Hey y'all! For those of you who don't know, I became a self-published author on Amazon on July 21, 2021. I then released another book on October 9, 2021. Over the course of this time, I learned how to format each book individually, re-format and design the cover, and submit it for review to be published. Although free, there were many struggles when it came to proper formatting and files.
I decided to start off easy with a budget planner for my first release, that way I could get an idea on how it works. After designing the interior of the book, I uploaded the manuscript just to discover that my margins were all wrong. So, I went back and re-formatted the entire book! Once I re-adjusted the margins, I had to go through the pages and adjust the layout to fit properly. After re-adjusting everything interiorly, I then re-uploaded the manuscript and began working on the cover.
The cover was pretty difficult for many reasons. At first, I didn't realize that I needed a page big enough to wrap around the entire cover of the book. For some reason, I believed that making a single page was all I needed. So, I then had to adjust the size accordingly and add to the back of the cover. Upon uploading the image, I was hit with another problem. I had to adjust the design over and over again so it wouldn't get cut off during production.
I spent roughly six hours re-adjusting the manuscript and the cover, but I learned very helpful tools for my next book. Regardless, I spent about another six hours re-adjusting the manuscript and cover of my first novel because paperback and hardcover have different measurements. My novel took me about three/four months to write and there were times where I had writer's block, but there were times where I could write for about eight to ten hours a day. I didn't become a self-published author with the expectations that I could make a living off of my royalties, that's just an added bonus.
I became a self-published author because as a young girl, I had dreamed of writing for the world to see. Whether it be a blog, such as this one, or novels, I just knew I wanted to write. Unfortunately, I had multiple teachers tell me that I would never make it as a writer because I didn't use enough detail. They weren't wrong, but there was reasoning behind that. I didn't put my all into my writing if I was told to write about something I wasn't compassionate about or interested in. I had a difficult time imagining what those details would look like for those specific topics. I would spend maybe ten minutes writing the most bland paragraph and handing it in.
When it comes to writing a novel, I can write for hours, trying to add as much detail and my brain can conjour up. For the longest time, I truly believed that I could never become a writer, and I hated the idea of having someone tell me, "Change this. Scratch that. Nope, that won't work." If I'm writing a book, I want it to be what I want. Not what other people want. This is my story to tell, no one else's. Since I became a self-published author, my serotonin has risen and I've found an intense feeling of accomplishment and joy.
Moral of the story, follow your dreams. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something because I can assure you, you can. Push that negative talk and feelings aside and apply yourself as much as possible. Pour your heart into your work and you'll accomplish great things in life. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed, so treat everyday like it's your last.
- B-Raditude
Check out my planner and novel on Amazon with the links below!
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