This
week, I received a lovely bouquet of flowers. It was a heartfelt thanks from
another writer. I had shown her how to e-publish her fantasy trilogy, from
registering with the e-stores and e-distributors to seeing the finished product
for sale online. It was thrilling for her, and for me.
It
also took me away from my own writing, and I didn’t mind. Why? It was my chance
to pay it forward.
When
I started on this publishing journey, with my first Carina novel, On Her Trail, I realized I
was going to have to up my game and develop an online presence. Everything from
learning about Twitter and Facebook to setting up my own web site. It was
daunting, but with the help of my friends, I did it.
Then
I decided to start publishing under my own imprint. That was a whole other
order of headache. I took in-person and online courses, used Lynda.com, learned
about cover design, learned about e-stores and e-distributors… the whole
shebang. And that’s before I decided to publish my novels in print. Learning
InDesign just about killed me.
But
I did it, thanks to a supportive online community and my friend Karen
Abrahamson who talked me off the ledge more than once. I have her to
thank for the survival of my computer monitor, if not my sanity.
I also
got a lot of financial support from the Government of Yukon, which is very
supportive of its artists. There are many in-person workshops I couldn’t have
attended but for the grants from the Arts Section.
In
return for all this financial aid, I’ve held talks to share what I learned with
local writers, but I have no idea if I was of any use to anyone. I responded
happily to phone calls and emails from writers asking this or that question
about the new publishing world. But it seemed like so little in return for all
the help I’d received.
Then
last year a respected, traditionally-published writer from my community
contacted me, asking if I would help him get his memoir out. We spent the next few months working on it. And yes, it took a lot of my time,
but I knew he would never have done it alone. He comes from a generation where
he simply handed over his manuscript and the publishing house took care of
everything. So this was an education for him, and frankly, a lot of fun for
both of us.
There
is no way I can ever repay all the people who helped me on my journey. But I
can help others. Now, I’m no saint. At one point I will say no, regretfully.
But for now, it feels right to help others on their own journey. It’s good
karma.
