IRONING DONE!

In my blogpost "Everyone has a book inside them?", I mentioned that I still had a few things to iron out in regards to my first attempt at self-publishing. Well I acquired some knowledge about Canadian/Québec Heritage and book creation although I'm still swimming in a bath of naivete. For the most part, my first attempt has finally come together...I hope.

My initial concept for Hybrida Flores was relatively straightforward; write text for an art book, prepare the images, cover, layout and voilà! Believing I was ready to ace another creative domain, I was surprised to learn that the publishing orbit is just as crazy and complex as the art sphere (excuse the space analogies but frankly, the experience was way more alien than I expected).

Learning by trial and error: 

I was incredibly excited that I actually managed to create a funky parody of a botanical tome while simultaneously preparing an art exhibition! I had really good intentions (and yes, I am familiar with the road to hell).

For example:

1

I was always impressed with catalogues in European art museums that were printed in various languages within one book. Brilliant! One printing, many tongues. No "Tower of Babel" problem here. So I created a bilingual manuscript (French and English) in order to reach as many people as possible. 

2

I made sure the writing was big enough to allow people over forty to peruse it at their leisure without having to pull out a magnifying glass to read it. Yes, you guessed it! I hate pill bottles. 

3

I placed images within a slender, linear frame to echo vintage scientific reference volumes. A bit of funky Latin didn't hurt either.

4

I chose vibrant colours to excite, catch and keep the viewer's interest, and added unexpected elements in some pages for a bit of piquant...such as this sad sunflower on a windy day.

I foresaw the expense of publishing a small number of books and put some money aside. Ultimately though, I was still astounded by my final costs (add the price of the initial proof and shipping and taxes twice, once for the proof and once for the volume order). And then the glitches started as they invariably do, and I'm not sure I want to enumerate them all. This post might go on forever but let me attempt to be concise by leaving a few things out.

The BookWright design tool from Blurb is very user friendly. I was sure I had everything under control. After receiving my initial proof, I made minor changes and felt I was done. I wrote to Library and Archives Canada and obtained an ISBN number. For heritage purposes, I was required to send them a copy of the book once it was published.

When I was ready to order my copies, I entered my precious ISBN number into the Blurb design tool. It looked great but me being me, I decided to triple check everything one last time and that's when everything went south. When I tried to order, Blurb wouldn't allow me to use the same ISBN number because the design tool, (unable to display any judgment whatsoever), assumed I had already used it. Say what? I hadn't ordered a thing yet!

Now let's talk about customer service in this day and age without getting overly trenchant. The process involves getting something called a "ticket" and writing "ad infinitum" about your problem via email. Time consuming? You betcha! Telephone? ...a conversation tool that allows two people to resolve an issue in five minutes? Forget it! Not doable!

It took days to solve the problem and shipping from the U.S. also took time. The "books" were meant to be ready for the opening of my show but of course they weren't. Only the $82.00 proof was available for visitors to peruse. A fine example of Murphy's Law.

But it didn't quite end there did it? 

Meanwhile I found out through friends that by law, I was also required to send a copy to the Québec equivalent of Library and Archives Canada, BAnQ. I never anticipated that putting together a book might land me in lockup. A few forms later and both governments eventually received their copies.

The icing on the cake was that at least three of my books had faded printing and had to be redone. Once again, this issue was resolved by sending a slew of pictures via email to Blurb customer service. The pale ones were eventually replaced with three of excellent quality. One needs to cultivate patience in this world.

So what did I learn?

1 

Give yourself plenty of time when you want to create anything to do with publishing. Things can go wrong even when you think you are doing everything right.

2

Blurb prints beautiful books but don't expect to ever talk with a human being if you have a problem. AND please do not forget to add your ISBN number at the end of the process, only when you are about to pay for your order.

3

Print enough copies for the government. I have looked into this some more and nearly all countries require a copy of what their citizens write whether the book has an assigned ISBN number or not. Who knew?

Frankly the ordeal was well worth the effort because every time I turn a page of Hybrida Flores, I smile. Below is a quickie video of what my 8" x10" soft cover compendium of non-existent plants looks like.