Self-publishing a book only feels insurmountable when considered in a vacuum. Compared to writing a book it’s a walk in the park. A long, meandering, expensive slog through a treacherous monkey-infested park, but you know what I mean. Self-publishing is doable, mostly amusing, and at worst a harmless way to spin out your retirement years (my situation) or for younger folks, a fun distraction from the stresses of actual, productive living.

Last year, after having an epiphany about my writing which led to ruthlessly axing more than half the chapters, I decided that I had to see my book in print, no matter what. With no idea where to start, I only knew that I had neither the motivation nor chutzpah to try to interest an agent to represent me. Realistically, I thought, this is not the kind of book, nor I the kind of writer, to carry off a professional publication. I wasn’t sure at that point if I even wanted anyone to read the book, much less a large audience. I just wanted to see it in the flesh.

My first research turned up a slew of companies that wanted to publish a book (my book!) in exchange for money. I contacted a few and was astounded at the aggressive marketing with which I was met. These guys are hungry! The representatives must work on commission because they were indefatigable, calling at all times of day and night, sending emails and texts, offering one-day discounts. For $6,000, for $8,000, for $10,000 they would edit my book, print it in some format, market it, make it a best-seller. They didn’t promise that I would sell any books, but made it seem almost inevitable.

Maybe it would have been a good idea to use one of those companies, but I decided against it, partly because I would not have been able to include as many illustrations as I wanted, but also because the idea of paying big bucks for what was essentially a vanity press publication turned me off.  I mean, I’m vain enough but more a cheap, do-it-yourself kind of narcissist.

So, then I turned to the issue of finding a printer to just produce a book for me. You know, with a cover and pages and all those necessary components. Someone recommended L. Brown & Sons in Barre, Vt., since that company has printed books for a plethora of Vermont authors. I emailed a pdf of my manuscript, and they quickly responded that they were indeed willing to work with me.  All I needed to do was provide my manuscript to them correctly formatted.

Huh? I had no idea what a correctly formatted manuscript looked like. I thought the printer just magically transformed my mess of words and illustrations into an organized and readable volume. But no problem, I reasoned. I googled various apps which purported to make it simple to format a book and downloaded one. And there I fell apart. I could not figure out what to do. Honestly, I tried!

I decided to hire a local person to knock my book into shape. There were a few, believe it or not, but they mostly seemed a bit too classy for me - very expensive, very busy, and worked almost exclusively with big publishing companies. They were not good about returning phone calls.

Finally, I discovered a resource called Fiverr, which is a central clearinghouse for independent experts in all kinds of literary and technical spheres, from all over the world. It was amazing. I found inexpensive, brilliant, patient people to transform my book for print and e-book formats, create the covers, and finally to craft a website to showcase my memoir and provide a sales venue through a Wix portal. Amazingly, you can find a myriad of specialists who come highly recommended for just about any literary chore.

The last issue I had was creating an audio book, and here I lucked out with a local, nationally renowned technician only an hour away. Recording a book is unfortunately not something easily accomplished either on your own or remotely.  Although people have indeed managed to set up a home studio, I preferred putting the project in the hands of an expert.

So, there you have it. I printed 100 copies of Ennui Go, A Memoir of a Hippie Life. The book and my illustrations are showcased on my website www.memoirincolor.com.  Just goes to show you!