Recently, the first book I self-published in my life, Songs for July, finally got added to the shelf in GoodReads and I feel so happy to join as an author. The idea was from a friend, who suggested I add it onto GoodReads to let it 'get out there' more, and I really thank this treasured friend. It has been around slightly more than a month since this book baby got out into the Sun from its metamorphosis from concept to reality and being shared with a village of friends, family and fated new friends who met it and became friends with it. And I can't thank everyone enough. Without people, a book would be a very lonely person.
This blog post is hence to congratulate the book baby's emergence onto GoodReads, as well as the community and the story behind it. It is also to share some thoughts bubbling about self-publishing, and get these tangled thoughts straightened out.
Self-publishing is such a whole new world; there's so much to learn about it! It's not just the printing and physicalisation of ideas into a book but an entire journey. In each stage is a new challenge, from a book launch, exposure at events, networking and getting the creation publicised and spread both online and offline. It feels so new and challenging, sometimes tiring, but enriching all the same. Sometimes it gets really weary when I am at a lost as to what to do next when one path leads to a stalled jam or a brick wall though.
Following Songs for July: A Midsummer's Dream on the 6th of July, events took place with collaborations with The Red Pencil (Singapore) and the students from various schools who worked with the big-hearted non-for-profit organisation. The exposure has been great so far, and many steps have been taken (I thank my collaborators from the bottom of my heart) but there remains a few more steps to be conquered to push this book to its potential so that it may reach more people, and hopefully lift more smiles with its message about art, love, music, and hope amidst darkness and depression. There are a myriad of ways, some might work, some might not, and some might be rocky (such as certain online platforms I've been trying to sell my book at), and I've been trying very hard, but the tides seem to lap back continuously.
First off was marketing, it was challenging and mind-boggling at times, but still fun I must say, because it allowed for new connections to be made, be it on facebook, instagram or email. Next came online exposure, and not just blogging and a website, but sales. I am not really into the movement of selling books and art online, but it seems to be the trend and has been common words of advice, so I decided to give it a shot on Etsy and Carousell. Both haven't been working out very well, neither did Amazon (the verification stage was failed 3 times in a row despite documents submitted according to instruction). I am now wondering where else to sell this book in such a way that it would allow the process to continue to be sincere. I must say, online e-commerce platforms do allow much stronger control over the packaging of the book as well as the preparation of the surprise gifts that come with it, as compared to selling them in a store, mass-produced. However, the online platforms haven't really been working out and it is a little troubling.
As much as I will stick through it, I realised, after gathering advice, that having a distributor help distribute my books would still be a good and useful addition as well, to bring this book and its message to further places. This is where the headache starts. I recently found out from my local library that they only accept books from distributors, which brings even more reason to collaborate with a distributor. This feels slightly disappointing for I thought the library would be able to support local self-published books without a distributor once it has an ISBN number. Little did I know this isn't the case. Perhaps it is due to regulation and the need for standardisation and quality checks. The reasons may differ with different viewpoints. One thing remains for sure though: that self-published authors, still need to work with the existing system of economic regulation even after getting a book registered internationally (supposedly with an ISBN). No self-publisher can truly be independent alone in the current society, for the system is still in place. Freedom is never completely attainable.
This must be starting to sound depressing, but it is really not meant to be. Of course, there would be an inevitable tang of disappointment but it is a reality that integration with the system remains to be the first and foremost priority in indie craft and publishing, especially when we want our works to spread far and wide. Perhaps an equivalent of the desired effect could be achieved with personal networks, but there would still be limits unless one truly has amassed a very very large network even overseas, and such things take time.
Despite this being a clear issue and difficulty for self-publishers, it could also be a learning journey in itself, especially about adjusting, adapting and resourcefulness. I've never made as many new connections and experiences before this self-publishing journey, and for this, I am thankful for the challenges that have come.
The harsh reality is out there, but so is its gift of learning.
Looking forward to ringing up some distributing companies tomorrow, wish me luck.
Have a wonderful day, and thanks for reading my lengthy reflection.
Ai Wei