Yesterday was an important day in the life of The Secret of the Moon Dial. My author preview copies arrived in the mail!
The journey to this point was long, winding, interesting, frustrating, often fun, and instructive. First, there’s the writing of the book. With the first book, I had no idea what I was doing, but I slowly learned all kinds of things about story craft. Most importantly, an editor is crucial. You need a second set of professional eyes on your story. Without Laura, this book would not be here. Of course, other readers, including my critique group with SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) were invaluable.
But writing and revising the book was just the start. As I searched for an agent, I quickly came to realize that this is like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack (sorry, I don’t usually write with cliches). I heard a talk by Matty Dalrymple which led me to learn that Indie publishing is a not the negative thing it used to be. Besides, as an author, you have all the control and do not give up the rights to the book.
Of course, there is more work to publishing a book than meets the eye. (And all my friends and family who kept asking, “is your book out yet” – yes! It is, almost!) There are thousands of YouTube videos and helpful websites with loads of information indie publishing from formatting your book (oh, the hair-pulling!), the cover design (because we DO judge books by their cover), buying an ISBN number, choosing which platform/s to use (both Amazon and Ingramspark), setting up an author website, and many other things.
Then there’s marketing. How do I find the readers who want to read cozy steampunk historical fantasy? As a children’s book author, my target audience are the gatekeepers: teachers, parents, and librarians.
I’m thrilled that indie bookstores are making a comeback, and I’ve been reaching out to those in my area. I will put my toe into reaching out to schools to do author visits. I have my newsletter (sign up!)
The Secret of the Moon Dial will be released on August 18. Five and a half years after I started writing!