One of the tasks I set myself this year – one of my New Year resolutions – was to self-publish a collection of my writings and photography. Not just the writings, not just the photography, but the two together. A little as they appear in this blog. Self-promotion is a big part of the story, of course, but learning the practical tasks the project calls for is another part. Practical tasks: I’m thinking of the design, layout and costing in particular. But making the selection and creating a flow from one part of the collection to another and on to the end is also a skill that needs learning. As I have discovered.
I’ve been eyeing the world of self-publishing and publishing-on-demand for many years without doing much more than dipping my toes in the water. (Well, there was that stencilled and photocopied pamphlet about producer co-operatives I made in Leeds back in 1981 … But nothing followed on from that.) But now, this year, I decided I would take the plunge.
So that’s what has been occupying me, with increasing intensity, for the last three months. The whole project has crowded out the space I usually keep for writing – and even reading. But I am beginning to see the end at last. Publication day.
However, because it fills my days and my horizon, last week’s video on the YouTube channel was given over to it. I couldn’t think of anything else. And now this blog post.
The Supercargo’s Magazine: For your consideration
The collection – which is taking the form of a magazine to be called The Supercargo’s Magazine (what else) – is subtitled For Your Consideration. It showcases a range of my writing. There’s a few of my better blog posts and a section of photos from the GBG365 days. There’s a block of my creative writing, including a few pieces I’ve seen published elsewhere. There are extracts from two of my novels-in-progress and several poems.
The whole thing will be available to order on-line as a p.o.d (print-on-demand) publication. And, at a lower price, as an electronic document, a PDF. Sadly, you won’t be able to get a resizeable e-pub version – at least not immediately. That turns out to be a whole other technology. I may get around to creating an e-pub version in the future, but not soon.
Blurb
I’m producing The Supercargo’s Magazine: For Your Consideration through a publisher called Blurb. I chose them when I started to sketch out the project back before Covid. Things have changed at Blurb since then, but I didn’t think to double check before committing myself to using them this year. The e-pub option they used to offer is no longer available, for example. But that’s the only major downside I think. In every other respect I’m still very satisfied with the options they offer. In particular, they aren’t Amazon.
Their proprietary layout tool (BookWright) has been very easy to learn to use, and at least holds out the promise of the photos reproducing in good quality, if not in the high quality I once dreamed of. Before I give them an unreserved endorsement, though, I want to see what the final magazine looks like. Which will happen, with a little luck and a lot of planning, in time for the Stockholm Writers’ Festival in mid-August.
So that’s what I’ve been up to recently!
