Self-Publishing update
progress report
As many of you know, I am self-publishing my debut novel To Make Him Disappear on May 29th, 2026. I gave myself a long runway, since I’m a bit slow and I didn’t want to rush anything.
What I have going so far:
I finished the paperback cover and ordered a proof. It came today. It was an amazing feeling to hold a real book that I made from scratch. The colors came out better than I expected, but there are a few things I need to fix. The author name isn’t centered and I want to try cream paper instead of white. Still, the publication date seems a lot more real now.
I started a sign-up doc for ARC readers. These are people who will get an advanced digital copy of the book with hopes of them leaving a review. (Anyone can sign up, so please don’t be shy.) I’m prepared for some of the reviews to be on the lower side. A variety of rating helps to add to the legitimacy of the book.
Thank you to everyone from here who has signed up!! I also found a lot of volunteers on Threads. So far, I have 39 requests to read.
Not everyone who volunteers will leave a review, but I would be thriller if like 40% of them did.
To get even more reviews, I signed up for a NetGalley co-op. NetGalley is a website that publishers use to provide advanced copies, so the reader pool there is vast. We’ll see how if my book resonates with the people who seed out advanced copies and review books as a hobby. A bit nervous about this one, but mostly excited.
As far as writing, I’m hard at work on a novella sequel for To Make Him Disappear. I will start serializing this novella here, starting in late April. I’ve never written anything on a deadline before, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Usually I take like a year to tinker with the prose and the story elements, having a bunch of people read the project in the process. You all might be my beta readers for this one.
Hopefully, you guys will tell me what’s working and what’s not.
That’s all the updates I have. What is everyone else working on?
Congratulations. It sounds like you are handling things in an incredibly healthy manner. This point in the process generally leaves a lot of writers on edge.
I’m a longtime editor, proofreader, any job at all that involves writing and reading, publishing industry freelancer. 20+ years. Exactly 30 years ago, I sold my first submitted poetry to a little Canadian magazine.
I’m going to check out your book, I really need something fresh and Unpresumptuous.
I’m a little frustrated with my current reality, lol.
Congratulations!!!! How exciting! 🎉