The Planter's Daughter - in print!

Will I write about Malawi? Yes, but as usual it will take time. I've diaries to reread and think about - the usual preamble to shaping a book. But this post isn't aboit Malawi.

For my Planter's Daughter is, at last, a print book.

For those who have forgotten, this novel has grown from a vignette I came across in New Zealand. Barbara Weldon was born in Ireland, and travelled to the bleakest, coldest corner of New Zealand via England and Australia in the mid-nineteenth century. I'd chosen to go there ... but what about her? What took her across the world? How did she travel? What did she find there? Did she have lovers? Children? Although the vignette implied a very troubled woman, I so wanted her to have lovers.

Research brought only the sketchiest details. But I couldn't let go of her story. So I made it up. Well, most of it. And what fun I had - wallowing in research, wandering round Ireland and Liverpool, wallowing in more research. And finally writing the novel. I've kept the bones of her story and a few unexpected details; but this is definitely fiction. (I've blogged about the publishing decisions somewhere - so won't go over that again.)

The ebook came out before Christmas and has two wonderful reviews, plus some verbal feedback that made me blush - and requests for a print book. There simply wasn't time before I left for Malawi to get that show on the road, but now, at last, I can hold a real book in my real hands.

I know the 'writing journey' is a cliche, but this has felt like an expedition. And I'm relieved - and a      teeny bit proud - of having finally produced the book!

Here  it is, on Amazon.

And, to celebrate, and for one week only, the ebook is down to 99p!

What I learned along my self-publishing journey.

I said I'd reflect on the process of self-publishing, so here are my thoughts now my book is Far Away in the big wide world.

First - I must stress these are personal opinions. There will be those who can weave a path through the technology without coffee and chocolate - I salute you. I can't. There will be those to whom marketing is second nature - I am still rubbish at it. But, for what it's worth, here goes:

Self-publishing is not easy, but it is possible. Every time the formatting had hiccups or I lost pages of text, I reminded myself that other people managed - and so could I. I might have to read the instructions many times, get the techy stuff translated - but I did it. Of course I felt like giving up at times, but that's why god made chocolate.

The biggest problem is formatting. Your lovely manuscript, that looks so pristine on the page, is quickly mangled the minute you try to change the format. And change the format you must (unless you had the presence of mind to think as far ahead as publishing when you began playing with your first draft). You don't have to like it - but you do have to accept it, and then settle down to untangle it. Then - just when you think you've got it right, it will tangle again. Tantrums are allowed, but only if they give you the energy to try again.

The ebook - in some ways this is more straightforward, as you can read the whole thing on your computer screen. But, though this make formatting blunders obvious, typos are much harder to spot. And the one thing you want to avoid, if at all possible, are typos and major grammar problems. (Which is why I would alway advocate a copy editor, even if you are only producing a small ebook - if you are going to invest your time and effort into this, it is worth the cost of making this the best book it can possibly be.)

Once the formatting is sorted (which can take days) it's relatively easy to load the whole thing onto Kindle - but wait, you need a cover.

And a cover for your print book. Trawl through all the advice-blogs; you don't need me to tell you how important the cover is. If you don't have a wonderful son-in-law to help, it is worth paying for this, too.

And then the print book. I won't go over the Createspace v Lulu debacle. Suffice it to say that the process for a POD book is similar, though the formatting is different (of course). And you get a proof of your lovely book to hold, and smell, and wave at people, and remind you how clever you are writing all this ... and then you have to read it, looking for mistakes. Yes - you really do. I know, you've read it so often your eyes bleed at the first sentence, but this is the last chance to find typos. (Someone suggested reading it backwards - which worked for me. I meant I didn't skip bits because I knew them too well.)

And then the marketing. Sorry, I have no advice on marketing. Even the thought of marketing can bring on a fit of the vapours. If anyone wants to chip in with marketing - or any other thoughts on your self-publishing experience - then please do. Maybe someone will have found it easy?