Self Publishing Journal Entry #1

So I'm a week or two away from self-publishing my first full length novel in the YA fiction genre, and it's a lot of work. The writing's been done for along time, but there's so much more to it. The self editing, read through, professional editing, approving changes, designing the book cover, layout, finding an artist, finding the right self publishing company, formatting everything perfectly for a print version, the Kindle, the Nook etc...

But now I'm here, ready to go to print, and am gearing up for a bit of a marketing campaign. I'm fairly certain that there are a million fifth graders out there that would really dig my book, but how do I get a book into their little hands? Facebook? Twitter?  Mass email to friends and family? After the initial burst of sales to my acquaintances, what do I do? Well, I don't exactly know yet, but I"m starting with book signings at the local stores and local elementary schools. This article isn't about preaching to you about how to do it, but more of a Star Trek Captain's log of what and how I'm doing the whole self publishing thing.

Oh, here's a prototype of the cover:

The one thing I do know, it's been fun, exciting, and a bit frightening.  There is exhilaration from a fear of the unknown, and a fear of not succeeding... I'm trying hard to remember that at the very least, I've learned a lot about myself, and, if anyone ever asks at a cocktail party, I can now say, "Why yes, I've have written a book!" :)