Now that the official launch of Core Haven is only a week away, I think it’s high time I share my personalized self-publishing checklist that has all but the after-party items checked off. I know, I know, you’ve been waiting with bated breath, so here it is.

(NOTE: Apologies to those who detest lists and/or check marks. I’m beginning to think both are the real drivers of my motivation bus—leftovers from early childhood experiences with star stickers for completed tasks, I suppose.)

Self-publishing Scramble a la Faraday

Ingredients (in no particular order):

• ✅ a viable “What if…?” storyline
• ✅ a fictionalized world
• ✅ characters
• ✅ dialogue
• ✅ allusions to old loves & foes
• ✅ exploitation of painful/humorous personal events
• ✅ plot progression
• ✅ the kitchen sink
• ✅ key ingredients
  • ✅ generous doses of celebration at every hint of a milestone

Steps

• ✅ combine ingredients
• ✅ rearrange, add to, & embellish vigorously
• ✅ fictionalize names & events as needed
• ✅ revise till done
• ✅ proofread till done
• ✅ revise ad nauseam
• ✅ proofread yet again
• ✅ polish till madness begins settling in
• ✅ decide how & where to publish
• ✅ ask friends & loved ones to be beta or ARC readers
• ✅ twist the arms of any recalcitrant volunteers in the previous step
• ✅ pretend you don’t care about being ignored by anyone in the previous two steps
• ✅ decide about book promotions
• ✅ research market options
• ✅ sort through endless cold emails from marketers
• ✅ click the damn buttons to actually publish the book
• ✅ go back & proofread one last time just in case
• ✅ click the damn buttons again & shut down any & all devices & hide notebooks
• ✅ take a long walk & plan another project
• ✅ endlessly “tend” the data, shamelessly cajoling the numbers with prayers, incantations, rituals etc. in an absurd attempt to tip the balance of the game

Cleanup After-party

• __ go back & organize every last file
• __ back up all data
• __ write a thorough analysis of what did & didn’t work
• __ delete as many files as possible
• __ make a list of suggestions for future projects
• __ plan to start marketing a few months earlier next time, will you? (That wasn’t directed at myself or anything.)

Celebration

• __ celebrate any old whichway
• __ accept the outcome in all its varied forms
• __ ease into the next project as if it were a cold mountain lake on a blistering summer day.

Meanwhile, back at the launchpad…

Drew

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BookFunnel Promo LINK

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I invite you to check out Lee Hall’s excellent video review, especially the first book he includes on his short list of memorable indie reads—uh-huh, that would be Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown.

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