After working over a year on writing, organizing, revising and illustrating my book I opened up the mailbox, and there it was at last; a priority envelope with a copy of my work, BEYOND THESE DARK LANDS ARE EDGES OF JOY, WORDS OF COMFORT AND HOPE, my Collection of poems.
On the inside, I am dancing for joy.
I went upstairs to my desk and opened the packaging. The book looked beautiful and just the way I hoped it would be. I sat down and looked at the illustrations I made for it and was very happy with the drawings. I was able to open the book and sit in a chair and read it for the first time as an audience and not as a wordsmith full of doubts and second guesses. It was a time of sweetness and pure indulgence, it was the only worthy way to reward my work.
The printing company, The Book Patch, did a nice job, I was afraid it would be an inferior job or second-rate, but not at all. They took my work and produced a book that would stand with pride on the bookshelf at any store. I am eager to show it to all my friends.
I am immediately aware of the many people who helped me along the way; without their help, I would
not have been able to accomplish this task. I am very grateful for their help and encouragement.
But this is not the end of the road because as hard as it was to write the book I am beginning to understand that promoting and marketing it is much harder.
Obviously, I have the blog and the Facebook page, and a website under development. But I am beginning to see that getting my book of poems to market may be the harder part of the enterprise.
I've been thinking of this project as a piece of creativity and an expression of my devotion to God and service to others. Now I have to think of this book as a product or a piece of inventory and myself not as an author but as its marketing agent. In fact, if someone were to ask me I would not say I am a poet or writer, I would say that I am a publisher in a niche market.
So the moment of elation is over. Now I am going to go and write a business plan.
On the inside, I am dancing for joy.
I went upstairs to my desk and opened the packaging. The book looked beautiful and just the way I hoped it would be. I sat down and looked at the illustrations I made for it and was very happy with the drawings. I was able to open the book and sit in a chair and read it for the first time as an audience and not as a wordsmith full of doubts and second guesses. It was a time of sweetness and pure indulgence, it was the only worthy way to reward my work.
The printing company, The Book Patch, did a nice job, I was afraid it would be an inferior job or second-rate, but not at all. They took my work and produced a book that would stand with pride on the bookshelf at any store. I am eager to show it to all my friends.
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| Holding My Book At Last! |
But this is not the end of the road because as hard as it was to write the book I am beginning to understand that promoting and marketing it is much harder.
Obviously, I have the blog and the Facebook page, and a website under development. But I am beginning to see that getting my book of poems to market may be the harder part of the enterprise.
I've been thinking of this project as a piece of creativity and an expression of my devotion to God and service to others. Now I have to think of this book as a product or a piece of inventory and myself not as an author but as its marketing agent. In fact, if someone were to ask me I would not say I am a poet or writer, I would say that I am a publisher in a niche market.
So the moment of elation is over. Now I am going to go and write a business plan.
(c) Adron 2/28/18
