Remembering Ashley L. Peterson Pt 2 of 2: Self-Publishing + Pod

https://open.spotify.com/episode/00pkijWvaRxUWCoSK8Lw8T?si=b8fc8bdae48844a1

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As I posted recently with great sadness, Ashley L. Peterson, a mental health activist, blogger, author, self-publisher, and genuinely good person, passed away a year ago now.

Her family continues her site: Mental Health @ Home: A safe place to talk openly about mental health & illness. There you’ll read of their love for her. In addition, they offer us a memorial site with photos and facts about Ashley. Fellow blogging health activist Caz also posted about Ashley at her wonderful Invisibly Me site.

From any angle, writing a book is a huge undertaking — and then when it comes to publishing, that’s even huger, whether through the traditional route or by self-publishing. As I work to find an agent for my novels, I remind myself that Mental health nurse/blogger/author Ashley L. Peterson of Vancouver, Canada, boldly published several books.

I feel profoundly fortunate for my family and blog-land friends who bolster me. When they take on new dreams, I offer them kind words and remind them of challenges they’ve overcome. Here Ashley generously encouraged others to follow their publishing dreams…

“Self-Publishing: It Gets Easier” by Ashley L. Peterson

I remember how overwhelming it was when I published my first book. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, and I was just flying by the seat of my pants. I had no idea what to expect when the book was released.

My second book was released 7 months later. I felt much more prepared, but then tossed in the new challenge of selling on sites other than Amazon, including my own website. There were also some hiccups; it felt like forever before Amazon accepted the file for my paperback, which turned out to be because there was a special character that it didn’t recognize and therefore didn’t accept. The biggest problem was my paperback cover; it wasn’t showing up on the Amazon listing as the same colour in the cover file I’d uploaded. I spent a whole lot of time trying to get that sorted out,

Now with my third book, I’m a lot more relaxed about the whole process. Sure, formatting and converting file types is still frustrating; I don’t think that would change even if I’d published a whole bookstore. Overall, though, I’m much more at ease. I feel a sense of mastery that I know how to do this – a very different feeling from the first time around.

I’m a huge list person, and my book launch lists are nicely fine-tuned. I’ve got all the steps laid out, so I can just do things without having to think about them.

While the learning curve is steep and self-publishing can be daunting, it gets easier – really. And if you’re thinking about self-publishing, dive right on in; the water’s warm.

Details on my new book Managing the Depression Puzzle can be found here.

How do you encourage your dear ones?