How I Published 4 Books in 3 Years – You Can Too

Yes, I Published 4 Books in 3 Years. Here they are:

First I published Zombie Turkeys on October 31, 2016. Then ten months later, out popped My Undead Mother-in-law on August 5, 2017. I still strove to hit my nine-month publishing goal with Paranormal Privateers, which debuted on May 5, 2018. Finally, I switched genres to middle-school science fiction with Secret Supers, appearing March 29, 2019.

I feel like these dates are the birthdays of my children!

In the next section, I’ll give you a rundown of my steps in publishing.

4 Books Published – First Zombie Turkeys

1. I wrote the first draft in November – December 2015 – I used NaNoWriMo (National November Writing Month) as my motivation. You can too!
2. Then I self-edited my book – inefficiently. January to March 2016. I checked grammar and spelling and reviewed checklists of what not to do. I think I went through six or seven revisions.
3. Next, I studied publishing and self-publishing. ‘Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual, Volume 2‘ and How I Sold 30,000 eBooks on Amazon’s Kindle were my primary influences.
4. In April, I worked with an editor for the first time. April to August 2016, Dori Harrell. She’ll work with you too! This created another six or seven revisions.
5. I knew I needed a cover artist, so I got one: Sean “Fuzzy” Flanagan. We went through ten ideas and we selected the handprint cover. August to September 2016.
6. Then, I bought IBSNs from Bowker. September 2016.
7. After this, I set up Amazon Kindle and Createspace accounts. They’re now merged. September 2016.
8. I learned I needed a format editor: someone who edits the text into ebook and print formats, Rik Hall of Wild Seas Formating. You need him, too. September 2016
9. I set up a website, zombieturkeys.com. It’s now merged with andyzach.net. October 2016
10. Finally, I uploaded my edited ebook and print book with their covers to Amazon and set the launch date to October 31st. October 2016
11. Before I could order books, Amazon had to approve them. As soon as they did, I ordered my print books. Mid-October 2016.
12. Then, I set up my book launch party at the Peoria North Library for October 31st. That was probably a mistake. I learned that some people were out, due to Halloween.
13. I got my print books in the mail. Huzzah! I got them just before the launch party. Late October 2016.

The first concept sketch for Zombie Turkeys:

Zombie Turkey Concept Art

Next, My Undead Mother-in-law

I knew I had to surpass my first book with my second one. I had to be crazier, funnier, wilder, more exciting, more violent. In November of 2016 when I wrote my first draft of My Undead Mother-in-law. I’ll tell you what I learned through that book in my next blog post.

This one is long enough.

But naturally, you’ll have questions. Ask me! I‘ll do my best to answer you.