Dear Reader,
I’m thrilled you are here. It is more than a little strange knowing my first book has been published. The Amirah Diamond is literally in people’s hands and could be being read right at this very moment. I’m a little freaked out. But, I could ‘t be more excited and happy to have decided to Indie-Publish.
I spent three years seeking agent representation with no luck. Now, after four-months, I’ve done it myself–with the help of some very talented and knowledgable people from Blue Pen.
Blue Pen’s owner, Victoria Griffin, offers more than just editing services. First, I took her Query Course. After learning what the experts are looking for I wrote my best query and book summary. I sent them to Victoria for edits. There was more red on the page than black.
I swallowed my pride and corrected every mistake. After all, I’m not a damn query writer, I’m a freaking novelist. I can’t slim anything down to one page. But you know what, I received my first ever manuscript request! Then a partial request. I did not receive an offer of representation, but, I tasted success. I wanted more
I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. After giving myself all of 2020 to complete hundreds of Queries, I promised myself I would self-publish if no agents wanted me. 2021 came. No agent wanted me. So in January of 2021, I began the self-publishing journey.
Out of the many services Victoria offers, I chose a grammar and punctuation edit, Front & Back Cover design, and formatting for the interior layout for paperback and ebook.
After about a month, I got the manuscript back for corrections. I decided to reread the whole thing two more times–that makes a total of eight read throughs from me, two from my first writing coach, Katherine Mayfield, one from editor Kathleen Howard, and one read through from Victoria’s staff. That’s twelve total edits. Damn. My worst fear is finding a typo when I read the published version.
After I was done with corrections, I sent it back to Victoria. Her team created my cover based on my vision. And they nailed it. The back cover blurb was written by them and was based on my query. The wording was changed and of course is absolutely perfect. The interior layout was completed last. Once everything was done and approved by me, I scheduled an assisted publishing hour with Victoria Griffin.
We met via Zoom and she walked me through publishing both my ebook and paperback on Amazon. Having her help was priceless. She was like a sturdy crutch with all the answers. Once she and I were done I headed over to IngramSpark to publish all by myself. Amazon was much harder!
So now that my book is published I have tallied a rough estimate of hours spent working and money spent editing. If you’re wondering what it costs to publish a quality book by an unknown author here you go! And BTW, when I read the book I still found edits I needed to fix. Having a full time job and trying to be a writer is hard. It splits my focus.
- Two years writing this 88,000 word female-driven, magical realism, eco fiction novel–between working a full time job and being a mom and wife.
- Two years editing.
- Writing coach–two edits: $1000
- Line by Line edit–$1000
- Query Course–$135
- Final Edit w/ Blue Pen, Front & Back Cover, Interior layout, and assisted publishing hour: $2500
- I began this book in 2017, published in 2021, Queried the entire three years.
I’m so happy The Amirah Diamond is finally out there. The world needs this book. I hope everyone who reads it can find their strength and realize what our world needs right now.
Back Cover Blurb
The man who murdered Gaillynn Amirah’s lover is out of prison, and he’s not finished with Gaillynn’s family. He knows the secret of their treasure. He’s determined to take it for himself.
At the heart of Locket Manor, on the rocky coast of Maine, is a powerful, mystical stone. For generations, the Amirah Diamond has been a blessing and a curse to the Amirah women. It bestows them with long lives, superior strength, and ageless beauty. But such gifts come at a cost: The women are imprisoned in their life near the stone. And anyone who dares to love them will die.
If they lose the stone, Gaillynn will never find love again and her mother will continue to be tormented by a secret—not to mention that Gisela, who may hold the cure for Earth’s faltering environment in her teenaged hands, will not survive to fulfill her destiny. The Amirah women aren’t the only ones who could be destroyed by the theft. A shift in global power and the fate of a dying planet depend on Gaillyn’s courage to protect the stone, face dark truths of the past, and silence a thief determined to claim the power of the Amirah Diamond.
Congratulations Tina on your first book. It’s a great accomplishment. I used a similar process for my first book. It was quite expensive, but worth it for me to have the guided help. Now I’m confident enough to self-publish my next book, coming soon.
That’s how I feel too! Congratulations to you as well!