Welcome!
Hi, I’m Ankaret Wells. Well, actually, I’m not, but this is the pseudonym I’m going to be self-publishing my books under. I’m going with a nom de plume, firstly because both my given name and my surname are hard to pronounce and don’t use the most common spelling, and secondly in the hope that when I get bad reviews, I’ll find it easier to take them on board constructively if they aren’t addressed to me under my given name, because it won’t feel as personal. This will probably turn out to be quite untrue, but we’ll see. And obviously I realise that it’s a gift for a self-published book to get any reviews at all!
My first novel (or possibly novels, if I decide to split it in half, because at present it would make a really good digital doorstop) will be available on Lulu soon. This is a blog about the journey to self-publishing.
Ah, yes, the self-publishing thing. I’ve been sending this book round agents for a while, and getting ‘we like it but not enough to want to represent it’ replies, and if publishing on Lulu is good enough for several kick-ass friends of mine (not to mention Wil Wheaton), why shouldn’t it be good enough for me? I really just want the book to be available to friends and family and anyone who wanders by and might like it, and this seems like the best option. I know people say terrible things about self-published authors – delusional and swollen-headed seem to be the main ones, though I did see someone the other week saying that she thought we all smelled funny, to which all I can say is, don’t worry, I have nothing whatever to do with the book between Lulu and you, so any odour is their business. But you know what? People say terrible things about everybody. Whoever you are, someone is going to despise you.
So here I am starting out on the journey, armed with AbiWord and the Gimp and a friend who’s been through the Lulu process to hold my hand. Watch this space.
Ankaret Wells 