If you have a knack for storytelling, a love for books, and no idea what to do with your talent, you should consider self-publishing. Self-publishing sounds like a complicated process, especially for new writers, but it is much easier than it seems. Anyone can do it—I self-published my own book when I was in  high school. Here’s how I did it, and this is what I learned along the way.

First, my book was called The Magic Carousel. The Magic Carousel  follows the story of a merry-go-round horse named Peggy the Pegasus and her budding friendship with Henry, a lonely boy with a big imagination.

In  the story, Peggy’s carousel and home, The Magic Carousel, is in danger of shutting down forever because Peggy is tired of going around in circles. The carousel is  powered by a “dream gauge” that harnesses the fantasies of the horses for fuel. When Peggy meets Henry, they both discover the power of dreaming big, which inspires Peggy to fly and save the carousel.

The Magic Carousel  was created when I took a simple idea and let it develop into something bigger. I never thought that I would write a children’s book. But I had an idea, artistic experience, and an itch to write, so I decided to take a chance. My journey in self-publishing has taught me invaluable experience regarding the writing process, methods of editing, and the minute specifications required to successfully self-publish.

The Writing Process

The first step to self-publishing is to write, but before you can start writing you need a simple concept. My beginning concept was a carousel horse that becomes tired of going around in circles. However, I knew I wanted to make the story a bit whimsical and add as many layers as possible to make the story shine.

I called the main character, Peggy the Pegasus, to highlight  her struggle—she has wings but can’t fly, and she’s exhausted by her daily routine. As I continued to brainstorm, I realized I needed another character to help Peggy change and break out of her unhappy pattern. So I invented Henry, a local boy with a struggle of his own.

While my father suggested that Henry’s mother die from being hit by a bus, I found that a bit morbid. Henry’s own personal struggle ended up being that his mother has a sickness he doesn’t quite understand. I depicted this illness vaguely, and while I imagined her to have a mental illness, the reader is free to interpret the descriptors however they see fit.

While all writers are different, we all desire to inspire our audience. In order to inspire a reader, an author has to come up with a concept that inspires themselves.

Inspiration comes from many different places and forms, and the easiest place to start is your own memories. I drew upon my childhood memories of riding horses at the  local farm. As a young child, I always felt guilty taking horseback riding lessons because I felt that I was the reason that the horses never got to see the world. Every writer has distinct memories that can serve as inspiration that no one else has.

Another  way to find inspiration for an idea is to figure out a life lesson that you want the reader to learn about. This is particularly helpful method if you are writing a book for toddlers and young  children. In writing The Magic Carousel, I had difficulty coming up with the  story because I started writing even though I had no idea what I was writing about.

At first, I thought that my life lesson was that imagination is powerful when people work together. I ended up modifying this concept multiple times while drafting, to the point where I now know that my book would have been far easier to write had taken the time to think my concept through beforehand, instead of making changes in the middle of sentences.

Another approach for inspiration is to focus  on a single feeling. Do you want to leave your reader sad, angry, happy, or vulnerable? Do you want a satisfying ending or leave the reader desperate for more? Isolating what you want your story to accomplish is helpful for determining the ultimate message.

Once you come up with your concept or life lesson, it’s time to think about the plot and characters of your story. This is the best part of self-publishing because you get to let your imagination off-leash and run wild.

The plot, including the problem facing the main character, is usually trickier to develop than a story concept because there are a lot more nuances. The simplest way to develop  your plot is to create a problem, and then invent a solution.

The two main problems I created were Peggy’s unhappiness and the threat of the carousel shutting down; I invented the character of Henry as a solution. Typically, a good problem to consider is the change in a characters circumstance—perhaps a big move, a torrid affair, or the death of a loved one. Solutions are often found through other people; try utilizing  a relationship between two or more characters to find closure.

In real life and in fiction, humans usually discover answers through the eyes and hearts of other people. In addition, the best characters are not necessarily opposites—in my personal experience they don’t tend to attract. Rather, the most relatable literary relationships are between characters who agree about everything important and disagree about everything else.

For instance, Peggy and Henry agree that dreams are as essential as breathing; nevertheless, Henry thinks whimsical, childlike dreams are the most potent and Peggy believes practical, selfless dreams are the most powerful. Peggy and Henry are not opposites in the slightest and their differences still make them more dynamic and powerful.

Patience is key. I wrote and finalized the manuscript in two weeks—children’s books are typically 2,000 words or less—and the illustrations took twice as long! I decided to have 16 pages of text, with ten lines or less, and 16 pages of illustration; children’s books usually have 32 or 36 pages total. After finishing the manuscript and determining the text on the pages, I began the illustrations.

The illustrations were much harder than I expected. I think that was because I enjoy writing far more than drawing or painting, even though I have more experience in art. I found a few basic stock images  of horses, wings, and carousels to create basic templates of my characters. I knew I wanted Peggy to be colored in different shades of blue, as blue is typically associated with heroism. I also knew that I wanted Henry to be shaded in red; red is associated with power and he has the power to change Peggy’s outlook on life. From there, I used cardstock to draw each individual horse and the structure of the carousel. I kept the illustrations simple to make editing easier.

The Editing Process

The importance of an editor cannot be overstated. While an editor may also be an experienced writer, that is not required. An editor simply needs to be somebody who is willing to be honest with you about your work; if your editor has a talent for grammar, that’s just icing on the cake.

My editor was an English teacher at my high school who had experience in writing poetry and kids of his own, and he provided me with excellent feedback. 

He also played an important role in the process of eliminating some ideas and expanding others.

For example, I originally planned to have eight horses total in the carousel—Lucky Lyric, Jolly Jam, Fluffy Fred, Hungry Honey, Corny Cloud, Funny Flower, and Peggy the Pegasus. My editor helped me realize that eight horses were far too many and weakened my overall concept.

Another layer of the story was coming up with a reason for both characters to break out of their typical patterns. I eventually wrote it in that Peggy, and the other carousel horses, used a dream gauge to power the carousel and the dream gauge was running out of power to keep on going. Peggy realizes this and understands that she must find the courage to dream big, and save her home (the carousel).

Additionally, my best friend, who has no publishing experience at all, provided equally valuable and honest feedback. He was crucial in helping me determine my overall message, which was to look for the magical in the mundane, because that’s where you find your metaphorical “wings.”

The process of editing was enjoyable because I allowed the story to evolve on its own, beyond my original concept. It’s a lengthy process of taking risks and experimenting, and absolutely  necessary to create a polished and well-written story.

Self-Publishing  Your Book

There are two main ways to self-publish: via IngramSpark or CreateSpace.

CreateSpace is a division of Amazon. CreateSpace provides authors with their own ISBN number, a code that identifies a book for selling purposes, for free. Any book in stores or online, self-published or otherwise, must have an ISBN. CreateSpace provides Print on Demand (POD), which means that every time someone orders a copy  on Amazon, a single book will be printed and delivered, rather than an author having to stockpile hundreds of copies in their living room. However, CreateSpace only lets authors sell their books on Amazon and does not let an author use illustrations.

I used IngramSpark so that I could print my illustrations. IngramSpark is not affiliated with Amazon. Unlike CreateSpace, I had to purchase an ISBN number from isbn.org. It costs about 100 dollars for a single barcode, and there are bulk discounts available for multiple ISBNs. IngramSpark also sells books POD on several different websites—including Amazon and Barnes and Noble online. I prefer IngramSpark because of their wider distribution that isn’t limited to Amazon only, like CreateSpace.

Before you self-publish through IngramSpark or CreateSpace, your  book file must be formatted properly. I chose to use Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Acrobat is  rather expensive, so I signed up for the one-week free trial. To complete the manuscript, make sure that the document is set up in Microsoft word (including illustrations) and export it as a PDFto Adobe Acrobat.

Since IngramSpark and CreateSpace require digital files to be saved using a certain color palette (depending on the hues of the illustrations), an author must check the specifications before using the “save as” function on Acrobat to ensure the correct color palette. Once an author uploads their manuscript for publishing, it usually take from two days to two weeks for a book to be available for distribution.

Once that happens, anyone can buy your book, and you are now published!

Self-publishing is an easy process that can seem daunting but isn’t. It’s a great first step for aspiring writers. In my book, I concluded my story with  “Watch for the magic in the mundane. After all, that’s how Peggy found her wings. And that’s how you will too.”

I found my wings through writing with the help of self-publishing, and I hope you will too.