Malcolm Hansen Interview

I had the privilege of attending my first Public Library Association annual conference this past March. One of the sessions I attended was a panel with three debut authors, including Malcolm Hansen. While he was giving his talk, I thought he was so articulate, interesting, and inspiring that I would absolutely have to read his book and I hoped I would love it. I had him sign the ARC I got at PLA and had about 30 seconds to chat with him while he did. His book, They Come in All Colors, will be out May 29. So you don't have to wait much longer!

Luckily, I did love the book and was blown away by Malcolm's writing. The story is an important one, especially in our modern age where we find ourselves still struggling against the ugliness of racism. I hope the book will be widely read and discussed. Some books have the power to change the lives of others. I think Malcolm has written a book like that. I know he did an awesome job writing it. I mean that in the true spirit of the word, not as slang. As in, I was in awe of the way he told the story. I kept thinking to myself, this is his debut? This man was meant to be a writer. Without further ado, I am so pleased to introduce you to Malcolm Hansen!

RW: They Come In All Colors is a beautifully written book about an 8 year old biracial boy, Huey, growing up in the deep south in the early 1960s. It's a complex and powerful novel with many different threads running throughout that you handle like an expert. What was the first seed of this story for you? A feeling? A character?
MH: There was more than one seed for the story. Part of it was, of course, Huey and his family; but another part was the specifics of the time and the place. I wanted a semi-dated look at the psyche of someone who doesn't know it but is on the cusp of learning something of great importance about himself. With respect to the time and the place, I grew up with stories about my father's experiences as a freedom rider in small, obscure southern towns. I think I really latched onto those stories, for me they felt like war stories. The stories were colorful and provided a cast of characters that I could feed experiences to and have interesting things happen. So I just put those two things together.


RW: It feels like this novel was meticulously plotted. Did you outline or mostly fly by the seat of your pants?
MH: I definitely flew by the seat of my pants. Much of it felt like I was writing in the dark, groping my way forward with only a vague idea for how it was supposed to all come together at the end.


RW: You decided to forgo dialogue markers in this narrative. I feel it worked very well. Why/how did you decide to go without them?
MH: That was Todd's suggestion; what an amazing editor he is. He was bold and willing to do something a little radical and in a way that ultimately felt so right for this novel. He just didn't feel like we needed them. Looking at the novel now, I think, that was brilliant.


RW: Huey's voice is amazingly pure. He witnesses a violent and contentious period in his hometown, but his thoughts stay true to that of a child. Was it difficult to write him as a character without the baggage and knowledge of adulthood? Did you ever slip and have to remove passages?
MH: Yes. That part was very difficult for me and you could say that I ultimately had to figure it out the hard way. The question of narrative distance and the right choice there loomed large over the manuscript from the very beginning. It was something that I knew I had to get right, but wasn't at all sure how. So I had to do a lot of experimenting. I tried Huey as an adult looking back, I tried Huey as a five-year-old, and I tried practically everything in between. Having experimented with Huey and tweaked him in countless ways, I eventually settled in on a sweet spot. By that point, I had gotten pretty good at pruning unnecessary "grown up" reflection and Huey the boy jumped from the page.


RW: How long did it take you to complete the first draft?
MH: About five years.


RW: The book tackles a difficult subject that evokes strong emotions. What do you hope readers will take from Huey's story?
MH: I'm trying not to have any expectations or preferences for that, and just remain open. I think I'd drive myself crazy if I tried to somehow control that.


RW: Writers are often advised to "write everyday" "write what you know" and "write a book that scares you." Do any or all of these adages apply to They Come in All Colors?
MH: For sure. Especially when the story was rumbling in my belly. It was imperative, especially in a story as potentially divisive as this, that I stuck with what I knew.


RW: Personally, I prefer to have music playing while I write and I put together special playlists for each of my books. Do you write with music? If so, what are the top songs you listened to while writing this book? If not, what is your ideal writing situation?
MH: Definitely not. I need quiet; not absolute, but enough to support sustained concentration. Quiet somehow helps me to visualize scenes and characters more clearly.


RW: What was most difficult about writing this book?
MH: Huey's voice. I definitely had the story before I had figured out the voice for the story.


RW: What was easiest about writing this book?
MH: I think I struggled with pretty much everything.


RW: Who are some of the authors that inspire you and your writing?
MH: I'm a big Henry Miller fan. William Burroughs and Hunter Thompson, too. Old wrinkly white men who did lots of drugs and fucked everything. Strung out, junkie, half-failures. I'm not necessarily proud of it, but that's what I like to read. I have a soft spot for the transgressive stuff. Of all the things I connect with in good writing, that's what I connect with the most.


RW: I hate to ask this one because the book isn't even released yet, but what are you doing now? Focusing on marketing and enjoying the ride until release, or is your next book already taking shape?
MH: I'd say a little bit of both. Somehow I really hadn't convinced myself that my job was done until I actually held a copy of the hardcover in my hand, and now that I'm at that point I feel like I need to take a few breaths before pivoting to my next project.   


Thank you so much, Malcolm, for letting me interview. Congratulations and wishing you great success with the release of They Come in All Colors! 

Author Interview with J.E. Klimov

I am so happy to introduce you to the incredible J.E. Klimov! J.E. has an exciting new novel out now, The Aeonians. I hope you'll enjoy this interview as much as I did and that you'll check out The Aeonians!  

RW: Do you write with music or do you require silence? If yes to music, what was on your playlist for The Aeonians? 

J.E.: I always listen to music when writing, although it's different than music I generally enjoy. When I write, it's usually soundtracks (e.g. The Gladiator, Memoirs of a Geisha) to movies or video games (e.g. Breath of the Wild)- strong, powerful symphonies. Admittedly, I listened only to Legend of Zelda music by Koji Kondo when I wrote "The Aeonians" because the storyline behind the franchise was a primary source of inspiration. There are a lot of orchestrated versions on Youtube that are incredibly inspiring too!

RW: How long did it take you from first draft to fully proofed manuscript?

J.E.: "The Aeonians" is an exception. I started my first draft in 7th grade, which is greater than 10 years ago. To be official, I'd say 2014 and fully proofed by 2017. It took a long time because it required extensive editing and restructuring because I've sat on the plot for too long. My sequel, "The Shadow Warrior", which will be out fall 2018, only took me one year. Major difference!

RW: What books and authors inspire you most?

J.E.: From an inspiration standpoint, I would say a handful of my independent writers. I wasn't much of a reader until the last few years. Let's see, I admire Amanda Lovelace, author of "The Princess Saves Herself in This One"- a collection of poetry. "The Only Gold" by Ethan Luke is also high on my list. These two authors write in genres that I typically don't read but singlehandedly convinced me that I can love poetry and that I can love historical fiction. I strive to have that kind of writing power.

RW: What about The Aeonians are you most proud of?

J.E.: I'm most proud of publishing my first story. I refused to scrap it no matter how bad it was, and now, it consists of a world that I cherish and paves roads for many sequels.

RW: Did you encounter any big surprises while writing the book? 

J.E.: There were always surprises, some good, some bad. Example of bad: I discovered a never-ending list of plot holes in my first edit. Example of good: I ended up favoring my antagonist over my protagonist. How is this good? Well, he became the most fleshed out character and *spoiler alert* becomes the cornerstone to "The Shadow Warrior". "The Aeonians" was initially meant to be a stand alone novel!

RW: World-building can be intimidating. How did you tackle? Did it come to you almost fully formed or did you have to spend a lot of time working on that before you started writing?

J.E.: "The Aeonian's" world came naturally to me: I had an overactive imagination as a teenager. Instead of using trolls, dragons, elves etc (disclaimer: nothing wrong with those. I love dragons!), I enjoyed creating new species and carving out the landscape of my own country. My approach to world building was focus on the small things, the specifics, and then plug them together like a puzzle until it becomes one big picture.

RW: Are you working on a new book now? Can you tell us anything about it?

J.E.: Yes! I'm currently working on two projects: "Ultimate Seven"- the tentative title to the final installment of the Aeonians trilogy which is proving to be an emotional challenge. I also am working on a short story for another Just-Us-League Anthology. I've written with this group before and published three short stories with them so far. The theme this time around is paranormal/urban fantasy. More about the JLA: http://jlwriters.com 

RW: When you aren't writing, what are some of your favorite things to do?

J.E.: My life is very...full; however, if I can scrape up any extra time, I like to run, play video games (in moderation, and only Legend of Zelda), watch The Office, and draw. Drawing/sketching was my first love, and someday I hope to publish a graphic novel. I always wanted to express my story telling through pictures and feel that this medium doesn't have to always been geared toward kids.

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! Based on your answers, I feel like we should absolutely be best friends. 😃 Congratulations on the birth of your first book and best of luck getting through the rest of the series. It's no small feat to get any book into final finished form. You rock! 

#TakeAKnee Brings a lot of Troubling Things to Light

The news cycle is abhorrent basically every day. The divide among US citizens, even with the world, deepens all the time. The latest thing to really get to me is this controversy over #TakeAKnee. The level of vitriol and arrogance is troubling. My overarching concern is this tendency to try to invalidate anything that doesn't directly relate to ones own experience. It's very easy to say "Shut up and stand for the anthem," when what's being protested is not part of your reality. Maybe it's because my eyes have been opened to "sensitivity readings" in writing but I'm deeply troubled by the overwhelming drive to silence others rather than listen. Perhaps, if someone is upset about something enough that they feel moved to do an unpopular thing, we should be concerned about why they feel that upset rather than telling them their feelings are wrong.

This doesn't just apply to racial issues. How many times have women said they feel unsafe when men catcall them, make comments about their appearance, or worse? So many women agree that this kind of behavior is uncomfortable or downright scary for them but you'll always see the comments that these behaviors are meant as a compliment. Women need to settle down and let a man (even a stranger) tell them sexual things and get over themselves. The takeaway is the same. "I don't share your experiences or viewpoint, therefore you're completely wrong and need to stop saying what you're saying and start acting like me." In short, this is a dangerous way of thinking. We can see the evidence every time we turn on the news. The vitriol and absolute hatred between opposing viewpoints is shocking, yet is becoming more and more familiar.

Observing these things has led me to the following realizations that I feel compelled to share. I do not purport to be an expert on the topics or to have answers. These are just the thoughts I'm having right now and I thought they might be used as a springboard for brainstorming better ideas for better outcomes. Constructive ideas and polite viewpoints of others are welcome in the comments.

First, it happens to be the end of Banned Books Week. As a librarian and author, this is something I'm very familiar with. This year, I feel that it ties in perfectly with what we're seeing in the news. Just because you wouldn't read it, doesn't mean someone else doesn't need it. This led me to think about how important it is to see yourself reflected in the books you read. Think about this. I just finished reading Hello, Sunshine by Leila Howland. Now, this is not a political book by any means, but it's the story of blonde haired, blue eyed, 18 year old Becca who was not accepted into any college. She's always loved acting, so she takes a road trip from Boston to LA, with her boyfriend, to try to make it as an actress. Nothing earth shattering, right? It was a book I really enjoyed, but in light of the outrageous responses to #TakeAKnee, I can't help but think that this would be a vastly different book if Becca was an African-American girl. Similarly, if she was an Asian-American, or a Native American, or a Hispanic American, a male character, a gay character, a transgender character, etc. etc.

Think about it. Do you see what I mean? We're all people, but we have different things projected onto us that have nothing to do with who we actually are.  I can't help but think that any of the non-white characters in this fictional retelling would have to struggle against each other to fill a significantly smaller number of acting roles specifically for minority characters in a way the white protagonist did not. Who remembers the outrage when Lenny Kravitz was cast as Cinna in the Hunger Games because readers hadn't visualized Cinna as a black man? On the other side, how many times are diverse characters cast with white actors instead?  Likewise, if the character was a male instead of a female there likely wouldn't be a scene with a creepy stranger hitting on him in a way that makes him wonder if he's safe. If the hypothetical African-American wannabe actress drove across the country with her boyfriend, what other factors might enter into the story? Ever heard the phrase "driving while black?" What I'm getting at is the story might have the same universal theme, but vastly different details which create a different narrative. For an illustration of how these different flavors of life experience impact a person's perception, consider this heartbreaking poem:

"When black boys are born 
We mothers kiss their faces 
Twirl our fingers in their curls 
Put them in carriers on our chest 
Show them to the world 
Our tiny black princes 
And when they start school 
As early as 3
We mothers 
Place huge back packs on their backs 
And we slowly fill them with bricks 
Etched with tools 
Tattooed with truths 
Hoping to save them 
Don't talk back 
Don't get angry 
Say yes ma'am 
Say no sir 
Don't fight
Even if they hit you first
Especially if they are white 
Do your best 
Better than best 
Be still 
Work hardest 
BRICK 
they get a little older 
And we add more 
Keep your hands out of your pockets 
Don't look them in the eye 
Don't challenge 
Don't put your manhood before your life 
Just get home safe 
Don't walk alone 
Don't walk with too many boys 
Don't walk towards police 
Don't walk away from police 
Don't buy candy or ice tea
Don't put your hood up 
I'll drive you 
I'll pick you up 
You can't be free 
Don't go wandering 
Come home to me 
BRICK 
They get a little older 
And we add more 
Understand you are a threat
Standing still 
Breathing 
Your degrees are not a shield 
Your job is not a shield 
Your salary makes you a target 
Your car makes you a target 
Your nice house in a nice neighborhood 
Makes you a target 
Don't put your ego before your safety 
Don't talk back 
Don't look them in the eye
Get home to your wife 
Your son
BRICK 
They weigh them down. 
This knowing 
Of having to carry the load 
Of their blackness 
the world hasn't changed 
The straps just dig deeper into their skin 
Their backs ache 
But their souls don't break 
Our beautiful black men 
When you say to me 
All lives matter 
I simply ask
Will your son die with the world on his back 
Mine will."

Author Unknown

I am a mother of a son and I have to say, I do not have all the same worries for his future that this mother has. It's because we come from a different life frame of reference, but I can appreciate that she has these struggles and I can be sickened by it. I can also try to do whatever I can to lessen these types of burdens by challenging my own perceptions and educating myself. This also showed me that I have different worries for my black friends than I do for my white friends, or my LGBT friends, my female friends, or my male friends. Humans put ourselves and each other into groups. Like it or not, these groups have different stereotypes and pressures placed upon them by the rest of the groups. I think we need to consider this very carefully before we react with trying to dismiss someone's feelings.

Keeping that in mind, I saw a Facebook post by my incredible friend, Joy, who said "True healing cannot come to our nation without relationship." That really struck a chord with me. I think that's exactly the crux of the problem. Looking at Facebook, which is not, of course, the measure of the nation by any means, but I'd venture that, in general, friends lists are primarily filled with people who look like each other. This is not to say there isn't any diversity of friendships, but anecdotally for me, it seems that white friends have mostly white friends, black friends have mostly black friends, etc. There can still be diversity among similar looking friends: religious beliefs, education, sexual identity and orientation, etc. but there's still generally that shared experience among people who are perceived the same as you. But it's got to be a lot harder to play the childish "us" vs "them" when "they" are part of our group. "They" become people with qualities we admire. Shoulders we can cry on. Friends we can laugh with. Not so easy to lump that kind of friend as a "them" you don't want to associate with.

But how can we break out of our seemingly inherent need to be homogenous? It has to be purposeful. I admit, I have plenty of room to improve, to really diversify my group of friends. And I want to! As an adult, it's hard to make new friends as it is, let alone to seek out and try to befriend (without being weird or offensive) someone who might be very different from me. But I'm going to keep trying. In the meantime, while I seek out real connections in my daily life, I also try to broaden my outlook by following a variety of people on Twitter. It may sound trivial, but my eyes have been opened to all sorts of struggles I never would have imagined just by following people and seeing what they deal with and what hurts them.

While I think personal connections, the relationships, my friend mentioned are the best way to change hearts, it can be difficult. I mean, it can be tricky to be in diverse situations in our daily lives. And it takes strength to walk up to anyone and strike up a conversation and get to a point where you feel like you can safely ask a person to meet you for coffee sometime or hang out at the park and not come across as a weirdo. But we shouldn't stop trying, even if it's uncomfortable. In the meantime, we can educate ourselves in far easier and more comfortable ways like following diverse viewpoints on Twitter or reading books by diverse authors. #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #OwnVoices are huge movements in the book world that seek to increase the number of published books that explore diverse content but also allow authors to authentically tell these stories. This means that it's frowned upon for a white woman to write a story about a young black man. The reason for this is what I mentioned above. There are different nuances and details among these life experiences. While the white woman may want to portray her character genuinely and without prejudice, no amount of research can give her the authentic perspective of being a young black man. She should leave that particular story to a black man to write. It will resonate better with the readers and will give an accurate account in a way the woman never could. This is a topic that has caused a lot of backlash but I think writers are starting to really consider what stories are theirs to tell. The least we can do is stop whitewashing and let people of different ethnicities and races tell their own stories. And you know what else we can do? Read them!

I've been trying to read more books by diverse viewpoints and here are a few I've enjoyed. (These are all fiction because that's what I like to read.)

For adults
A House for Happy Mothers - Amulya Malladi 
No One Can Pronounce My Name - Rakesh Satyal 

For teens
Written in the Stars - Aisha Saaed 
Ties That Bind, Ties that Break - Lensey Namioka
The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen - Mitali Perkins

For children
Bud, Not Buddy - Christopher Paul Curtis
Ghost - Jason Reynolds
These are not books, but I highly recommend the Families of the World videos. Each episode takes a look at the daily life of a child in a rural area and an urban area of a different country. It includes what happens in a typical school day, the types of chores kids do, what their home looks like, what they eat, and what they do for fun. Although it's about children, it's a fascinating series for adults as well!

Books I want to read:
The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
When Dimple Met Rishi - Sandhya Menon

As you can see, even these titles could be more diverse. I know I still have a long way to go but I'm a work in progress.

Pajama Girl returns! Plus PB Critiques Available!

It's early in the game but I just have to tell you that Pajama Girl will be coming to print! Pajama Girl was the Grand Prize winner in the inaugural MeeGenius Author Challenge. From that point on, it remained a bestseller. The number one question I've been asked about Pajama Girl is where can someone purchase a print copy? The answer had been, "There isn't one. It's strictly a digital book." While I will always be extremely grateful that its marvelous digital edition was published, I always held out hope that there would be a print version someday. I, myself, love books. I spend a lot of time in front of screens, both writing books and at my job as a librarian. When I'm ready to curl up with a book, I don't want to be with another glowing screen. I want to breathe in the glorious scent of ink on paper and I want to use my beautiful bookmarks. Ahhhh. It just works for me.

Finally, I decided I've been in the game long enough that I can offer a print edition through my own publishing imprint, 8N Publishing, LLC. It's taken me years of research in children's publishing, a degree in English Literature, a Master's in Library and Information Science, a certificate in e-Marketing, several years as a book reviewer, and an overall love for children's books to get to this point. I coordinate the Local Author fairs at my library. I've seen countless numbers of picture books. I did library storytimes for many years. I learned what makes a book work. I know high quality when I see it. Books are my thing and I'm excited to work with my amazing Pajama Girl illustrator, Ingvard the Terrible, to get this book into the hands of eager readers.

8N Publishing is my brand new company. Its first book is my YA novel, Dream Frequency, which released in June. I'm planning to launch a beautiful hardcover of Pajama Girl by the end of this year. To help offset the production costs, I'm running a GoFundMe. You can use it to preorder an author signed copy of the book which will be mailed out as soon as I have them in hand. If you're an aspiring author, I thought it would be fun to offer picture book critiques as a reward level in my fundraiser. For $85, you can help Pajama Girl come to print, but you can also score yourself a full picture book critique for books up to 1000 words. I will give you a letter and thorough notes on your manuscript. I love to help authors, so I'm happy to offer this service as part of this campaign. There are 10 critique spots available. If your manuscript is not finished yet and you still want to snag one of these critiques, you can use it later when you're ready. I look forward to reading your work!

Dream Frequency Cover Reveal!

Since I finished writing this book, I've been waiting for this moment. Seeing my new book cover is the moment when the manuscript gets out of my head and starts to become its own entity in the world. No longer a vague notion, it's a real book. I think this cover is beautiful and I hope you will too. 

While you're waiting for the book to be released, I'm anticipating late June or early July 2017, please add it to your GoodReads shelf and spread the word!  

I'd like to thank Ken Suminski for his incredible talent and dedication to creating a cover that would make me happy. This definitely does. 

Without further ado, I'd like you to meet my second YA novel and conclusion to Dream Girl: Dream Frequency...

I can't stop looking at it! 

Christine would never have considered herself new recruit material for a secret U.S. agency. Until recently, she's just been an ordinary girl graduating from high school and wondering if a friendship with Gabriel, a mysterious coworker, would grow into something romantic. When Christine's fascination with Gabriel leads to her discovery of dreamworlds, she learns that she's anything but ordinary. In this thrilling conclusion to Dream Girl, Christine and Gabriel must choose their allegiances and face corruption, conspiracy, and the complexities of love in order to save themselves and everyone who matters to them - or die trying.

Why and How I'm Publishing Dream Frequency

It isn’t an uncommon story these days. Small, independent publishers pop up, put out some books, and then disappear. I’d watched it happen to an author whose blog I follow. Her first book was well received and while she was working on the sequel, her publisher folded. It was difficult news for her and her readers. Luckily, she’d found a new publishing home for both books. What a relief!

When I was nearing completion of my sequel to DREAM GIRL, I got the unfortunate news that my publisher would no longer be publishing fiction. After I worked through my shock and disappointment, I rallied by researching my options. Thinking as a writer, reader, and librarian, here’s what I decided to do:

Once I decided to finish the book and publish it myself, my first step was to see what kind of affordable print options might be out there. I had originally imagined that I would use a local printer whose work I was familiar with and admired, but ultimately, I decided to go with IngramSpark. The deciding factor, for me, is that IngramSpark has distribution. By publishing my book with them, I’d have access to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ingram itself and more. (As a librarian whose library uses Ingram to order our collection, that was pretty important.) By “access to” these venues, I mean that Ingram handles fulfillment. Someone places their order, Ingram prints and ships it and I don’t have to do a thing. Distribution is probably the most important thing beyond having a good product so if you’re thinking of self-publishing, don’t forget to think about how readers can get your book.

After I saw that Ingram has an affordable print and distribution plan, the next thing I did was buy my ISBN and barcode from Bowker.com  I did some research to make sure Bowker was reputable before I actually purchased my ISBN and barcode. 

Great book with a sequel due out Fall 2017!

Those steps out of the way, I hustled to finish the manuscript. Let’s face it, that’s the hardest work of all. Once I got through my first few drafts, I needed to find an editor. For this project, I wanted two editors. One was my very good author friend, Monica R. Sholar, who read and enjoyed the first book. For the second, I wanted someone who didn’t know me well personally and hadn’t read DREAM GIRL. Technically, all books in a series are supposed to stand on their own, so I wanted to make sure someone who didn’t have any recollections of the first book would be able to enjoy it too. I was delighted to learn that Michigan YA author, Ava Jae, also does affordable freelance editing.  I read her book, BEYOND THE RED, liked her writing style, and thought she’d be a good match for my

manuscript.

Each editor challenged me in a different way and both had great insights that helped me go back and refine the story. In this case, two editorial voices was the right amount. Their changes overlapped in many instances, but there were some big differences as well. Drawing on the expertise of each, I was able to improve the plot, dialogue, descriptions and became very familiar with my particular bad writing habits. The guidance of a good editor is priceless!

This cover still makes me smile.

Before I dove into edits, I decided to get a cover designer. The cover is extremely important to me, and is easily my favorite part of the publishing process. (Or at least a close second to writing the acknowledgments!) It is absolutely necessary that my covers are high quality, professional, compare to the types of covers on similar titles, and make me happy. Luckily, I worked in advertising for a few years. During that time, I made great friends in the graphic design and proofreading departments. I had worked with one of those friends, Ken Suminski, on my bookmark and the cover for my digital short story, SICK DAY. (He’s available to do freelance design work, such as book covers, logo design, and promotional materials for reasonable rates. If you want to see what he can do for you, he can be contacted at k.suminski (at) comcast (dot) net  Put “design referral from Sarah” in the subject.) With my cover in Ken’s capable hands, I went back to editing with my comments from Monica and Ava. I finished my edits shortly after Ken finished the final version of the cover. But there was still more work to be done!

With a shiny new cover that I loved, I was ready to share it with the world! But just like book distribution, I was worried about reaching a broader audience. I decided to book a cover reveal with a blog I’d used to promote DREAM GIRL, YA Bound BookTours.  We set the date for April 19 and I was ready for the next steps of preparing the manuscript: proofreading and print formatting.

For proofreading, I chose another of my advertising connections who had also helped me with DREAM GIRL. For interior formatting, I turned to another Michigan author, MelissaStorm, who is also the owner of Novel Publicity. Melissa highly recommended the work of Mallory Rock, who does cover designs as well as formatting.

In preparation for the final steps of production, I registered as an LLC. I admit, this was a daunting prospect for me, but it turned out to be incredibly easy and painless. I asked a few author friends for guidance and then came across this site of extremely helpful videos. I printed the LLC form, watched the video, and filled it out. (Not scary at all!) For added peace of mind, I got a P.O. box to go with my LLC. If you get a P.O. box, I recommend shopping around. The prices vary widely. I discovered that a small P.O. box for one year in one city cost $108, while the same sized box in another city, just a few miles away, cost $52 per year.

At the time of writing, I currently have the manuscript with my proofreader and will be sending it on to Mallory once proofreading is complete.

Next steps will be finding book reviewers, booking a blog tour, and working on promotion before diving into my next WIP. A writer’s work is never done!

Although I’m not completely through the process yet, I can attest that self-publishing can be an affordable option. There is a lot to think about and deal with when publishing your own book. While it can definitely feel overwhelming and even scary, it’s also exciting and satisfying to guide your own story from idea to finished product. Just as only you can tell the story in your heart, only you can decide the right way to get that story into the hands of readers. Enjoy the journey, and no matter what, keep writing!