I Self-Published A Poetry Book And Only Made A Few Hundred Dollars
About a year ago, I self-published my very first poetry book. It took me about 4 months to write it and then a few weeks to edit/publish it. I self-published on Amazon and enrolled my book in kindle unlimited. When I was publishing my book, I had no monetary expectation. I had just written my first poetry book and that too about my mother. The sentimental value that my writing held was far more meaningful than any monetary amount I’d receive. A year later, I’d like to share what I’ve learned about self-publishing my very first book — from the writing process to having people read what you wrote.
Writing poetry about someone is an emotional rollercoaster
There were so many experiences that I had to relive, through my mother’s lenses as I wrote about her. Most of my poetry was written in Bluebell’s cafe in Auckland or the library that overlooked Takapuna beach. There were moments in the cafe where I would daze off in space and would be interrupted by the young ladies working there. When I told them I was writing the first poetry book they promised not to disturb me. Whenever they’d see my iced latte cup less than half full they’d signal with their hands if I needed more. After one week of writing, they had successfully converted me from using plastic iced latte cups to…
