And now for the news!
Some highlights from this month in the world of self-publishing, specifically interviews with or articles written by self-publishing authors and experts!
Self-publishing doesn’t often rate a mention in the Business News Daily, but this week, something extraordinary happened–or should we say someone extraordinary? Meet Payal Kindiger, CEO of Storymakery, a new startup which is changing the way storytelling to children is done. Says Kindiger, “I have always loved creative writing. I was shy during early childhood, so writing became a natural form of expression and way of standing out as a student.” She found ways to preserve and cultivate that love throughout her professional career, even as she jumped from a career in IT management consulting to an IT Services/Software business she co-founded and ran with other partners. While raising her own daughter, Kindiger realized something important was lacking when it came to storytelling services for kids: “This made me think – While there were so many different digital storytelling sites, there wasn’t a platform, or experience, available for kids to self-publish.” How to solve the problem? Become an entrepreneur and invent her own solution! Storymakery came into being with the goal of “elevat[ing] the experience of reading and writing through [an] in-store experience where kids work with staff to create their own stories and illustrations from start to finish,” says Kindiger. And the model seems to be a success! But more importantly, Kindiger’s vision for self-publishing–that there’s room for kids to publish, too–may lead to an even kinder, even more inclusive, model for us all.
John Gray knows the taste of rejection, but he hasn’t let it stop him from doing great things! A regular contributor to the Saratogian in the form of a weekly column, Gray wrote this last week about his personal experience in self-publishing a children’s book designed to help children cope with the loss of a pet. The book, titled God Needed a Puppy, was submitted to and rejected by a number of traditional publishers before Gray settled on a self-publishing company which allowed him to publish his book his way. In a lucky twist of fate, Gray, who had moderated his expectations for book sales accordingly, learned that starting small won’t hold a good book back–and his picture book has gone on to sell more than 10,000 copies. For a sense of scale, 10,000 preorders is enough to land a book on the New York Times bestseller lists. The bigger traditional publishing houses have made an art and a science out of landing their books on these lists (it’s great promotion), but Gray managed to make his sales without preorders and without the benefit of a full-time marketing staff. The rest of his story is equally inspirational! We highly recommend you check out his full opinion piece at the link.
The future of self-publishing is here, and it looks a lot like the dreams we had as teenagers–dreams which self-publishing, with all of its advances, can now make possible. Writes Samantha of the Vindicator, high school students in Struthers, Ohio: “Three students in particular share a love of writing, faith in God and an appreciation for the role models who helped guide them.” They’re doing this on their own terms, and with the full support (and inspiration!) of their families. Fore more on their individual books, we recommend you check out the full article online at the Vindicator.
As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.
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