What inspired you to write a book?
My first published story/poem was a submission to Highlights, the children's magazine, when I was 9. I've had tendencies towards the creative side since I was a small child. I think the seeds for expression are in every child. Sometimes life experience buries them for a while. But even ancient seeds can sprout. As I am getting older, I didn't want life to pass me by without making an effort to make my voice heard.
The particular subject I chose for My Wild, Wild Hair stems from an experience I had with an unwanted haircut, and about how I felt (or didn't feel) about my appearance as a young girl. I think coming to terms with your hair is a very common experience for young girls, and I wanted to write a story with a strong, independent female character. My father was a barber. I have always loved old barbershops and wanted to incorporate that into my story as well.
I have written and illustrated small stories in the past but hadn't put much effort into the mechanics or the industry rules used to create them, and how to get them to a publishable state. The inspiration for a more serious effort came from taking a community school course in illustrated children's books. I was lucky to come across an in-depth course led by a published children's book author, and I found that course foundation to be extremely helpful.
What led you to self-publish rather than seeking a traditional publisher?
One can divide the options for publishing into three categories. You can go the traditional route and seek a publishing house to take you on. This requires research into targeting the right house for your work. With this option you might also want to work with an agent who would promote your work to the publishing house for you. A second route is to go through a so-called vanity press, which will take you on for a fee and publish you without any editorial approval. This method often provides some marketing benefits. Thirdly, you can self-publish direct to a press. This method requires you to know how to get your files to the press, it requires you provide your own marketing, and it also requires printing expenses be paid by yourself.
Did you work with a self-publishing house?
I chose to go direct to press. My final medium was electronic art (with preliminary stages in paper and pencil). I have a background in technical publishing and felt confident to take my work direct to a printer.
I wanted to have the experience of finding a publishing house, and I did go through the motions of writing the cover letter, submitting the required samples, and waiting by the mailbox for the rejection letters to come. A traditional publishing house does not want to see a book with complete illustrations. They do want the complete manuscript. But they like to have a big say in the total package and may only accept a book with requested corrections or changes. And they nearly always want to design the cover so they can market it how they feel is best. It may be a character flaw of mine, but I wanted 100% creative control.
You did both the writing and illustration. If you had not illustrated the book, would there have been support for finding an illustrator you approved?
I believe there are vanity presses out there that can provide illustrators for you, just as there are traditional publishers out there with 'stables' of illustrators available for a project.
One of my main interests was the illustration role, so I haven't researched the paths for finding an illustrator for a writing project.
Are there any restrictions at all on your ownership or rights?
Since I have gone direct to press, I own my own work completely. All published work is copyright protected by simply stating that in the book.
What was the cost to you to complete the process? Now that the book is complete, are all profits from now on yours or shared with the printer?
As this was my first serious project and experimental, I chose to go for a very short press run of 100 copies. The costs can vary with the printer you choose and the number of copies you want. A larger press run is cheaper per copy but more expensive up-front. My expenses were roughly $1500. I like to think of it like this--it is much cheaper than a set of golf clubs and club fees, or ski equipment and lift tickets. I have yet to make a profit, but the experience has been worth the expense, and the expenses have been slightly offset with the copies I have sold and the experience gained.
If you write another book, would you use a service or go it alone again?
I intend to continue self-publishing without a traditional publisher, an agent, or a vanity press.
So where do you begin? Roughly what are the steps of the process?
To create an illustrated children's book, I would recommend finding a course to help you through the steps. I would also suggest a very good international organization: http://www.scbwi.org. They are a valuable resource for books, local classes, seminars, and details. They can also get you in touch with local critique groups. A critique group is a club of peers who meet informally to provide each other support and recommendation for works in process.
How did you go about identifying a good printer?
I used the Internet quite a bit for getting a lot of information quickly.
Did you have any unexpected difficulties applying for the ISBN, getting copyright, or with any other legal considerations?
Getting an ISBN number is easily done on the Internet. If you can sign on with a traditional publisher or a vanity press, they would obtain that for you. As a self-publisher, you can go to www.isbn-us.com and get one with no effort for roughly $75. There is no copyright registration necessary. Stating it in your work provides the protection.
It is not absolutely necessary to have an ISBN number if you aren't going to follow through with marketing. This tracking number would only be worthwhile for providing a way to keep your work in a database for a bookstore or library. I chose to get one as I wanted to learn the entire process.
Your background is in graphic arts. How helpful was that experience to the publishing process, or was there still a learning curve?
There was a definite learning curve. I work in a RGB color space for my art rendering and then convert to CMYK for the necessary press run. I am aware of the different color spaces and that there is a shift between them. I was disappointed in the final result as it didn't match what I was seeing on the computer screen or on my RGB color printer. I should have more closely worked with CMYK colors and used RGB only when I needed to. Photoshop has special effects only available if you are in RGB mode, and I should have been more cautious when using them.
In retrospect, I would have chosen a press that was local and whom I could communicate with face to face rather than via e-mail. I would like to know the actual press run much better.
What tips would you offer to other authors who wish to self-publish?
I would recommend finding a critique group, joining SCWBI, taking courses, reading books on the subject, and rustling up a lot of self-discipline to keeping the work in progress.
Do you currently have any plans for future books?
I do have plans to continue with more books. I have the rough outline of a book in my head, but it hasn't made it to storyboard yet. Getting something to storyboard, the first step, may be the most difficult!
© 2008 by AnnaLisa Michalski