Can't Get Published? Self Publish an BLURB it!

You created your first novel.. But now what?

You've spent years writing your beloved treasure, caressing the words that spill forth, you lived it, breathed it, craving its final pages to loom in sight, yet it seems like forever. Then one day... It's done, you did it.. You finished your first novel! WOW!
Well done.. Now you spend days, week’s months.. and yes years editing it over and over again, then suddenly you have added another 40,000+ words.. Where the heck did that come from? You’ve proof read, edited, and finalized your perfect creation then send it to an assessor, or maybe even a book reviewer for 'constructive criticism’. You get the report back, loved the story line, characters need to come more alive, fix this, and correct that.. re-write this section. put it aside for another year then go back to it.
We loved it.. BUT...

Well this is everything I was told by Pen & Ink Services, Nelson, New Zealand.. and it's the best advice I ever had!

They were amazing! It was a well-spent $125.00NZ this was in 1999...

How it all started...

I separated from my partner, OK kicked him out haha anyway that aside.. We'd bought a brand new computer, it was such a long time ago now, all the way back in 1996.. I had had some experience on them, and was a lousy typist, but once we set the little black box up by the lounge window, it all fell into place. My wasted typing lessons at school that I had failed suddenly hit me and verrroooom I was typing! And I wasn't watching where the keys were.. I knew them back to front and one handed as well. I was so happy, I'd never typed like that in my life..

So, while I was sitting at that little black box; our trusty Compaq Presario.. Words began to spill over the screen and I loved it! I stopped after a few minutes and began to watch a couple of fantails flitting around my horse's paddock.. Playing in the warm sunshine, soaring high up in the sky, then diving back down again to a branch on the huge pine tree that gave my sleeping mare shelter from the hot sun...
I began to focus on them, watching them swirl and play, diving, darting, almost laughing out loud and without realizing it, I had started to write... a poem.. With Wings Be free.. I felt like I was one with the fantails playing on the breeze with them, I could feel them watching me, and it felt good!
Twelve months later, after having put the poem neatly tucked away in a folder beside my computer.. totally forgotten... it all began... I became a writer.

My first novel.. It's funny really because out of 36 titles, and most of them in creation with two being complete.. the way they began is intriguing even to me...

I was bored.. Tired, had had a poo of a day and my 4yo daughter had cut another tooth, therefore she was grumpy. My mare had dumped me on the ground.. a blade of grass facing the wrong way, this huge dragon ready to jump out at her.. She got in first and jumped it! And yes, I hit the dirt, and although I didn’t get hurt, was mighty peeved about landing on my butt!

It was about 10pm, July 1997, so long ago now, I had gone to bed, yet couldn’t sleep. one of those days where you lay awake and can't stop your mind from ticking away its merry little world of make believe and wonder.. I was poor back then, and couldn't afford a lot of food, but we didn't starve, I didn’t worry about me as long as my daughter had plenty.. Yet, laying in bed trying to sleep, I was hungry.

I walked through my massive 4-bedroom house to the kitchen.. I loved the house; it had 12foot walls up to the ceiling and wood paneling up to 10foot of all the walls,. It was built in 1875 by a couple that had migrated from the UK and had two large lounges, there were beautiful wooden concertina doors separating the second lounge and brickwork arches over huge wood boxes each side of the modern log fire and modernized café’ doors leading into an L-shaped kitchen, the old fashioned arch over the stove where in former years had been a coal range and lots of cupboards. I opened one of the cupboards near the stove and, being disappointed because there wasn't a lot that I wanted to eat.
Blueberries.. 6 cans of blueberries.. Hmm, I thought, maybe I could make a blueberry pie.. Then I thought 'too much effort, and I couldn't be bothered' so I went back to bed.. and tried to sleep.. yeah right!

You know what it's like.. laying awake.. with all sorts of thoughts wandering through your mind, wondering why it wont shut up and let you sleep... But then.. There's this movie that goes through your mind.. it's full colour, you're not awake, not asleep...

The movie that unfolded before my eyes was the beginning of my First Novel, and you guessed it.. Popping out of my little ‘twilight zone’ I got out of bed not quite half asleep, turned the computer on.. And a little less than four weeks later - I had finished my first 35,000 words! I have no idea where it came from.. It wasn’t a movie I had ever seen.. it was a vision that called me to put it into words, yeah weird. Even while I’m writing this now, it’s still weird. But, I wrote and wrote and wrote.. Making sure my daughter was fed in between, and occasionally making myself a cup of coffee and of course, feeding and tending to my horse. I had this irresistible urge to write.. When I was done with my 35,000 words, gave it a name.. I called it, April's Palm Trees & Blueberries.. Hmmm, where did this come from huh.. My kitchen of course lol

After I had done a few spell checks, edited sentences where I felt was necessary and read then re-read my amazing piece of art, I began printing the pages, as I printed each chapter I then gave it to my landlady who read it steadily and then she had told me she found the novel difficult to put down, she just had to keep reading; she had to know what happened and hounded me for more. After reading what I had given her, I asked her input. Once I was happy enough with my work, I hunted high and low for somewhere to send it for being published, but instead, I found a literary guild that did assessments on unpublished works of art and gave constructive criticism, not to mention book reviews.. I was in! Or, so I thought…

July 1999 I rang Lauren at Pen & Ink Services in Nelson.. she went through the pro’s an cons with me, quoted me a price and I bundled up my attempt at what I thought was a completed novel.. haha not likely.. 35,000 words is hardly a novel! Try 50,000 words.. and posted it..

Lauren was lovely about it, she wrote a letter back along with a chapter-by-chapter report on how the story flowed, suggestions on minor changes, and word usage. My first attempt, and a good constructive report. She said, and I quote this.. “we’re not horsy people, and wondered if the story would be overpowered by the amount of detail about horses, but it didn’t. the story flowed well, and had us captivated throughout and we couldn’t wait to find out what happened to April.” I was wrapped at their response, I knew people couldn’t put it down when they read it, and kept hounding me for more, but to get this in writing from two people who had read my novel, as short as it was then.. I valued their honesty and have to this day, 12years later, I have never forgotten what advice they had given me!

My first one that had been sent to Pen & Ink had somehow become a series of 2 then a series of 5 then suddenly.. it turned out to be a series of 7.. How the heck did that happen???

Well, it happened in my ‘twilight zone’ when, yes you guessed it.. I couldn’t sleep but lay awake watching this darn movie - again. But this time, it started at the beginning then flowed all the way through to the end.. the very last page.. Have you ever tried to ‘write’ the movie your brain conjured a few years before??? I tell ya, it’s interesting hehe

After starting a few more novels in this series and adding yet another 45,000 words to the first one, I had sent the novel back to Pen & Ink Services with a new title of Escape From Darkness © for a second assessment, it felt right. They were totally besotted with the novel and many people throughout the years have read my manuscripts, it has a magical twist with those little fantails that engrossed my imagination a few years prior.. Yeah, they found their way into the story.. And, so did the poem ;)

It’s now August 2010, I have had the novel mentioned above completed for some time, but other than contacting a few publishers which turned me down flat stating ‘We are not accepting manuscripts of this genre at this time.” Yup! I got the flat ‘No’.. We all know what It’s like to be turned down and have our ‘bubble burst’ when we have poured our heart and soul into our baby so to speak, I had tried a few more publishers a few years later then got too busy with other stuff and writing the next novel.
The past year has been full of trails and tribulations that have been out of my control, but at the end of June 2010, I decided I had to kick my own butt and do something about my novels and short stories.. so, the search was on for self-publishing. More money I haven’t got, the expense of self-publishing is nearly as much as it costs to hire someone to publish it for you.. call me cheap but my hard earned money is best used for other things, like living costs etc… as I was cruising around the internet looking for a self publishing site, and trust me there are lots of them.. I not only stumbled across HubPages but also stumbled across a really awesome website that I could choose to create my own books AND publish them myself!
The cost is so much lower than anywhere else on the internet, and I can print books to order.. If I want just one book - I can order one book, if I want a hundred books - I can order a hundred… Of course you get discount with the more you order which you get 15 days before it drops off the website where you uploaded it to show all your friends to purchase, but don’t worry, you can upload it again if you run out of time. :)
You only pay for what you order.. And the best thing is.. They arrive fast! Up to two weeks and they’re there, in your hands! WOW… So what did I do? Haha yeah you guessed it, I jumped in and downloaded the FREE program and created my first ready to print novel.. All those long years of hard work have finally paid off!

And now you can too.. So.. Stop worrying about how you are going to get published.. There’s no need to feel like it’s no longer impossible, and jump into Blurb and get your self-published!

It really is VERY EASY!!

Click Here to view my profile page at Blurb and keep your eye on my SOON TO BE uploaded novels which if you want to, can purchase your own copy of Escape From Darkness ©. The first in a series of 7. Just bookmark my profile page and drop back occasionally to see if there are any in stock.

Click Here to begin creating your own novels ready for print and sale :)

Books YOU can publish at Blurb..

Cookbooks, novels, photo books, biographies, journals, and calendars, anything your heart desires to create… or just visit the Bookstore.

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The Publishing Law centre - Legal Information for the Publishing Community

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The Writers Bureau - Comprehensive Creative Writing Course

Hubbers Pages:

Publishing Book 101 - Self Publishing & Publishing Hub