Adventures in Self-Publishing, episode 1?

I am pretty sure I have discussed in the past the issue of self-publishing. It is no longer the realm of the vanity publishers, and there are legitimate sites that have really taken off in the last few years. Of course, the very idea of being solely responsible for absolutely everything relating to your precious book is daunting, but it does have its appeal, namely the ability to cling to it as simply YOURS, not some faceless agent, editor, or publisher who is going to take it and do god only knows what to it, and the fear is that it becomes something completely unrecognizable, right?

Well, I was poking around the NaNo site, and there are some really excellent sponsor offers available to Wrimos, both participants and winners themselves. No, really, take a look: NaNo sponsors

Obviously, once I complete my long-suffering work in progress, I would love to publish it somehow. Ideally, yes, get it on bookshelves around the world, getting a fat contract and check, and becoming fabulously wealthy! Ok, but seriously, getting it out there is the important thing to me, to feel like I have actually DONE something. So I'm looking over these offers... and I find LeanPub. Really interesting concept, it allows authors to publish their WIP's... for whoa, actual money? Hold the presses here... I have to look further.

Yes, indeed, for a 90% royalty, minus a .50 fee (did I really read that right? Yep, you did) an author can gain readership, feedback, and a check, all at the same time. It's like getting an advance on a finished novel, with the readers themselves giving you their opinions as you go along. Similar to blogging, I suppose. The author sets the price, can even donate to a cause, and can update their novel as often as they want. Of course, this comes with a limitation as to how much space can get hosted through the file sharing service utilized by LeanPub, called Dropbox, though you can earn or purchase upgrades beyond what is initially offered.

So what does the reader get out of this? Well, by purchasing a work through LeanPub, they get interaction with the author, and free updates whenever the author changes something. I think that's pretty darn neat, so what the hell, I am giving it a try with my NaNo project this year.

So the unveiling of what that project will be? Haha, surprise, it's going to be to finish my novel about Salome, which I am tentatively titling The Marchmont Falcon. (Potential to be a series, here, btw.) Since I already have a significant amount completed, I will publish what I have thus far, and update throughout November, hopefully ending with a finished book. Conclude with some SERIOUS editing, and I can take that to places like CreateSpace and Smashwords to generate a physical copy and ISBN, and provide it to as wide an audience as possible!!!! OMG, too exciting for words, but baby steps, baby steps...

So, PLEASE, if you read this, go check out my book at LeanPub, pony up the 1.99 list price (10% will go back to NaNo) and help me along on my journey to become a published author at last!!!

The Marchmont Falcon