One Year of Embracing the Journey
Some reflections one year after my first book was published
When I decided that I was going to publish a book of my essays, it was an admittedly bold move.
After all, I had a very small audience, no local connections, and I was learning the process of self-publishing as I went. Looking back, it might have been a little foolish to believe that I could have any level of success with a book when I only had 218 subscribers to my blog, and engagement on Instagram and Facebook was consistently tanking with each additional month.1
But I did it anyway and I learned a lot in the process.
I announced I was writing a book and then put together an amazing beta team who helped me transform it from a disconnected book of essay/blog posts to something that people would easily read and digest.
I wrote and wrote and learned a lot about the process of editing, lessons that two English degrees and years of teaching couldn’t have taught me.
And then I announced the official publication of my book.
I learned that it wasn’t as easy as just putting my book up on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited, no matter how easy other people made it look. I did work some to publicize my book, holding a book signing at a local independent book store. A few friends showed up, but that was it, and I had to remind myself that even professionals struggle to have busy book signings.
Then I went on a couple of podcasts.
Yes, Twitter friends are a real thing, and one of the saddest parts for me regarding Twitter’s downfall is the loss of interaction with people who have become online friends.
One of those online friends,
Pyle, invited me to be on his podcast, Better on the Inside. It was an amazing conversation and I hope that you will take a listen.I also did a podcast interview with fellow Substacker
to talk about the process of writing my book. You can listen to that episode here:
A colleague invited me to speak to her Creative Writing class and so I talked to them about memoir writing and then did a book talk with her Creative Writing club to talk about the process of writing and publishing.
I posted on social media and took our book on vacations. I held a book giveaway and got a few entries, but it didn’t go very far. I left my book in Little Free Libraries everywhere we visited and all over Indianapolis. I hustled and learned as I hustled, reading additional work by fellow writers and networking with them on Substack and now Threads.
Would I do it all over again? Yes. Are there things I would do differently? Yes.
I would have listed my book on IngramSpark and KDP at the same time from the very beginning. I also would have gotten my own ISBNs from the very beginning. And I would have networked more with local bookstores before I hit “publish.”
But all of the lessons I have learned in the past year have also given me ideas and pathways for my new book project, and I will use Embracing the Journey to help sell my camping memoir as well. I will continue to enjoy the time that I spend with the local library writing groups as I share my new writing with them. I will continue to connect with other writers and see if we can collaborate to share our work. My first year of Embracing the Journey may have seen small dividends, but I also believe that there is more yet to come for my little book as I grow my audience and continue to develop as a writer.
So thank you, dear reader, for joining me on the journey, and look for more information on how you can enjoy the work that I am so proud to call my first book.
Support my writing
While most of my work here is free for all subscribers, it is still a labor of love that I fit into the few hours I have when I am not teaching or being an attentive wife and mom. If you would like to support my writing but you do not want to commit to being a paid subscriber, please consider one-time donation.
You can also support me by ordering my book or books from my favorite book lists at my Bookshop.org affiliate page.
If you want to be a regular supporter, you can upgrade your subscription from free to paid and get occasional content only for paid subscribers.
And thank you for supporting my journey 💗
By contrast, I now have more than twice as many subscribers as I complete work on my second book.
Thank you for sharing about your book journey, Sara! I’ve been thinking about compiling my essays from Liz Explores into a self-published book, so I’m happy to have your tips and lessons learned.