Taking the Leap into Self-Publishing
One year ago, I jumped into the deep end with a decision to self-publish. I’d actually made that decision before, maybe four or five times before. But this time, it was for real.
The Turning Point: A Need for Progress
What happened to finally make me take the plunge?
It had been nearly two years since my last publication, with the exception of a non-paying reprint of 314 words. I had one book of flash fiction out, and my follow-up book of short stories had been in development for a while. I didn’t know when it was going to see print. Meanwhile, I had a lot more stories that didn’t make the cut for the new collection. Many needed some work if they were going to be included in an eventual follow-up book. But I needed a book first, and a successful one.
How the Concept of Burke’s Lore Briefs Took Shape
So what made the decision to self-publish take hold this time?
I realized that putting out small books of my own on Kindle Unlimited could spur interest in my bigger collection when it was published. And since the collection was to carry the series title, “Burke Lore,” these smaller sets of 2-4 stories could be “Burke’s Lore Briefs.” After all, one bad pun deserves another. I even expanded on the pun when I took a photo that would be used on the cover of each book with the image in the center changing for each “brief.”
All I had to do now was to find stories on related themes and expand them a little bit. Luckily, a previous editor who liked a couple of my stories left me guidelines on how to expand my work. Basically, start questioning everything.
Sure, his blind date from the app had angel wings. Forget “was she for real?” The better question was “If she is a real angel, before she even comes to the restaurant, why is she down on Earth in the first place?” Is the draw of Italian food that great that it reaches into Heaven?
Those two homesteading vampires living a simple life in early 19th Century Oklahoma, why are they living like that? How did they get there? And when exactly was Oklahoma settled? Oh, wait, maybe Kansas would be better?
Suddenly, I started to worry about overwriting my targets. This wasn’t a big concern for an ebook, but Amazon had persuaded me to make print copies as well. I didn’t expect it to be as easy as it was, and it wasn’t going to cost me anything until I decided I wanted author copies. That’s when I would have to shell out some money. And more pages would be more money, but how much could I charge?
Money was a big concern. I didn’t have delusions that dollars would come rolling in. Would I make enough to cover what I need to spend to produce a book that I had my own doubts about?
I didn’t pay for an editor but I had a lot of help. Many eyes passed over the manuscript producing many corrections and suggestions, leading to more corrections.
The Cover Dilemma: Vision Meets Challenges
The cover, however, was a problem. I didn’t want something bland and generic. Preferably, I’ll choose items that reflect my values and connect with my audience. I had the vision but not the skill to realize it. I had my file folder photo with its sheet of white paper waiting for an image to be superimposed on it, but I needed someone to create the image. There was nothing close to what I needed that could be assembled from image libraries. I nearly had an image of an angel standing in front of a moonlit lake because that’s where she’s standing for a couple of paragraphs at the end of the story.
A young, artist acquaintance convinced me that it wasn’t the way to go. She gave me an idea of what she would do if I wanted her assistance, and I accepted. Then real life got in the way, and I never received anything. (To her credit, she nailed the image for the second cover a few months later.)
Pushing Through: Unexpected Criticism and Surprising Success
Feeling a “now or never” vibe that told me that I would abandon my project again, I went with my last option. I had some artificial help, which was duly noted and edited as best as I could because I still couldn’t get what I wanted. In the end, I was criticized quite a bit for doing so. If there’s ever a second edition, the cover will be the first thing to go.
The strangest thing happened after that. I actually saw more paperback sales than ebooks. I had to wonder if friends were buying them. They’d be of an age (like mine) that might prefer the feel of paper when they read. Likewise, when I got my author copies, a number of coworkers bought copies because they were amazed that I was able to publish my own book.
Lessons Learned: Confidence, Branding, and Moving Forward
Now that I’d done it, I felt more confident that I could do it again. And I did. But there was a downside that I hadn’t counted on with this fanciful advertising campaign for my “real” book.
When my small press collection was ready to go to print, my editor had a concern. Since I’d used “Burke’s Lore” in my self-published books, she felt the need to remove it from the book she had to avoid brand confusion. I understood immediately and wished it had occurred to me sooner. I didn’t think to ask her first.
Lesson learned.
That said, I can add that since I’m Christopher J. Burke, anything I write is “Burke’s Lore,” whether it says so on the cover or not.
Luckily, my Brief books do!
I’d like to thank Author’s Lounge for approaching me about writing this piece. If you’d like more information about Burke’s Lore, or about me, check out the following links:
My author page: http://mrburkemath.net
My X page: https://x.com/mrburkemath
Burke’s Lore on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D11SDWCX
