To Team Or To Independent, That Is The Question

There are many things we like to think we can on our own and in many cases we are right. However, what if there is something you want to achieve but have no experience? Then the best idea can be to partner with someone that can help you learn the ropes. In my case, that was when I began publishing my debut novel almost 5 years ago.

I mentioned in the post yesterday that I had an instinct to not go through the Indie company because I didn't know anything about them. I expressed my concerns to them but they assured me they had ample experience in publishing and I would be working with a top notch team. Again as I mentioned before, the team was not exactly what I had hoped for. The editor missed typos and never mentioned the stiff dialogue. There was a minor plot hole no one mentioned and being my first novel I didn't catch it either. The cover was amateur at best and needed the most work. When I discovered the "publisher" was actually just a girl who went on the self publishing site Createspace and published my book instead of me I was furious.

It took quite awhile for me to create a plan of action but one of the first things I did, after addressing my issue with the two girls who formed the supposed company and had by this time plot up over what at the time speed like petty teenage differences of opinion, was to call Amazon and have the book unpublished. I have now taken the things I learned over the last few years and used them to revise the story, fixing the formatting and typing errors along with having someone I can trust fix the cover to make it something I am much more proud of.

Last night I updated everything and submitted it through KDP, Kindle Direct Publishing for my non author friends, and waited eagerly for the review process to be complete. This morning I got an email asking me to resubmit to prove I have the rights to the story. I immediately resubmitted the book and just a few minutes ago I got another email telling me I now need documentation proving I have the rights to my own book.

I am the author. I have always had the rights. However because I allowed another person to hit publish in the past I am now fighting with Amazon to prove I can publish my own book. I always recommend finding people you can learn from but like I mentioned previously, I had apprehensions about working with this group. I should have followed my instincts. Never ignore your gut feeling in situations involving things that are your work or reputation. This is now the third time I have discovered being involved with her was a problem and hopefully the last one I will have to spend hours fixing. Believe in yourself, your heart and mind will lead you in the right direction.