Category: self-publishing


Aug
2016

It’s Finally Here!

categories: Adorkable, cover love, debut, doing what you love, self-publishing, writing, YA

Got a surprise in the mail the other day! 🙂  Which really, it wasn’t a surprise because I knew it was coming, but it still felt like a surprise.  I wrote ADORKABLE several years ago, published it just this year at the end of March.  Yesterday, I got to finally hold my book in my hands for the first time.

It was an incredible feeling <3.

Sigh…I felt it all.  And yes, I did cry just a little.

The print cover turned out AMAZING! Thank you, thank you, thank you to Stephanie Mooney for working your magic yet again.

And now, I’ll share some pictures (because OF COURSE I had to take pictures!!!).

Prepare yourself for all the pretty.

ADORKABLE_proof

This is what the proof looked like in the box…

ADORKABLE_proof2

…and here’s a look inside…

ADORKABLE_proof3

…and this is the book outside the box, in my hand, with the beautiful cover and spine and all the amazing attributes of a real, live, paperback book!  Oh, I love it, and I loved getting to add ADORKABLE to my bookshelves. 🙂

There is just something about books that you can literally hold in your hand.  No offense to reading devices (I heart mine and use it well and often), but imo a print book is just a different experience.  It’s running your fingers along the cover, flipping the pages, hugging and snuggling the book to your chest…oh is that just me?  Got it, lol!

Anyway, this was the highlight of my week!  I hope you’re enjoying your week as well–and that you get lots of pretty books in the mail, too.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Aug
2016

The Unexpected

categories: Adorkable, debut, doing what you love, self-publishing, YA

There are times when I randomly Google my book.

I’ve only done this like 4 times, I promise!

I know, it’s silly right?  But I just want to make sure my baby’s still doing okay out there in the world, see what people are saying, feed my unending curiosity :).  Recently, it just so happens that I found 3 posts people had written about ADORKABLE and…sigh.  They said the nicest things!!!  Each post was unexpected and so very awesome!

If you are one of the people who wrote these posts, just know that you made my day! 🙂

The Reader and the Chef: Top 10 Favorite Books in 2016 (so far)

NewInBooks: Books to Read if You Like YA Romantic Comedies

U.S.-Brazil Book Review: Top 5 Wednesday–Authors You Are Waiting On Another Book From

On the flip side, this week I also discovered some unexpected things that were not-so-nice.  Technology was not my friend.  My email went a bit wonky, so as I was trying to email back and forth with my cover designer, some of my and her replies were not coming through.  Sucked because we were trying to get the print cover for ADORKABLE finalized, and I really didn’t want to inconvenience her.  I also had to download 3 different programs (which took several hours) in order to find the right one to save fill-form PDFs (an issue completely unrelated to the print cover).  Ugggh…

The good news is I finally found the right program, and I was able to order proof copies of ADORKABLE today!

Yayyyy, huzzah, woohoo and all the good stuff!

The proofs should come in sometime next week, and I’ll finally get to hold a physical copy of my book for the first time :).  I. Cannot. Wait.  I hope you all have a great weekend!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Aug
2016

5 Things: I Wish I Knew Before Self-Publishing

categories: 5 Things, Adorkable, doing what you love, self-publishing, writing, YA

Hi everyone!  I decided to do a “5 Things” post because I love lists and because I’ve always thought 5 was a good number :).  This week I’m going to focus on 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Self-Publishing.  Just so you know, I could probably do a list with over 100 items on this topic!

So, here we go.

Before self-publishing ADORKABLE, I wish I knew:

  1. No matter how much research I did, no matter how many articles, books, guides or author posts I read, I would never know everything I needed to know.  Some things can only be learned through the process.
  2. Self-publishing is not as crazy/impossible/unthinkable as it sounds.  It is a lot of hard work (and will cause plenty of nervousness and anxiety), but it’s not impossible.  You can figure out Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook etc.  The truth is anyone can do it.  And they do, every day.  You just have to be ready to put in the work and for things (the good and the bad) not to go exactly as planned.
  3. Sometimes it’s better not to wait.  This is a personal item, but I wish I hadn’t waited as long as I did to self-publish.  After you’ve done all the research, lots and lots and lots of research, you have to put your thoughts into action.  Sometimes the people you love and who’ve shared in your dreams don’t have the time to see those dreams come true unless you act swiftly.  And there are times when, even if you do act fast, it’s still not enough.  Anyway, I don’t think anyone should self-publish before they are completely ready.  But personally, I think I was ready–ADORKABLE sat complete and on my computer for a looong time.  Despite the success the book is currently seeing, waiting for the perfect time in my case, was maybe not the best move.
  4. A bad book review can rip you heart out–but a good one can mend it back together.  Also, just try not to go crazy reading the reviews!!!
  5. Pat was right.  I can do this.  Believing in myself was the hardest part.  I always believed in my books.  I always believed in ADORKABLE and my characters.  My family always supported and believed in me and my work.  The truth was: I was the one holding me back.

Getting over that last hurdle (believing in myself) is still a daily struggle.  But I can and am doing it.  And whether it be self-publishing or traditional publishing, you do it can, too.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Cookie O’Gorman