My first book, The Jumbo Shrimp Gospel, will be available soon (just a few more details to iron out). The website/blog and Facebook group for the book are all ready to go. As soon as the aforementioned details are worked out, I’ll make them public (I’m hoping that’ll be by the end of the week, but we’ll see).
I’ve decided not to shop this book around to a “major” publisher–there are way too many people pushing way too many manuscripts, and I really don’t have the time or patience to do that. So, I’ve gone the self-publishing route via lulu.com (which rocks my face off).
The only way word about this book will get out is word-of-mouth–and you guys will have the first crack at getting the book.
So stay tuned.
Can’t wait to read it
I know it will be great!!!
well done. i published my first 30 page comic book on lulu
Sweet. What’s the title? I’ll look it up.
Great stuff. Put me down for an autographed copy as soon as they are available.
rock and roll dude! I’m excited for you. Can’t wait to read it and spread the word.
Sweet, dude.
Oooo! I want one! I love the gospel. I love jumbo shrimp! (win-win). I’ll tweet this post!
Thanks, katdish. I’ve got one or two more things to get straight, and then she’ll be ready.
Cool!
Tell me more about lulu and how it works. Do they advertise your book so that it gets a wider readership, or is that up to you?
Can’t wait to read it. Is that the companion to the Forrest Gump Bible? Oh, wait, you said “Jumbo” not “Gumbo”.
I had narrowed down my decision to lulu and CafePress, both of which are POD publishers (Print On Demand–they don’t print it until it’s ordered, so you can order 1 copy or a million copies). I almost went with CP, but lulu’s process is much more thorough, and they have a lot more options. You can buy packages that help with wider readership (as well as all-inclusive packages with professional editing, formating, ISBN acqusition which is needed for distribution on things like Amazon), and you get your own storefront on lulu–and you set your own price (lulu charges a set up fee and gets a small commission, and you get the rest). You also have the option of making your book downloadable–and e-book–which you can make more money from since they don’t charge a print set up fee. They also have tools to promote your publication on your website or blog, and even other packages like bookmarks and business cards to promote your publication.
I chose none of the big options–I had several people from different backgrounds read through it, and had my mom-in-law (who is an amazing grammarian) edit it. Because I didn’t choose formatting help, some things may look a little off (like some extra whitespace at the bottom of a few pages, and I think there was a page number at the very end on what was supposed to be a blank page, but I’ll let it slide).
You don’t have to have an ISBN number to publish and sell through lulu–that’s just if you want to go for the Amazon, major distributors route. I purposefully am not doing that due to the nature of the book–I’m going to see how it goes for the first six-twelve weeks, and then make a decision on further distribution. I want to see how far word of mouth will take it.
And Forrest Gump does show up in this book… but not ’til the end.
Stay posted… hoping to have news soon of when she’ll be ready!
Aaron and Koffijah – I’ll give you guys space on my blog to promote your books. (Read by tens of people every single day!)
Sweetness. It might be mid-May before I can do it (we’re moving out of state on Wednesday… and I want to get a copy of it first before I make it public, but I won’t order it until I’m in our new place).
Thanks! And I know it’s more than tens…