for the promotion and wellbeing of my book, such as that of which I have received, has been so unbelievably astounding. I’m truly blessed. But y’all are really here to find out how I manifested a physical book, so let’s dive in.
1. Take your unfinished thoughts, your half-eaten bagel, your cold coffee and mold it into something dashing. Write a little every week, if not every day. I used google docs and started writing poetry about anything I was feeling, thinking or going through. The first drafts were disgusting, but I’d leave them, come back another day, polish them up and move on. I did this until I was proud to call it mine. I started early December and finished late January-Early February.
2. Use what you got, not what you don’t. The internet allows access to so many free resources, and I took advantage of Grammarly and any other sight willing to proofread my work without charge. It didn’t catch everything, but there are only two mistakes to my knowledge. Though they bother me, it was the price I was willing to pay to avoid paying an editor upwards of $200. Ask friends or teachers to look over it, too.
3. Investments must be made. I don’t have a job or any stable source of income I use for personal purchases, and I wasn’t going to ask my parents to fund my books. I worked one day at the voting polls for $160. I didn’t spend much of it because I knew I could make a purchase bigger than new shoes or fast food. I found a website called Blurb where you can create your own book from the ground up. They had everything from children’s books, to picture books, to trade books (which is what I used). I invested about $72 into purchasing 20 books after I designed it and added my poetry in. I paid a friend, against her will, $30 to do some sketches for the cover and interior. I bought another friend Starbucks in turn for letting us use their tablet to sketch on. I made investments like these with nothing but the reassurance of faith in myself and my abilities to write decently. I sold all 20 copies in a couple weeks and am constantly taking more orders!
4. Persistence is key. When the poems looked like they were never going to get better, I wanted to quit. When I couldn’t think of a single word to write some days, I was ready to throw in the towel. When I wasn’t sure if anyone was going to buy a copy, I hesitated to order anything close to 20. But, when I realized the reward would be much greater than the risk, I typed those poems, I transformed them from turds to turquoise gems and I hit ‘submit order’ for 20 copies. I did it, and it has been one of the best decisions of my life. Keep pushing, remain patient, have faith in yourself and just do it.
So, those are the basic components of the concoction that is my journey to self-publishing my first book. Advocates for friends, supportive family, teachers with connections and social media have been major elements to the success I have obtained thus far, and I couldn’t say thank you enough if I gave every last breath in my body to do so. Thank you. If you have any questions about anything, let me know!
The website used to make the book: blurb.com
Coffee, No Cow. 