Like everybody else in Oregon lately, I’ve been reveling in the brilliant, sunny, warm weather after a particularly cold and wet late-winter onslaught. Soon, I’ll be spreading bark dust.
These past two weeks, I’ve been working to publish a paperback edition of The Second American Civil War. I’m so close that I’ve ordered a proof copy to inspect before I make it available. It’s being published via Amazon.
I’m new to publishing through Amazon, so there has been a learning curve. I’m still on that curve, but I feel like I’m making good progress.
That’s important, because I’ll also publish the rest of my novels through Kindle Direct Publishing for several reasons. One big reason is I plan to fire Lightning Source, which is the outfit I used to publish my Still in the Woods series. Frankly, I’m fed up with the lousy customer service. It’s a huge red flag when an outfit does not have a phone number for customer support. Unsurprisingly, it can take two weeks -14 days- to get a question answered. Typically, someone gets back to you sooner than that, but they don’t answer the question you asked, or give you wrong information. It’s pathetic. It’s no way to run a business. Who needs a partner like that? Fired!
Self-publishing is enough of a challenge with a helpful publishing partner. I give KDP much higher marks because their processes are fully explained and the user interface is much more sensible.
For anyone who is contemplating self-publishing, do yourself a huge favor and do an internet search for the best self-publishing outfits. You’ll see my evaluation above is not in the minority.
If you are contemplating self-publishing, so understandable given how risk-averse the publishing industry is, I can try to answer a question or point you to useful information. The bottom line is: be prepared to start a small business that will impact on your writing time at least for several months as you get up to speed.
