Elaine Faber

CREATING A SELF-PUBLISHED NOVEL

I just published my latest Black Cat cozy mystery/adventure, Black Cat and the Immigrant Child. In this novel, Grandmother has passed away, and Black Cat and his family return to Texas to settle her affairs. On the first day there, the body of a young immigrant, likely carrying drugs, is found murdered on the prairie. A little girl is found beside him. The family takes in the child and cooperates with the Border Patrol in an effort to locate her family. Of course, Black Cat overhears a stable hand confess to the murder with the intent to harm the child who may be able to identify him. Black Cat, Angel, and the huge Maine Coon barn cat, Murphy, join forces to protect the child and bring the killer to justice.

So, what went on behind the curtain, before the books were published?

I spent hundreds of hours writing and editing the final manuscript. With the help of 3-4 beta readers, an intensive editing process is done to identify typos, punctuation issues, storyline snags, expand certain scenes, and generally look for anything that needs to be changed.

(Other types of editors are available to the author at this point who can suggest changes or give advice.)

As I self-publish, further steps toward publication all become my responsibility. I’ll envision a general cover concept, and as I prefer photographs, I'll search Shutterstock, Fotolia, and other online photo sites for one or two photos to be used on the front cover. Once I’ve selected and purchased the rights to the images, they are sent to my mentor/editor/cover design genius to create an approved design.

Acknowledgments, back cover blurb, character description, and dedications are assembled. The manuscript is returned to my editor/mentor, who formats the manuscript for publication. She returns a printed copy to me, where, after reading it through again, often 40-50 further corrections or changes are made. My local publisher acquires an ISBN. Finally, the completed manuscript is sent to Amazon to be printed into a paperback.

A correctly formatted e-book version is sent to Amazon. where, if the moon and stars are in the correct alignment, they upload it correctly so folks can purchase the e-book for $3.99.

So, small wonder that a paperback novel costs $16. After many hours before publication, you now know what a self-published author must do to complete the process and provide a wonderful reading experience. I hope you'll enjoy all my books and look forward to presenting this latest novel filled with intrigue, a touch of romance, and plenty of laughs from Black Cat as he engages with the horses, the barn cats, and a rat named Cedric.

If this sounds intriguing, go to Amazon and plug in the title. You'll be glad you did.