Publishing your own book - a fairy tale about a fairy tale

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Guest writer: Maria Frid Selin

Here is a travel story of a slightly odd kind. A journey where dream became reality - my own children's book The clearing in the forest which was published in June. Maybe it will inspire you if you want to publish your own book, a travel book for example?

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When I was in middle school I wanted to be a writer, unless of course I became a professional dancer.

I didn't become a dancer, but I did continue writing. Most of it ended up in the drawer. It was a diary, poems, songs, short stories, thoughts, you get the idea. When the internet came with blogs, I got hooked on it. We have also had some websites for travel and crafts. We are, among other things, guest writers at Freedom Travel and write in various member magazines.

But then there was that children's book I wrote in 2001 that wouldn't go away. One day it would become a real book!

As it's a story in rhyme for young children, the pictures are important and I can't paint. In 2023 I joined a group that Hanna Landahl has on Facebook and to her you can ask all sorts of questions about publishing and authorship. She told me that the pictures don't have to be included at all, it's the text that the publishers assume. Help! That means I can send it to the publisher and test it.

After finalising the text one last time and writing a personal letter, I sent it to about ten publishers. On several pages it said that I could expect a waiting time of 3-6 months.

Imagine my surprise when 2 weeks later an email arrives saying: "We would love to publish your book!"

Soon, other publishers also wanted to publish. What they all had in common was that they were hybrid publishers. This means that as an author you pay for most of the publishing yourself. Today, it is difficult for a new author to be accepted by a traditional publisher; you often pay for your first book. On the other hand, you get a larger share of the sales. There are cheaper alternatives if you do everything yourself and publish a book via printers, such as Books on Demand.

I chose a publisher that I thought felt good when I talked to the staff. Visto förlag, which is part of Idus förlag. We signed a contract in September last year (they have been very nice and supportive all the way so I feel I made the right choice).

Then it was just a matter of getting the money! It varies from publisher to publisher, but a hybrid publisher is between SEK 20,000 and 75,000 excluding VAT. I fixed it by selling old things I no longer use such as jewellery, LPs and various other things from the storage. It went really smoothly on Tradera and I got the storage room cleaned at the same time.

So began the process of getting pictures for the book. I was very lucky that my friend Jennie Forster wanted to paint her trolls and fairies in acrylics. The pictures turned out magical! It was thanks to a painting I saw her do in 2001 that the fairy tale came about, so it feels extra warm in my heart that she has done the pictures now.

If you want to see more of her paintings, she is at AnamCara- massage and wholeness

The next step was that the text had to be proofread by the publisher. It should be spelt correctly and punctuated in the right places. Once the images were ready and submitted, it was the graphic designer's turn. She put the pictures and text together according to my wishes. Here I had had great help from the husband who had already fixed the pictures, made in the right size and made the cover images, even flyers and business cards he has made.

There was a lot to consider such as hard or soft cover, size of book, number of pages, font and size, back cover text, title and style of book, number of copies etc. 

The editors at the publisher checked it one last time before everything was sent to the printer. There was a queue of several weeks, so now began a wait to see and hold the physical book.

Then the day came when a courier brought the boxes of books to our house. What happiness!

However, the big aha day came a few weeks later when I saw the book on the Adlibris website. Imagine that my book is on several pages on the internet, in libraries, bookstores and even as an e-book! It is actually unbelievable. It's also unbelievable that on 27 September the book and I will be at the big book fair in Gothenburg, which this year celebrates 40 years!

If you want to come and say hello, that would be great. I'll be signing books at the Idus stand (B07:39) from 9-11am on Friday. The books are available throughout the fair weekend. If you want to order a book, it is also possible on my website www.fridselin.se.

Have you published a book and will you be at the fair? I'd love to come by.

Now you may be sitting there feeling like you want to publish a book too. I just say: do it! You'll only regret what you didn't dare.

There are many good sites online if you want help but basically just start writing. My tips I would give is to write without thoughts on to whom, how to publish, will someone want to read, it must be right from the start etc. Skip the doubts!

I write my stories with pen and paper. Without order or spelling.

I type everything in as usual on the computer, where there are good programmes for spelling, counting words and characters. You can then put the pages in order and change them.

When you think you are reasonably finished with the story, you send it to publishers and see the response. Sometimes you can get tips on what you need to work on more. If you are accepted, there will be several steps where the story is reviewed, layout, spelling, etc. So don't be too picky, but put your energy into what you like: WRITING.

"Writing is like travelling. Big motorways, small dirt roads ... sooner or later you reach the destination" said by wise husband Jöran.

Good luck to you! /Maria

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Jöran and Maria Selin

Jöran and Maria are the names behind the former blog Magnolia Magis. They sold the house and lived 3 years outside first in a motorhome then a caravan. Travelling mostly in Sweden and Europe. Today they have switched to a small cabin in the forest and a camping-equipped Land Rover Defender with which they hope for many nice trips.

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