Producing A Self-Published Book: What You Didn’t Know…

The first time I did this the steps seemed endless. There’s content editors, copy editors, illustrators, formatters, proofreaders, bluelines, and printers. And with my second book it’s not much less endless.

While a publishing schedule is lengthy, taking months to wend through, on the sidelines are those waving flags of support, like at a marathon—the lone runner wobbling from side to side, tongue out, worried that the last mile will definitely be the last even if well short of 26. 

But if you support a self-publisher by buying a book, you inadvertently (or perhaps now and then advertently) support a handful of self-employed specialists. Being a ‘self-publisher’ means the writer hires the expert staff that produces the book. For Bonsai Heresy, this team includes three paid contractors and one astonishingly loyal friend.

One reason self-publishers are self-publishers

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For those clueless about what I’m referring to—likely more than a few of you—we’re in the final phases of producing Bonsai Heresy, a book about the mistaken notions embedded in our beloved Western bonsai practice, and offering a combination of science, tradition, and anecdote as alternatives. For more about it: New Book: Bonsai Heresy

The Publishing Team of Bonsai Heresy:

• I’m thrilled that Mary Russell is returning, the amazing copy editor of Post-Dated, to tackle this much longer and more complicated text. Currently the book is being copy edited, using feathers and other delicate polishing devices. http://russelleditorialservices.com
• Also returning from the Post-Dated adventure is the great Portland-based book designer Jennifer Omner, whose design of my first book won a gold medal in the 2009 PubWest Book Design Awards. That was a good time. https://allpublications.com/about/ 
• I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with Sergio Cuan, who was an animator of Rugrats and works for Nickelodeon, to create 15 whimsical illustrations, including the cover. And he’s done exactly what I asked: parody the text with deeply heretical, non-wabi-sabi illustrations.  M5BONSAIWORKS.com
• Finally, in a shocking display of loyalty, my distributor for Post-Dated, Wayne Schoech of Stone Lantern, offered to front the printing costs for the first run of Bonsai Heresy. In the publishing world supporting self-publishing truants such as myself and having them keep their rights is unheard of (my designer Jennifer Omner said she’d actually never heard of it.) I’m delighted by our long association and by his offer. And Stone Lantern is the place to buy a copy of Bonsai Heresy when it sees the light of day (roughly, February).   https://stonelantern.com

And even that doesn’t cover everyone, as volunteers have offered their skills, too. Leah Eads (my new apprentice’s wife) is offering her design and typography savvy with the cover, and Magdalene Hagedorn (my mother) is bringing her librarian’s eye to the bibliography.

The book should be out in late winter 2020, so there’s plenty of time to ponder, unless you’re hasty and frugal—Stone Lantern and I are considering pre-sales with a discount.

And I’ll be back to our regular scheduled programming about the minutia of bonsai once I resurface from long nights approving copy…