It’s getting closer to the official release date!! What I have done the last week was: packing and sending off some author copies to friends, and what can I say… the mailing process is a tedious one.
Weighing, filling out customs declarations, a suddenly self-emptying shopping basket by the shipping service online… duh. But they are on their way! Actually the first book has already arrived!
My next step is to rework my website to include the book… as I am doing all by myself, it takes a lot of getting used to work with WordPress. Or rather getting WordPress to listen to me. While I shout at it.
Oh, and I think it might be interesting for my fellow writers to get to know my personal reasons for selfpublishing.
1. Trust first.
If that makes sense: Writing poems, editing, picking, arranging, there is a whole red thread behind that, an artistic idea, and before I give it into an editor’s hand, or a publisher’s, they need to prove to me they are able to grasp my creative concept. I haven’t come across one so far I trust with that completely. Yes, I have high expectations.
2. It’s the process. It’s a Gesamtkunstwerk.
I created the cover myself. I stamped leaves/feathers using a selfcut potato and acrylics on paper. This was a messy process and a great challenge for me to let go, as I am one hell of a perfectionist (which comes in handy while editing, but also can be that which breaks my neck). The process of creating this cover mirrors my struggles and my dedication to deal with them. If I had given it into other hands, it would have been… you know. Meh. Not the process that I owed to myself. Or to my poems.
3. My limits.
I am bad with approaching others. I’m not daring. I question everything. I need to build up trust before I dare to speak up and point out my boundaries. These are quite clear to me though, communicating them is hard. If I do everything on my own in the publishing process, I avoid having to deal with this. I know what happens when I go past my mental resources. I will not do that.
(Fun fact. Doing everything on my own, although being a whole lot of work, is still less energy consuming than dealing with trying to communicate and getting through to other humans.)
4. I have seen other publications.
They are the flagships for these publishers. And small publishers often don’t have a professional designer at hand for their covers. Being that the case, I can do it on my own, too.
5. I love learning.
When I see something new, exciting, I will dive in and learn enough about it, so I can do it. I have already used WordPress years ago, I know I can do it again. I have some good intuition about visual presentation, I can use that. I can also learn to use a graphic program, or at least befriend the functions that I need for my purpose!
My former German teacher said that I would never excel in anything, because I do too many different things on a good level at the same time. She was wrong. I excel in knowing enough, and in connecting the dots.
So selfpublishing is a process I wanted to learn! It’s fun!
My book will be RELEASED END OF MARCH — and I will keep you up to date about international availability ❤️
The AUDIOBOOK will be available to any buyer who shoots me a message.
PLAYLISTS with accompanying music are linked in my linktree in my profile and soon on my website, too.
pi & anne 
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