I love that my books have been self-published as it allows me to have total control over the finished product (within the self-publishing platforms’ requirements). This whole publishing journey was not without its challenges along the way though, but I was focused on the end goal which allowed me to achieve what I set out to do.
My journey into self-publishing started long before I published my first book, The Young Black Prince. It actually started with a romance novel I wrote, not yet in the public domain. I was young and single and used writing to create the perfect love story, as I desired it to happen in real life. I possessed a similar dream of my book “being discovered” and becoming a best selling author like many others, but reality gave me a firm slap in the face.
After extensive research, I admit that I was discouraged by the statistics which looked extremely bleak for undiscovered authors, such as myself. I put my romance novel aside, but I did not stop writing as I found it, and still do to this day, very therapeutic.
Many years later, I got married and showed my novel to my new husband. He was very impressed, partly because of how we met was very similar to what I had written many years before. Through his encouragement, and that of other family members, I decided to approach publishing houses. As you may have guessed, I gained a lovely big pile of rejection letters, which again led me to put the book aside.
I still kept on writing, and by the time I had my kids, I had written numerous poems, but no more books, until I had my son. During one bedtime story, a cherished time between mother and child, he asked me why none of the characters in the book I was reading looked like him. Due to him being only 3 years old at the time, I was completely astounded that he was that culturally aware at such a young age. In that moment, I decided to write a book inspired by my little boy.
With my previous experience with traditional publishing, I decided to actively seek an alternative route and that led me to self-publishing. I dedicated myself, day and night, to publishing the story. Writing the text took no longer than half a day, due to the nature of the book being for babies and early readers, but actually getting the book from creation to completion was one of the greatest challenges I have personally faced. It was mainly a mental battle, as I had to learn about things that prior to this process, I had no awareness of. Grit and determination, along with sacrificing sleep, meant that my dream of seeing my child in his very own book came true.
I published my books through Amazon KDP, and the level of help and assistance provided on the platform was excellent. I did have to watch some YouTube videos to help increase my understanding and, because I am a visual person, this pushed me to perfect the areas that needed perfecting.
Images from The Young Black Kingdom series.
I hired an illustrator to get the images that I wanted, and I thought I had everything in place to enter this whole new world of self-publishing, until it came to selling. Marketing was the part that I struggled with the most, and I would encourage anyone to seek professional guidance if this is not something you are an expert in yourself.
I believe that traditional publishing still has its place, and anyone who gets their books published that way deserves a huge congratulations because it is such an honoured achievement. For the rest of us who have something unique to offer the literary world, I would say that self-publishing is an awesome and highly accessible way to achieve that. Outsource what you can to produce the best book that you can, but if funds are an issue, start with what you have. There are no upfront costs when publishing with KDP, which literally means anyone can write and produce a book, including you.
I have gone on to produce a variety of different books, which are all listed below and are available on Amazon, as my self-publishing journey continues.
Please note: I do not earn commission for any company or brand mentioned in this article. They have been included purely to express my personal experiences with them.
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