A short time ago, I launched the Facebook page for "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain," a novel I've been working on since early last year. It's the story of thirteen year-old Alexander and his outrageous fears of daily life in middle school. His fears of what might happen spiral out of control, until he feels compelled to confront a boy he perceives to be his arch-enemy. It's a fun little novel that's had an eight year evolution that began with a few casual comic drawings and an award-winning (but unproduced) screenplay. It's also my first novel, and so fulfills a life-long ambition. With the help of my editor / proofreader (in the guise of my niece, who does that sort of thing for a living), I'm almost ready to send Alexander out into the world.
Aside from the not-inconsequential task of actually writing the novel, it's become relatively easy to self-publish these days. Amazon, Barnes and Noble's Nook and Apple's iBook are becoming more and more widespread, and the pathway to preparing a book for publication is relatively straightforward - even more so when using one of several low-cost services that specialize in physically preparing works for those devices. Createspace, Amazon.com service that currently offers my documentary Bollywood Steps both as a physical DVD and on-demand video, also provides a similar service for paperback books. Amazon manufactures books on demand as consumers order them. My costs, depending upon the services I chose, can range from nothing to several hundred dollars. For a minor expense, my work is available to the world.
In recent years, self-publishing is less seen as so-called "vanity publishing" as a legitimate pathway to a potential audience. It still takes quality work, word of mouth, and a bit of creative marketing - but it no longer requires the approval of a "gatekeeper."
Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't mind someday achieving the still valuable legitimacy of being distributed by a mainstream publisher. At the same time, I'm not willing to shop around a manuscript for untold years when I can reach my intended audience directly.
I don’t care how old or how young you are - life is too short not to take a leap of faith. We’re living in the age of the entrepreneur - nothing is stopping us from at least giving it a try.
Naturally, I'm a bit anxious to see how this will all unfold - and if I can, in fact, reach the young audience I believe would most enjoy the book. Will ten people read it? One Hundred? One Thousand? Have I done my job as a writer? As a marketer? It's a great, exciting challenge.
"Food Chain" is part of a broader effort I’ve undertaken to discover how I might better employ social media to achieve my personal and professional goals. I'll assess how that effort is moving along in my next blog.
I'm very curious to see if or how this sells - short stories do well on Amazon, but this story in particular is designed primarily for middle grade readers - and I'm not certain if that age group accesses electronic short stories. It's a fun experiment. I'll be looking forward to seeing how it goes - and what you think!
