Earlier this week I finished a read-through of my book and now it is in the hands of my family members for their critique and editing assistance before I send it out to others for critique and editing.

The front cover design is finished and I’m having a photo shoot in the morning so that I will have a current bio picture for the back cover. Then will follow the task of writing a bio and the back cover copy.

I met with a good friend of mine last week to discuss the interior page design and layout. After reading my previous post on page layout, she offered her services to me and I am SO relieved to not have to learn how to use a new software program on top of everything else right now!

I also met with another friend who has agreed to be my Marketing Manager. She is starting to compile contact lists and work on some other marketing-related research. I am so grateful for her input and help!

One thing that I am definitely learning is the importance of collaborating with others. My tendency is to try to do everything myself, but it has been invaluable to have the assistance of friends with various aspects of this self-publishing business! I know I will have a much better product in the end because of the expertise of those who are contributing to each aspect of the project.

So, my advice to all self-publishers…get help! There’s a reason there is a whole industry devoted to publishing books. 🙂