Guest post by Marija Bulatovic, author of 'Fantastical: Tales of Bears, Beer and Hemophilia'
I chose to
self-publish. FANTASTICAL is a work of
passion and a very personal and dear project to me. As such, I was interested to personally and
deeply become involved in all aspects of publishing, from identifying the right
experts to edit, illustrate, layout, and print the book to working with a
tremendously talented publicist to bring it to light.
At the same
time, we are experiencing an explosion in tools and services suited for first
time and self-publishing authors. The
publishing industry overall is at an inflection point, destabilized by the
explosion of self-published books and outlets offering self-publishing
services. Self-publishing houses such as
CreateSpace, Lightning Source or Bookbaby offer quality services at an approachable price-point. However, the learning curve is steep for a
single author to learn, discern differences in offerings and advantages among
these services, along with their complementary or duplicative nature.
I was curious
about this process and it gave me an excellent opportunity to be personally
engaged throughout the journey and understands all aspects of publishing. It’s
been a great learning experience!
Self-publishing
is tremendously labor and time intensive, but also very rewarding and
profitable, assuming one is able to make investments to get the book to the
finish line.
The pros of
self-publishing are that you, as an author are 100% in control of your book and
the every aspect of it. You are the
final decision maker and owner of the outcomes-good and bad. It’s a wonderful
opportunity to merge one’s creative talents with flawless execution. It does require much self-discipline and hard
work, but it’s also a rewarding process.
While the world of self-publishing tools and services can feel like a
maze, once the author understands them, they are generally easy and efficient
to you.
The cons are
that you have to invest money, time and energy to personally research and
identify everything that shapes the book: editors, publicists, designers,
printers, distributors, etc. This is no
easy task and authors can feel discouraged by it and by the long road
ahead. The self-publish path also
requires that you make personal investments or raise money to fund your book
project-which done right, is not an inexpensive proposition.
As for the writing, I am a very disciplined
person by nature and given the passion I have for my book project, I found it
enjoyable and exiting to write every day.
I was tremendously motivated to pen another story, to share another
episode from this special time with my audience.
I was so excited to move my book project
forward that I created a plan for myself-which was to write a story a day for
25 days. These stories came easily to me
and I felt well aligned with my goal of a story a day, so it wasn’t a challenge
but a pleasure to be a step closer to bringing these tales to the public.
ABOUT THE BOOK
It’s been said that the truth is stranger
than fiction. Marija Bulatovic’s
dazzling debut, Fantastical: Tales of
Bears, Beer and Hemophilia, certainly underscores that adage. Fantastical,
Bulatovic’s reflections on her Yugoslavian childhood, is a mesmerizing
memoir that takes readers on a wild and unforgettable tour of a country that
has vanished from the map, but lives on in this lively collection.
With a pitch perfect voice, and a keen eye
for capturing the absurd, the outrageous, the hilarious, the touching, and the
sublime, Bulatovic weaves a rich tapestry.
Bears, gypsies, quirky family members, foiled plans, unusual and
unorthodox neighbors, Fantastical has
it all. Lovingly told with an
unmistakable fondness and deep affection, Fantastical
is resplendent with humor, magic, and whimsy.
In this colorful, captivating and clever
collection of stories, Bulatovic captures the spirit of the Slavic soul—passion
and melancholy with a twinkle in the eye.
Fantastical charms with its
wit, keen insights, and larger-than-life stories. Part memoir, part love letter
to a place and a people that lives on in memory, Fantastical is irresistible.
An exquisite assortment of stories—each
more delicious than the last—Fantastical is
a tale to be savored.
Find out more on Amazon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Born in
Yugoslavia in the 1970s, Marija Bulatovic, along with her parents, immigrated
to the U.S. in the 1990s just ahead of the 1990s Yugoslav wars and the breakup
of the country. An accomplished business
professional with years of experience driving enterprise business with Fortune
500 companies, Bulatovic graduated from Colgate University. Marija Bulatovic
lives in Seattle with her husband and son.
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