This post was revised from the original on June 4, 2019
Perhaps you have written your story, book, or article. Perhaps you have an idea to flesh out with words and pictures. You know you want to get published and find an audience that will enjoy your creativity. Maybe you want to teach and need the students to appear. These days, the Blog is one good way to start small and grow.
I will share with you some personal insight from experience. The small part is beginning where you are. If you entertain ideas of the result and are not able to take the steps to do the work, you will end up with an illusion and no book. That has been my experience in the past. That is why I created this way of bringing myself and others along with small, kind, loving steps. The Blog is your communication with people you have never met, and in some cases, might never meet in person.
When I self-published my book through Lulu.com in 2005, I did not know about marketing, blogging, or reaching an audience. I did buy some copies of the book to send to friends, family and the Library of Congress (I am not sure if they put it on the shelf, but it was my way of validating my work). I did buy some copies for a book signing at a small local bookstore. I did sell a few copies to loyal friends. Today, I am learning a new way: "Start Small and Grow".
I am not aiming at a huge goal that will lead to an illusion. I want to write, draw, paint and make books. This website and blog are my new learning tools. The few Face Book Groups I joined are my place to share my process. My goal is to keep exploring and publish within my means. I am in my retirement years and I would not have been able to do this to make a living in my 20's or 30's. Back then, I had to work at a job. It was a great job to be sure and it took most of my time.
Even before you have chosen the method for publication, you can begin to reach out to other like minded authors and artists, students, and the public to let them know you are here. Many people need to work with what is available to them for free. This is a good way to explore whether or not you are compatible with blogging as a means of reaching out. Blogging may take time, but it is fun.
Rather than comparing yourself to others who have been blogging for years, you are free to choose those whose values you understand and share. I am learning that there are many tools that are available. Each of these tools has a learning curve and if you are prepared to explore each one you will grow.
This is how I arrived at sharing this post with you. I had some work I had ready to share and I needed a way to share it. A friend suggested Wix as a way to try out a free presence on the internet. Wix has a blog feature and lots of tutorials and help for each element involved. All you need some time and patience. This friend also suggested some topics for writing and some art of mine to share. On seeing what I had to share, another friend suggested an artist who had a FaceBook group where I might find expression and begin to emerge. This is how it can begin. The point is you will be in charge of how fast it proceeds. It is all in your comfort zone as you begin. It is just important that you do begin. You will face many truths about yourself and what you need to develop in order to create harmonious collaboration with other like-minded authors and artists.
Along the way, I have learned so much about what is available and useful and what is not so useful to me. I have tried different approaches and I have seen all of it help me to emerge into the belief that I can reach out, find an audience and share my talent.
I really do not know yet how to find an audience. That will be an exploration in future blog posts, I hope. In the meantime I start small and grow. Along the way, I hope I will gather more information on how to organically grow an audience. I do know that I will have to try many things to see what works. I will have to keep going and not give up if I hit an impasse. I will have to believe that this dream of mine can come to be.
I encourage you to be brave and begin. Please visit Can You Use A Computer for some practical tips on self-publishing. Please send me an email if you need encouragement and are not ready to share with a group on Face Book yet.
