Planning to Publish!

Photograph - Creative Commons (Andy Brill)

I am...Middle-aged on the edge of the publishing abyss. 

Squinting into the contemporary literary canyon. 

Giddy with the surge of push and shove between 

Trad' and Indie.    

I spend more time researching and reading about other people's 'amazing' success stories than I actually do writing and wrapping up my own projects. Or according to some sites 'my literary masterpieces that the world needs to hear'. ;-)

So I've got a plan. 

(Tongue in cheek.)

1) First decision: do I go with my 'real' name or do I choose a pen name?

2) Then... to dive in I will need a platform to dive/step/tremble off. (Necessary for both traditional and Indie so best I get on with it.)

3) That is, a website (domain, host, content) that links to my blog, facebook, twitter, pinterest, LinkedIn and so on.

All the while remembering that I already have some of these that are related to my personal and current professional life.  Hmmm! And some bits I would like to transfer to my new self-hosted, wordpress themed site.

At this point I feel like being on the publishing-pursuit trail is a little like
creating a whole new section of my life.
It is! Revelation.
An 'aha!' moment.

Currently I am on the verge of setting up the infrastructure for the platform. Phew!

4) Next step: a following. Also known as tribe, audience, supporters. (All the while remembering I've not got anything for them to be supporting; I have not scribed for my tribe so to speak.)

5) As soon as I'm ready I'll take on the Twitter Challenge (offered by The Write Practice) to create some momentum. Simultaneously I will comment on other blogs and sites and hopefully offer some useful information or entertaining analyses.

And I will research other ways to build my 'following' so my
 'platform' is a sturdy and useful 'diving board'.

6) In the meantime I WILL complete at least one project so I can experience the self-publishing process all the way from the neurons in my  'right-brain' through to Amazon and/or the other book sales options I have noted in my research.

7) I am considering investing in a manuscript assessment and an editor and some beta readers.

8) I will develop a marketing and promotion strategy to complement my initial foray into the Publishing world.

9) PUBLISH. For this first one I believe I am going Indie. Ta-Dah!

As I progress I believe I may be more inclined to investigate traditional options: agents and publishers.

 I will be wiser, I will have my writer/author persona electronically established
and I'll be diving like an Olympian. 

Thank you for bearing witness to my inaugural publishing (aka publishing debut) planning session. Your feedback and comments are very welcome. ;-)

Cheers Dawn :-)

Cerise sunset

Something a little poetic to celebrate the final salute of of our first day of Autumn in the southern hemisphere... 

Cerise veins weave filaments across the stretch of tiring light. Sun sinks deeper into the darkening sea.  I shiver. The last frail, pale pink wisps of stratus dissolve into delicate  translucent tapestry. Such beauty. One solar solo tear reaches my lip. One final ecliptic crimson kiss.
And sun slides beneath the inky line to shine;
upon another.