Storytime | My Crazy Publishing Story 

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Viv, has no one told you about the wonders of text to speech? When I edit, I have it read to me so I don't have to look for every misspelled word and unnecessary comma, it speeds up that part of editing and gives you a snip bit of how the characters might sound as well. So it's a double whammy. Easily find typos, and get a feel for voice without having to ask someone to read it all to you. Just a tip I've learned ;)

sounds like the lesson should be not setting a pre-order/publication date before your book is done...like DONE.

Our books came out about the same time and I also had some similar unexpected challenges. Thanks for making thing videos and sharing the real deal so other can be prepared for the hiccups of self-publishing. Here is a tip from my author coach that might help you and others. She recommends doing the ebook first. Publishing it quietly, spending a month getting reviews and then doing the official marketing in book launch 30 days later when publishing the ebook copy. It also gives you 30 extra days to account for unexpected trials!

OMGosh, what a journey. You must be exhausted. Glad you pushed through and got your book PUBLISHED!

I went through a very simular situation. They did that to me to. But they even locked my paperback as well. 😢😭😧😠 I thought I was alone. So I agree, YES, YES DO EVERYTHING EARLY.

Self-Publishing sounds like a hellish nightmare. No thanks

What a nightmare getting this published! Glad it worked out in the end.

Girl that sounds so stressful! Ad they say nothing worth having ever comes easy! That means your book will be a hit!

I have never had any problem like that with Create Space or Amazon. However, I have never set up a preorder so I think that might be what complicated things with Amazon. Create Space has improved over the years and is now user-friendly for the most part. I got your novel in the mail last Friday and when I pulled it out of the box I realized that I have been watching you for so long that it was like get a novel that a friend wrote. :)

The Createspace content validation request happened to me too! It was so frustrating because they stop your book from going up for sale until you verify that the book is your work, and they take FOREVER to actually read and respond to emails. My book is back up now, but I was very stressed for a week and a half while waiting for them.

Got stressed out just watching that and hearing you explain all of the drama. Nice video. Thank you for sharing and being vulnerable.

Oh my goodness, really looking forward to read it! Just bought it on my kindle now, and since I just removed my tonsils, I've got the time to read it! A while back, I was one of your beta readers, but I got sick, and literally fell of the face of the earth. I'm really sorry I never got back to you, but I'm so glad you've gotten it published! The prologue really drew me in, so I can't wait to read the entire book!

Girl......I hope you get a vacation!!! I'm glad you got all this done anyway

I haven't finished your book yet, but definitely planning on it once I finish! But I'm really loving it so far :)

Im so proud of you! I wish you the best of luck in the future! ~from an aspiring author ❤️

Oh no, I’m sorry you had such a stressful experience! Thank you for sharing it all! Congrats. Can’t wait to read it.

Just WOW! I'm glad everything worked out. I can't wait to order your book.

I'm so sorry you went through this! I did notice that you sent the ARCs a bit late (usually publishers/authors send them way before the publication date). Glad to hear you still believe in self-publishing! 😊

Congratulations on your success! I’ve been watching you for a while and I’m happy to see you do well!

I swear, I want to read your book and post a thoughtful review. But I'm stuck at the moment, and it may be a full year. I love the detail you go into about getting published, and how you're not afraid to admit the mistakes you made. This is so helpful, I can't even.

Holy geezzz! You had loads of crazy going on days and HOURS before your book was published! So sorry you had to go through all that trouble, but TEP looks amazing, and I'm so happy for you!

Omgosh what a nightmare! I can imagine how relieved you are that it's all over, and your book is finally done and published. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I can't wait to pick up your book!

My first publication was also stressing and a bit frustrating for me. I did some mistakes, but I learned with them. I’m writing a new book that I will self-publishing and now I’m buch more confident. So, what I want to say with that is “you’re not alone, and don’t be hard with youself. also, thank you for sharing your story with us” ♥️

I too had a crazy experience with the editor for my debut novel. Sent her the book and she sent me an invoice for $100 more than we had talked about (I paid it because I'm a doormat at times). I was told it would take 6 weeks to get back to me which was well within my timeline for my release. Week 6 came and went with no word from her. I emailed and heard nothing for a few days. Week 7 came and went with still no update, no new timeline, nothing to help my growing worries as it was getting to be crunch time. Week 8 came. I asked for a refund and full stop and planned to publish my novel as was with typos, mistakes, etc... littered throughout it. She finally got back to me with that and I had the edits in hand the day before week 9 (3 days before the manuscript was due to B&N for pub day). Then with all of that said and done, the edits that she gave me had page and paragraph numbers that didn't line up anywhere, even from the beginning of the book so I had to ctrl+F through the whole thing to find her edits and see if I actually wanted to implement them. It was the evening before my B&N deadline when I was finished with the edits and submitted my manuscript. I really wish things like this didn't happen, but that's not something within our control as writers, I guess....

Thanks so much for sharing your story, I actually just stumbled upon your videos and I’m super interested in your book! Congratulations on publishing your book, it’s such a huge accomplishment!

Hi Vivien! Firstly, congratulations on the book and sorry it didn't go as smoothly and sort of dampened the experience, I hope you still celebrated! Secondly, thank you so much for all the content on your page. I am roughly 20k words from finishing my first novel, (it's taken the best part of four years to finally get there) and your videos are such a huge help. I have just downloaded a sample of you book (my phone/kindle is currently broken boo) and I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. Good luck in all your future works! Will definitely be keeping an eye out.

Wow, I just totally feel for ya. Congratulations though. And thank you for sharing. Really.

Oh you had a rough go! That means your second book release will go smoothly. 💙

Omg I just got to the pre-order fiasco part. How horrifying.

Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry that happened, but thanks for sharing your journey. It was like everything that could go wrong went wrong. I totally understand why you needed a break. Go bask in the glory of your book!

Saw ur semi-panic on Twitter, V, I'm sorry u had 2go thru those things but relieved ur book is finally here!!! If it's possible could u do a video detailing the pros and cons of using CreateSpace, IngramSpark and KDP? As an aspiring self-publishing author, I'm curious to find out from someone who knows. If it's not too much trouble...

I got your book last night. I am soooooo excited. Once I finish the book it’s going on my bookshelf. Because your last name is our IE. That means it’s gonna be going right next to the Harry Potter.

My signed copy should be arriving any day now! Excited to read!!!!! 😃

Honestly....I totally get it. I went through this exact process. So much love x it's worth it in the end.

Hi; I have been watching just about all of your excellent videos on writing; I have learned a lot. Watching you talk about your new book Elysian Prophecy left me no choice but to buy it from Kindle a few minutes ago. I will write a review after I finish reading it. Best wishes for your continued success.

Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for making this video so I’ll know what to expect! I need to go buy your book! And Kim Chances! I’m at the end of my edits and am doing my formatting and finishing up things for my cover. No one knows how stressful all this is!!❤️

Vivien, so sorry to hear of all your troubles which were basically all Amazon's fault. I think your story shows why it is a good idea to have someone there to help with the book launch and marketing side of things. Otherwise it is like asking someone who just ran a marathon to run another marathon.

Wow I love your book cover and title. I will totally check it out.

Thank heavens u didnt give up! Its an amazing book ❤❤ Loved it ❤

I pre-ordered your book! I'm about half way through it and it's really good! Even though your publishing plans didn't work the way you wanted, I still really enjoy the end result, and that's your finished product. I'm so happy with it that I'm also going to purchase a hard copy for my library! That way, when my toddler has grown into an avid book lover she'll have a chance to read it too.

Oh my gosh that all sounds so stressful! I'm so sad it all kind of dulled the experience for you. BUT you have had the experience and will know for the future, and you've shared it with those considering using the same platforms. Would you consider making a video on self publishing on Amazon, createspace etc? It would be really helpful to have. A short, bullet point version of this video with the core details (like how far in advance you would recommend uploading for eg) Congratulations again! :) x

SO HAPPY FOR YOU VIV PUBLISHING A BOOK IS ALSO MY DREAM AND HERE YOU ARE, YOU DID IT. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED YOU STILL FORCED YOUR WAY INTO THERE AND FOR THAT YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF YOURSELF

Just ordered my signed copy of TEP and I can't wait to read it! :) I'm so sorry you had to go through all this trouble, but thank you so much for sharing this video with the world. I'm sure a lot of people will benefit from this!

What documents have you submit to CreateSpace Request Validation Team to have your book “suppressed”? Mine is still in limbo even after sending documents. 😞

This is why I like traditional publishing. Even though it will take more time (than self publishing) to get published, I can't take this much tension.....

Thank you for story time, I'm happy that everything worked out for you Viv. I love your video and I know that your 📚 is going to be awesome. Keep up the great work 🌻 and oh you don't have to apologize for not changing your clothes (it's cool). How much are your signed copies?

Congrats on the new release!

Oh man that sounds so stressful!! So glad it all worked out in the end!

Omg! I have anxiety and stress just listening to that nightmare!! I wouldn’t even know what documents and where to get them for a content validation! Lmfao! I’d be so pissed!

Yeah, I will never trust Amazon when it comes to pretty much any of it, lol. This exact thing is the reason why I don't do preorders.

I'm so sorry that happened to you! I'm happy you published the book. :) Can't wait to read it.

So happy you finally published your book! While I was writing mine i reallly appreciated your videos - i learned so so much from you! Would have sended you a thank-you-for-making-this-possible copy but it is in german :)

Awesome vídeo. Thank you for sharing your experiencia. Planing to buy you book! 🙋

I'll totally read and review!!

I'm a big fan. Many thanks!

Best of luck on your book hun

That sounded horrendous. Thanks for sharing though, it’s really valuable advice.

when it comes to proofreading I found text to speech programs help me a lot. The human brain automatically fills in the correct words, especially when you are the one who wrote it. I have found that listening and watching the tts process, it is more apparent to hear the mistakes such as "he" instead of "the." I use "Text aloud" I hope you try it. :)

Good to hear you used Reedsy and had good luck with it. I think I'll be using it to find an editor for my book.

Wow, this makes me appreciate the book a lot more knowing all the shit that you had to dig through to get this to us! Obviously the book is very well written and encapturing, but this backstory makes me be so much more grateful for the book XD God bless!

Hopefully your next published book runs a little smoother!!

I wish I had the foresight to mention the downsides of using Createspace. It usually takes like a week or 2 before your book is really ready to be printed and published. Like you mentioned the validation feature and all these other quirks to prevent frauds take time. That's why I anticipate having one week where I can't do anything with my book until CS has finished vetting it. Sorry I didn't think to mention this.

I am someone just starting the writing process and I thoroughly enjoy your videos. Thank you for sharing your process. What is the name of the sight you used to find a proof reader?

Oh heavens, Vivien, I'm so sorry to hear about all of this frustration you had to go through. This sounds incredibly aggravating. If you had to do everything all over again and had to pick self-publishing, or find a writing agent and worked on getting a book deal somehow, which one would you pick and why? I know you mentioned you believe in self-publishing still, but I feel like what you endured here sounds very much not to be worth it.

Read your free e-book, great book, great job. Thank you for the video and wisdom.

Wow, you poor thing!

It must feel great to hold a book you wrote

Vivien could you do a in debts process explaining the copyright process I became i bit confused. I also apologize if you have already made video of this. If you could please provide the link. Thank you for the videos, they are great.

Holy hell, that was a harrowing tale, I can only imagine the amount of stress :/ Any way, your book exists out in the world, go enjoy that feeling.

The best victories are hard won.

What is the company you used for the proofreading service? Did I miss a link?

I thought self publishing was suppose to be the easy route lol.

Did you use Scrivner for the formatting? I just compiled and exported the first draft of my book from there and I’m finding it hard to use for the editing/tracking changes/formatting stuff. Do I just need to do more tutorials? Congrats on the book and thanks for sharing the lessons learned with us!

Do you have an audiobook version in the works?

You’re so lovely

What did you have to provide for the content validation request? 🤔

Wow, just watching this video gave me MAJOR anxiety. Like...I'm scared to now publish. lol Anyway, you can do a video about all the things that went wrong, but not in a vent-y way, but more like "I did this, and this went wrong" SO "here is the solution, next time do that"...maybe that can help other new writers who will be going through that process in the future. :)

readsea? Wheres the link?

How do you prove that you are the author?

Vivian I squeal you post a new video!!!!!

don't you just rate those commas!

1000 $ on a proofreader ooh no no no no no are you going to earn that much money out of your book 1000 $ is too much like (68,634.50 Indian Rupee) in India for this much money you can do every this editing + publishing + print outing book every thin under 1000$

Yes, despite all the born again evangelistic business management fads there have been, never assume anyone will do what they say or that a process will work out correctly first time. When you plan timescales for any project each activity is really composed of two parts; Do the activity, fix the problems.