Writing Journey #29- Self-Published Author

I JUST WANT TO TELL A STORY. My story. And I want to deliver it into reality in its best possible form. This is Writing Journey #29! I document my writing journey to publishing my Hand of Rel series.

The First Time

I’VE PUBLISHED BEFORE. Once on my own, where my parents gave me $500 to print with a vanity press. It was unedited, untouched, and rough. That book, while my first, still haunts me because of how poorly put together it was.

I was in my early twenties. I had no idea about formatting. Editing. Cover artwork. I just wanted my work published. I was so eager that I paid to have it done. There was no editor and just a rudimentary cover designer. And the result was horrible.

All that said, I’m happy with my work on a personal level. A younger version of myself created it, a story honed and almost ripped off from several video games and anime.

But that’s why I decided to change it. All the scenes and characters were cobbled together in a fan fiction-esque version of events from Dragon Ball Z, Albert’s Odyssey, and Final Fantasy. I even saw a lot of my ideas in Tales of Symphonia.

I was only 13 years old when I started writing it.

I wanted to create something unique to me. Now, as a seasoned artist and writer with more world experience and imagination. Not to knock 13-year-old J.J., but I wanted to create something that has grown and evolved with me. That’s what Hand of Rel is. It culminates in a lifetime of ambition, imagination, and creativity. This is my story. My world.

The Second Time

THE NEXT TIME I PUBLISHED I went with an online ebook publisher. I hoped the book would be perfect by going with an actual publisher. But typos and grammatical errors were left in the finished version. I published The Adventures of Rel Rel: Lost Mirror, a short story I planned as an introduction to my more extensive series of novels.

I fought the publisher on how images worked in ebooks. It was a tiring, endless battle with the publisher that lasted for months. It was exhausting. The publisher took my full images, which were like 2000 x 2000, and took the actual images and crammed them into the ebook. No reformatting. No editing. Just the 2000 x 2000 original image shoved onto an ebook page. The result was stretched, distorted images.

I checked the final ebook file, and it was huge. I tried to explain that we needed to reformat the image to a size that fit the ebook, but my publisher said that didn’t matter. I even re-edited the pictures, so they were smaller and fit the ebook better. The file size was also much smaller.

The publisher wouldn’t listen.

The Final Result

IN THE END, when the book was published, it was another failure. The book was riddled with issues. Images were stretched and distorted because the publisher had no idea how to format pictures correctly.

I eventually came up with an idea to expand on the book. And my publisher said we could release the book as another version because releasing a short story first and then releasing the more extended version was unprecedented! It had never been done before.

No, that’s releasing an unfinished book, making people buy it, and then releasing content that wasn’t in the original product. It’s called writing another book!

I eventually cut ties with the publisher and decided to go my own way. But the extended version of The Adventures of Rel Rel: Lost Mirror? That eventually became Hand of Rel: Horsemen of Paper. So, some good came out of that horrible publishing experience.

Nothing But Rejection

I SPENT TIME trying to get an agent and a publisher. But query after query, I was rejected. Too many times to count. No one would accept The Adventures of Rel Rel: Lost Mirror because it had previously been published. And no one was interested in Hand of Rel: Horsemen of Paper. I even entered a contest to see if I could get Horsemen of Paper published and turned into a manga.

But it fell through, over and over again. And after that contest? I decided to self-publish. It had always been on my mind, but the idea of being traditionally published enraptured me. Because they would edit, format, and professionally design the cover and market—all in a way I could never do on my own. I’m not an editor. I’m not a designer. I’m not a marketer. I had no idea what to do or where to begin.

I could read my work repeatedly but still miss grammar and other errors. I was never worried about the story, though. Or the characters. Or the plot. I just wanted the book edited the best way possible—no grammar issues.

And as far as the story, I just wanted to make sure it made sense. I could take care of what happens. I have been, and always will be, confident that I am telling the story in the most genuine way possible.

Fiverr

I HAVE FOUND A WAY. Yes, I can’t edit or design. But if I don’t have a publisher? I can pay people to do what I can’t. I started looking at Fiverr. I have found some fantastic beta readers, proofreaders, and editors on the site. They’ve polished The Adventures of Rel Rel Lost Mirror to the point where it’s ready to publish!

All that is left is the cover. Fiverr artists have been a whole other ordeal. But I have since moved away from Fiverr, at least for artists. I found an artist on Instagram that I will be working with on the cover. I plan to work with them and the other editors on all my future projects. I have a pipeline for publishing now! And I will self-publish all of my work on Kindle Vella and KDP. This is my plan. I’m excited!

Closing Thoughts

IT’S BEEN A LONELY JOURNEY. Yes. I don’t have much support, and most people think I’m wasting my time. But it means something to me. This is my story. My dream. And I want to see it fully realized before I die. I’ve woken up every day of my life thinking, is today the day I finish? I want to share this story with the world! I want to finish it. I want to write every last word on the page.

I want to see it fully realized, not just some concept in my head. I have to finish it. And if that passion for writing this story is my only support, so be it. I don’t need other people to see or agree with my vision to finish. It’s my vision, not theirs. And whether it turns into something or not? I finished and put it out there. It’ll be my words, my characters, and my heart and soul that I pour out into the universe. And I can live with that.

I just want to finish before I die.

And I do have the support of my wonderful wife, our three babies, and my amazing brother, Niko. And with the Lord’s guidance, that is all I need.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading! I’ll be back with another entry soon. You can check out my artwork on Instagram, read my stories on Kindle Vella, and Wattpad, or buy them on KDP. Please give them a look!

Also, please feel free to support me with some Kofi! Any support is appreciated. It helps support me as a creator, so I can continue to bring creative work into the ether! You can also find some exclusive artwork and stickers on my Ko-Fi, so check it out!

Stay creative, keep pushing forward, and I hope you continue to find inspiration. Till next time, please take care, God bless, and you rock! Bye~!