A few years back, I wrote a series for Inkling’s blog about my experience self-publishing my first book, The Goodbye-Love Generation. In many ways, this was the beginning of my work with independent authors over the last four years—my first foray into editing, releasing, and promoting a full-length book.

The Goodbye-Love Generation began its life as my master’s thesis for my MFA in fiction writing, which I earned ten years before I published it. You can read the story of what took me so long here, but I was pretty removed from the writing process as a result.

When you get an MFA, the capstone of the whole experience is defending your thesis. I remembered all the emotions and stresses leading up to this momentous occasion, but they weren’t foremost on my mind as I revised the book for publication.

Because the 50th anniversary of the Kent State shootings, which figure prominently in the book, inspired me to publish it, I was more concerned about the editing and publication process than the actual meat of revision. So, in many ways, the overall process was split in half.

I’d done the bulk of the work in 2010, but now, I was finishing the job, cleaning up the thing, and then deciding how I wanted to design the cover and put it out there for people to read.  

Next week, my second book, Why I Dyed My Hair Purple and Other Unorthodox Stories, is coming out. However, this time, I took a different approach to sharing this project with the world.

Selfishly, I wanted to independently publish it. I have learned so much in the last three years of offering typesetting as a service with Inkling, and I wanted the chance to apply that learning to my work.

(Honestly, The Goodbye-Love Generation was my first foray into typesetting books, and while I’m grateful for the warm reception it received, looking at it makes me want to cry on numerous levels.)

Yet, I knew that this book’s message about the value of the arts, creativity, and diverse testimonies to the church was too vital for me to tackle alone.

I needed help from a professional publisher with more experience and resources to get my book to the widest possible audience.

So, I did a lot of research on Christian publishers, and again and again, I kept going back to Calla Press Publishing, LLC. I was featured in an issue of their literary journal in 2022, and my friend Leslie Bustard, who encouraged me in the early stages of writing what would become Why I Dyed My Hair Purple, was a big supporter of their work.

When I saw that they had opened up manuscript submissions, I enthusiastically threw my hat in the ring, and I was delighted when the book was accepted.

I’ve received many questions from family and friends about this book, but by far, the most frequent query from those who know my work is why I decided to work with a traditional publisher and how the process has been different. After all, working with independent authors is Inkling’s bread and butter. So why the change?

I’ve answered the first part of that question already. Still, I thought sharing the five aspects of this experience that surprised me the most would be helpful for those who are debating whether to publish their books themselves or submit queries to publishers.

1. I had more agency than I expected.

I’d heard many horror stories about authors not having control over anything. Entire paragraphs and even chapters being deleted. Having a book cover you hate. So much editing being done that you barely recognize your own writing style.

Even though I had thoroughly vetted Calla Press Publishing before submitting my work and was confident they were the right people to take on my project, I still wondered how much control I’d have.

The answer was quite a lot. I got to submit a brand board with ideas I brainstormed for my cover, and as a result, I ended up with something that matched my aesthetic. Even after my first round of edits came back, I had a surprising amount of freedom to reject ideas that didn’t align with how I envisioned the project.

Much of this has to do with the impeccable character of the people I worked with, but ultimately, researching and vetting your publisher goes a long way. Look at their track record. Research the people who work there.

Don’t send anyone your work whom you suspect might not align with your values or creative vision.

2. If you ask people for help, they’ll usually help you.

One thing that terrified me was the prospect of asking people I respected to endorse the book. Intellectually, I knew they’re just people. They’re all writers, too, and they are dealing with the same challenges I am.

But for some reason, approaching them with that question scared the crap out of me.

Yet, most of them said yes, and those who couldn’t do it were genuinely sad that they couldn’t be involved.

Want someone to endorse your book? Think you’d be a good fit for a podcast?

Just ask. The worst they can say is no, and you will have lost nothing.

3. I had more blind spots than I thought I did.

We all have areas in our writing with weaknesses we’re unaware of. What I found, though, is that this was more prevalent for me in my essays than my fiction.

When I started getting edits back on my manuscript, I discovered that some pieces didn’t fit the overall book as well as I thought they did, and others could easily be misinterpreted because key details were missing.

Plenty of people had read the manuscript before, but they knew my story and had outside knowledge that surely filled in some gaps.

When you have someone who doesn’t know you or at least has more distance read your work, you’ll glimpse more directly what a reader’s experience will be like.

If I had gone ahead and published this book myself, readers would have been SO confused. Instead, it is now a million times better than I could have made it alone.

4. A shocking amount of writing happened at the very end.

I rewrote a lot. In some cases, the context I added was so extensive that it constituted a new piece. I also added brand-new pieces to fill in some glaring gaps we identified in the overall story.

Plus, a few weeks before we declared the thing “done,” some events unfolded that motivated me to rewrite the end of the final essay in the book.

I don’t know what I expected. I don’t think I was naïve enough to think I’d do some line edits and the thing would be done. But I certainly didn’t expect it to look like a completely new book.

That isn’t a bad thing, by the way. It’s great. It means my editors did their job exceptionally well.

5. You still do a lot of stuff yourself.

This didn’t surprise me. Even if you work with a traditional publisher, you are still responsible for most marketing. I was aware of this as someone who has worked with authors and in marketing.

I’m including it here so that you know to expect it if you end up working with a publisher.

I knew a lot about marketing that helped The Goodbye-Love Generation to get to a lot of readers, but when I put out the sequel (whenever that is), I’m going to be a pro.

I now know how to set up a launch team, query endorsers, make cool social media posts, set up a book event, search for podcasts to connect with, and a lot more things I wasn’t aware of until now.

Also, although book marketing isn’t a service that Inkling directly offers, I offer an hour-long consultation to discuss what is involved and what might work for you.  

It has been a real journey getting this book ready to share with an audience, and I’m excited for you to read it. Why I Dyed My Hair Purple and Other Unorthodox Stories is available for preorder now at Calla Press Publishing’s website, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.