Have you ever taken the time to read the “Acknowledgements” section in any published book? In the past, I must admit, I just skipped over it.
That has changed!
With the publication of my first book of poetry, I came to deeply appreciate the skills and expertise that a team of experts brings, and how they contribute to the quality of the book and the overall experience. Without them, I would not have become a published author.
Not only is each member of my book publishing team a subject matter expert, each also served as “psychologist” of sorts keeping me centered and motivated when I felt like quitting. And, the great news is our team is available to you, if you need some of these services!
Let me introduce you to them.
Judy S. Judy is my editor extraordinaire. She is that person that is always asking me, “What the heck are you trying to say?!” She also served as the project manager for my book, coordinating the work of the team, keeping me on schedule, editing my writings, and really enhancing the poem titles. My work would not have come together without her, and without her I would not have published.
Lilen A. Lilen is my watercolor artist; she created the illustrations for each poem and the artwork for the book’s front and back covers. As a visual person, I like to create a vision in my mind about a scene when I write, but I didn’t want to constrain the creative expression of an artist! My solution? I described the general idea for a watercolor illustration and often sent Lilen photos or illustrations for inspiration. She took it from there. So, I got the imagery I wanted, and she got maximum freedom to express her art.
Adina C. Adina is my Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and print layout expert. Frankly, I had no idea how complex print layout, font selection and color, artwork placement, and formats for e-books and traditional paperback books could be. Adina handled this beautifully and provided all the format styles to publish on Amazon for print and e-book readers.
Candace B. Candace is an ace intellectual property lawyer and helped me better understand copyright laws for both my written work and the artwork. She has also secured the trademark for me, The Observant Poet™. Her guidance and explanations of intellectual property law helped me realize how important it is to protect my work.
Trudy W. Trudy, a stickler for details, was assigned one very important task: she read every poem, every stanza, and every word for correct spelling. Nothing worse than publishing a book with spelling errors.
Terry T. Terry is the author photographer who’s keen eye captured the right view and setting to show my best pose—and that was no easy task!
Now, you may not need all these services to publish your book, short stories, or essays. Perhaps, you may need only an artist, or an editor – if you’re feeling “stuck” in your process because you need some help, reach out to us or others with the experience to take you through the book publishing process!
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