I’ve been working on a project for the last ten years and today it finally came to fruition! I’m proud to announce that all my books are now available in my local Hillsborough County Library! 

When I contacted the library after I was first published, they were not interested in an author published with a small publisher or one that didn’t have professional reviews in magazines like Publisher’s Weekly or Book List. Discouraged, I waited for a few years as the digital world of books evolved and self-publishing gained more and more respect.

I tried again and still no response. They were very strict, not only about how the books were published, but also what distributor they were available through, and again, how many reviews they’d received from professional reviewers.  If the books were not available through a certain large distributor, the library would not order them. Most small publishers do not make their books available in other than Print on Demand, and unfortunately that carries with it some difficulties for larger distributors.  This mainly has to do with the lack of returnability for book stores and libraries.

I decided recently to give it one more try. Without much hope, I contacted the “Ask a Librarian” link on my local website. They responded with a name of the person in charge of ordering new books. I called her and had a wonderful conversation. She researched my books and informed me that a few were available to order through their distributor, but the others were not. She then informed me that because they were very interested in helping local authors, she asked if I’d be interested in donating a copy of my books for review to see if they would be accepted. Well, I was thrilled. Never before had I had this kind of reception. I trotted straight down to my local branch copies in hand. They did ask for reviews that were professionally done, but she was willing to accept the reviews I’d received on Amazon.  She even went so far to recommend how I could receive reviews as an indie author through Publisher’s Weekly.  I’ll include that link below for all of you to explore.

Link to Book Life – a division of Publisher’s Weekly

Today, I was searching the library catalog, and guess what I found! Merry Christmas to me! My books have been approved and are now available for people to check out and read. I couldn’t be more thrilled. This has been a long time coming, and I was very fortunate to connect with the right person at the right time.

My point? Never give up. Always continue to pursue your dreams in regard to writing.  Keep writing and keep telling people that you’re a writer. If you’re an indie author, PLEASE hire a professional editor even for the smallest projects. It is so worth it for your professional reputation. Then go after your market. If you use Createspace they have international distribution through Baker & Taylor and Ingram. You just need to make sure you set your book up the correct way. Lightning Source/Ingram Spark are the same way, although they do charge for each revision you submit, and I find their formatting more complicated. It may pay you to hire a professional to help you with this Indie Publishing Method.

If you have any questions, about my journey or want to share something about your own, please comment.

Please allow me to wish you and yours a very happy Holiday Season and a Prosperous 2015.

Books by Kelly Abell     Cover Designs by Select-O-Grafix

Copyright 2014 by Kelly Abell