Self Publishing To Do List

 July 2026

Dear Abyss, 

There has been progress! 

I made myself a to do list to try and order my thoughts and get this project over the finish line. Here is my to do list, and as you can see there are more ticked than tasks still to do:

To do list
• Write book  ✔
• Illustrate book ✔
• Edit book ✔
• Write blurb ✔
• Rewrite… ✔
• Make cover ✔
• Write dedication
• Purchase ISBN ✔
• Get print quote
• Set price
• Register book with Nielsen
• Take files to printer
• Breath

So at the moment I’m waiting for a print quote, and having a bit of downtime before the next step, because otherwise I would plod on without a break and become frazzled. And there’s plenty of time to get frazzled further down the line…

Bye for now
AMS

Self Publishing UK where to buy my books

 Self publishing

The hardest part is selling online

In my self publishing journey I’ve tackled many obstacles, most of them technical ones, and the one that still remains the hardest is selling online. Most of my books have been sold direct to customers at book signings and fairs.

Book signings at many different venues, from book shops and libraries, to swimming pools and at the dentist… so you’d think that sitting at a computer would be an easier option, and yet online sales remain my nemesis.

·        I’ve tried ebay, where I came up against repeat listing charges.

·         I’ve tried Etsy, where I sold a few, as well as a few sheep…  

·        I’ve had my own website, both with a shop and with links to mainstream book sellers, but again only sold a few.

 

So what next?

Let’s have a bash at linking to a well known book seller from my blog! So here goes, because if one thing doesn’t go quite to plan it’s just a sign to do a U-turn and try something else.   

Here are a couple of linked book covers to get the ball rolling:

Dear Abyss... hot tip for today

Lost in a Book UK

 June 2026

Dear Abyss,

Is a project ever really finished, or do we at some stage just need to call it a day? I’ve just looked in my draft bin file, and there are many versions of my work in progress, why? Because when editing a book, it is a good idea to save the different versions as you go along, rather than just saving and overriding the old version, that way if it all goes to pot, there is always the previous version to fall back on. Of course these files soon mount up, so filing them into a draft bin puts them out of sight and out of mind, safely waiting for if they are needed.

So that is my hot tip for today:

Save old versions of work, and file them into a draft bin in case they are needed to save the day in case of major disaster.

 What major disaster could possibly happen during formatting you might wonder? Well for one thing, a new format can send illustrations scrambling to hide behind each other. Can they be found? Yes, probably… but sometimes it can be easier to just go back to the last time everything worked, illustrations can be very good at hiding.

Dear Abyss, Picture book brewing

 May 2026
Dear Abyss,

It seems that the closer the book comes to being finished, the more bits and pieces I find I need to adjust or add. I’ve painted a whole new picture for the final page, as the original was not quite right.

The cover is almost finished, putting pictures and words together in adobe, and I learnt a few new things as I went along. It seems every time I produce a new book I learn some new things; I’m still playing with some fancy word art to bring the story to life even more. At some point soon I’m going to have to stop playing and get this project finished.

Bye for now

AMS