It's all about books: Guest Post: Why I chose to self-publish by Kim Richardson

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Guest Post: Why I chose to self-publish by Kim Richardson

Marked, Soul Guardians BK 1

by Kim Richardson

ISBN13: 9781461017097

Sixteen year-old Kara Nightingale’s ordinary life is suddenly turned upside-down when she dies in a freak accident, and she wakes up in a strange new world with a new career—as a rookie for the Guardian Angel Legion. Kara hurtles towards dangerous missions with the help of her Petty Officer and friend, David.

But when she discovers a Mark on her leg, the entire Legion accuses her of being a Demon spy. Angels are dying, and David begins to pull away from her. Can Kara prove her innocence as she becomes the Legion’s only hope?

It’s going to take a miracle to save the Legion, and Kara’s luck has just run out...

Buy "Marked", Soul Guardians BK 1: Amazon

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I decided to self-publish one night in March when my editor wrote me an interesting email. He informed me that he was hired by a large publishing house to edit a contracted manuscript that wasn’t a “joy” to work on, like mine was—and not comparable to it. When his wife (also an editor) told him that my book was loads better than a bestselling indie author – I decided to take the plunge. Why the hell not? I told my computer screen. These two professionals with loads of experience believe in me. Let’s see what happens!

Another factor was the loads of publishers/agents that rejected my book, all said the same thing: they loved it, but it didn’t “fit” their list at the moment. What the heck does that mean? Who decides who’s on this list? Why can’t readers decide what books they want to read? The control aspect of the self-publishing world attracted me. As an artist, I did my own cover; decided how I wanted the inside to look like and I chose the price. I didn't have a whole team of people telling me what I could and couldn't do. And that was loads of fun.

I then started to explore the world of self-publishing. My research confirmed that I had a better chance of succeeding as an indie author if I wrote a series instead of a standalone book. If I had more books out there, I had a better chance of being found by readers. And that appealed to me. I had all these ideas for different storylines for a series, so I thought this was a great opportunity for me to write my story. If the traditional publishing road didn’t work out, then self-publishing a series was the next best thing—which is what I did in the end.

About Kim Richardson (from goodreads profile):

I grew up in a small town in Northern Quebec, where I developed a wild imagination because—let’s face it—there was nothing else to do. I surrounded myself with art/books/animation and fell in love with fantasy novels and movies like, Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. I loved to be transported to other worlds.

Years later, I left my little “hick town” and moved to the city of Montreal, where I studied 3D Animation. I became an Animation Supervisor for a VFX company, and stayed in the field of animation for 14 years.

Now, I’m a full-time writer, enjoying the country life with my husband and two Bernese Mountain dogs, Simba and Maggie. My children.

I write stories geared towards children because, let's not tell lies, I'm still a 13 year-old at heart!

Visit Kim's BLOG