Here are the initial steps I took to get my book into print (not necessarily in this order, except for the first item):

• First, I wrote a book!  Sounds obvious – but so many people put the cart before horse and imagine the marketing/sales/logistics before they have even a rough draft of their book.  I let this bog me down in the early days, delaying the project for months (maybe even years?) before I actually got started.  It wasn’t until I finished writing that I could turn my full attention to the fulfillment and marketing plans.
• I assembled a team.  Interior book designer, cover designer, editor, print-on-demand company.
• I established a publishing brand, Low to the Ground Publishing.   Had a logo made, and separated out the publishing business from the web business in my accounting and bookkeeping files.
• I applied for a CIP profile and ISBN number through Collections Canada – this needed to be done early, as my print-on-demand publisher, Lightning Source, required an ISBN before they would accept me as a client.
• When the final product was finished, I paid close attention to digital file requirements and ensured that my submissions were exactly right.  My designers were excellent and meticulous, but it’s my book after all– quality assurance was my responsibility.
• I ordered a proof, as required by the publisher, to be extra sure that the book was the quality I was looking for, in terms of printing.

Someone commented to me recently that self-publishing is not self-publishing at all – rather, it should be called team-publishing.  She was absolutely right!

I have since changed my approach – I will now list out the things I would like comments on (navigation, layout, functionality) and what I will work on next (design, colours, fonts).  I also ask for other sites they like, colour palettes, existing logos – all the things that will inform how I move forward.  And, I reassure them that no, I won’t be offended. This helps, but only a little.

Now, I find myself on the other side.  I have hired two different graphic designers to design my new book.  Chuck Finkle is designing the cover and Natalia Perez Wahlberg is designing the interior layout.  Both are very professional and accustomed to receiving feedback in order to produce results that the client will be happy with.  I know this, and yet I found myself saying things like, “It’s perfect!  Just a couple little things . . .” I wasn’t wrong or misspeaking – I did love it and there were indeed a couple of things I wanted changed.  Fair enough.  But inside, I was struggling.  Wondering if they would be offended, if they could see something I didn’t, if I was micro-managing when I’d hired a professional to do a job.

At one point, I found myself pecking out a long wishy-washy email about why I liked and didn’t like a design idea. It was non-committal and vague, designed to minimize the perceived suffering of the designer who surely would be taking my comments personally. I stopped midway when my partner, Carsten, said, “Just pick up the phone.” So  I did.  I expressed my preferences, we hashed out a new approach, and it was done. Effective and far more efficient.

There’s no formula for getting this right.  But I will say this: the next time I encounter a client who has a hard time articulating feedback to me, I will certainly be more understanding!

Thanks! Jennifer

My suggestion?  Select a theme you like based on the layout, navigation and information architecture. Then, ask a designer (here, there or anywhere) to create the elements required to customize the look. The designer can then replace the fonts, change colours, make new backgrounds, create custom logos and graphic elements – which can all be inserted into the existing theme with often just a little customization.  You may still need someone like me to help implement the changes, but your costs will be WAY less than if you were to visualize a design from scratch and then ask a WordPress developer to ‘make it’.  Could save you hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars…  and a lot of aggravation.

So, I have just spent my Sunday afternoon, on my one day off between a fun but tiring vacation in London UK and returning to client work tomorrow,  reinstalling my website and copying/pasting recent changes from Google’s cache…  Good thing I know how to fix it myself!   And I suppose, good to be humbled every once in a while