What I learnt from self-publishing on KDP — Part one
AKA How to make lemon tarts from the lemons that life throws at you
2020 was supposed to be my year!
My debut novel was scheduled to release in April. Things were going according to plan. I was on top of the world, dreaming of a book launch, with no idea that I’d be publishing a book on KDP before the year was out.
And then, 2020 just went off the rails.
First, I lost my Dad.
Then, COVID-19 hit us with the force of a freight train.
Life as we knew it, ground to a halt. People were losing lives and jobs. It was just ridiculous to think of releasing a book in such trying times.
So, we waited. And we’re still waiting.
The book is at the printers and will be out sometime next month, God willing.
Meanwhile …
I had already started promoting Along Came A Spyder, because it was supposed to be out in April.
My friends and I kept promoting it over the next couple of months, not knowing that it wouldn’t see daylight for a looongtime.
I had generated a fair amount of marketing momentum, and I was in danger of losing it all because of the delay. That’s when I decided to put all that momentum to good use.
Along Came A Spyder begins when the protagonist, Samira, is seventeen.
I wanted to give my readers a taste of her super-interesting childhood as the daughter of elite spies. So, I decided to write a novella about her past.
It was the story of her childhood, which would explain a lot of things about Samira and her family. Yet, I had to keep the novella rooted in the present in order to tie it in with Along Came A Spyder.
Which is how The Itsy Bitsy Spyder came about.
Click here to read it in the US, or here to read it in India!
When life hands you lemons, you make lemon tarts!
That’s what I did!
I took those sour life lemons, and turned them into the most fun and zingy tart ever.
I wrote my novella in ten days. It was a crazy rush to decide the title, get the manuscript beta read, and get the cover done.
But, when you have wonderful friends to support you, anything is possible, and I’m blessed to have friends who brought The Itsy Bitsy Spyder to life.
Merril Anil created that wonderful cover over the space of one weekend.
Shilpa Suraj and Debdatta Sahay beta read it overnight, and we were good to go!
Publishing a book on KDP is not very difficult, especially when someone guides you.
I referred to Andaleeb Wajid’s very informative series of posts on the whole process, which made it fairly simple.
In my next post, I’ll tell you all about the publishing experience. I’ll list all the mistakes I made, and tell you how to avoid them.
I’ll also discuss the pros and cons of KDP, from my limited experience.
So, stay tuned for my next post!
Have you published books on KDP? Do comment below to tell me how you liked it.
