A Thousand Little Things
Self-publishing a book, it turns out, entails the discovery and deciding upon of a thousand little things. Some of those things, once solved, will serve you well into the future. Others only apply to what you’re working on right now. I thought that creating a book of short stories was an easier way to start than to write a novel . . . I’m not sure I was right. In many ways, I know I was wrong.
The considerations begin with the writing itself. I have a lot of work in the dusty folder, but which stories are right for this collection? Not all of them, I discovered. I wanted them to be similar enough that they felt they belonged together somehow, and yet were diverse enough to provide the reader a satisfaction of variety and scope.
Once the stories are selected, in what order should they be placed? And does the order even matter? I believe yes, very much so. To me a collection like this is similar to a musical album—remember those?—and that it should have a flow and a hierarchy.
My solution was to overthink it: put all of the stories into a ranked list and then arrange that list in specific order. What order? From my notes:
Story order:
4 2 9 6 1 12 10 8 11 7 5 3
So, 4th best to start, then 2nd, and so on. It didn’t quite work out like that, but the principle was helpful.
Then, how do you title a book that features multiple stories? What do you put on the cover? Do you attempt to sum up all of the stories in a single image, and is that even possible? With a novel your choice is reduced—you have one story to tell and to try to explain to a potential reader.
I chose the title Daydreams & Nightmares since the stories are a collection of both. Some are light-hearted, whimsical, fantastical. Most, you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. And then, why not put that on the cover? “13 short tales of time travel, robots, magical reality and psychological horror.” You know right away what you’re getting. I consider my touchstone to be psychological horror—not stabby-stabby, bloody-bloody (though I do go there in spots), but more an unsettling premise that creeps you out when you think about it. Like the shark in Jaws where you don’t see it but you know it’s there.
The cover, FYI, looks like this:
Then there the other hundreds of things: ISBN’s, front and back matter, typefaces, paper types, trim sizes, spelling and grammar checking, design and layout, beta readers, revisions, marketing, mailing lists, branding, social engagement, websites and email addresses—phew! Jane, get me off this crazy thing.
But, after all of those considerations, hopefully you have something in your hands that you’re proud of and happy with. I am—very much so—and I’m also not. More on that later.
Daydreams & Nightmares will be available for sharing very soon, right after I finish doing the final, final, really, this-time-it’s-definitely-final checks. You know how it is.
Until next time,
H.J.