Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”

As my family and I prepared to launch into our first self-publishing journey, I certainly had many dreams and plans. The farther we went into the process, the more realistic my plans became. But, I couldn’t foresee all the ways God would determine our steps in His sovereignty.

Self-Publishing Chained

Mom re-read through the manuscript and asked several questions that helped me correct mistakes in grammar and setting. My older sister, Aynsley, read it and helped me work out character flaws and plot holes.

I spent some time working through those edits.

They read and approved the edits. The next step was reading it aloud to my dad. He would be teaching me about marketing, so it was important for him to understand what we were sharing.

We were completely new to the idea of self-publishing. My dad researched self-publishing modes and companies. He sorted out all the legal jargon.

About this time, Aynsley found a book trailer and showed it to me. My brother is into video creation and editing. When he saw it, we quickly decided that I had to have a trailer for Chained. He started working.

Meanwhile, I researched and laid out my desire for the page size and design of the book. My parents looked through dozens of ideas before we landed on the winning cover photo. Then, it was over to Aynsley (our resident graphic designer) to make it shine.

There are three keys to a book trailer: video, music, and script. So, my brother, sisters, and I hopped over to Adobe Stock and listened to way too many epic, cinematic, orchestral, emotional, inspiring, adventure, uplifting, fantasy songs. Eventually, we landed on a winner. Ezekiel began sorting through videos of forestry in Canva.

Back to the book itself. The Lord had inspired me with some new edits to keep the Gospel message clear. I worked on those and had a family member read through the new edits. The next step was formatting the manuscript. And I had no idea what to do. So, I started watching a video master class on how to use Adobe InDesign.

I was also working on a synopsis and trailer script. In the end, I turned the synopsis over to Aynsley for final thoughts and went with what she said. I listened to the trailer music we had downloaded over and again, setting words to music. My sister, Esther, was a tremendous help with the trailer script! Together, we accomplished it and Ezekiel began working again.

Esther was also working on transferring the map design to a digital PNG.

I began to search Adobe Fonts for one I liked for the book cover. I scrolled through hundreds of fonts before picking one. My parents helped write the bio, and Aynsley whizzed through the cover designing.

I finished up the master class on InDesign. Then, Aynsley surprised me by purchasing a new course for my birthday – all about formatting a fiction book. I was so excited! It broke everything down, using InDesign, and I was able to follow the instructions easily.

However, formatting was an unpredictable process. I struggled to get the little details to work. The running headers and page numbers got mixed up over and again. I cried out to God for patience and help so many times!

After a few weeks, the manuscript was finally formatted. Whew!

Amidst all these things, Aynsley and Esther worked hard on creating a logo for the series. Yes, the intricate gold diamond with “The Pure Line Series” wrapping around the outside is completely their design, down to the individual networking of lines.

Next steps! My dad created a website. Ezekiel did a trailer reveal for the family in the living room. It was epic! Also, Mom started the authoress Facebook page, where the trailer was posted.

We chose to use Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon). My dad helped set up the account and paperback info. We set the cover and manuscript PDFs to upload. And there we stalled for weeks.

The mystery message explaining the “problem” with our PDFs remained a mystery to me as I searched through every troubleshooting, help, and community page I could find. I tried different searches, key words, and a whole lot of prayer.

God did show me the problem, in His timing. First, the PDF was the wrong standard. I had no clue what standard was needed; it seemed like it would be my choice. But, no. It had to be Acrobat 4 1a-X-2001. Secondly, there was no flattening selected for the map image (a high resolution PNG).

I downloaded a PDF Print with the right standard and applied high resolution flattening. It worked like a charm. Praise God!

Two days later, the book was approved. I signed a contract with Humble Shack to enlist their sales, marketing and distribution help. And my amazing beta readers put up their encouraging reviews on the Humble Shack product page.

The whole family sent up a cheer when the first box of copies was opened. A moment later, we all stood in dismay as we realized that it was all one page off. No!!

So, I was back to formatting and trouble-shooting the KDP system. We did, however, decide to use the first copies to send to family and friends. I got to enjoy signing the first copies of Chained. Another week and new, correct copies were on the way.

At last! The self-publishing process for Chained was over! We did it – by God’s grace!

About a year into this process, I reached a place where I didn’t even want to go on. I was struggling between my desires to spend time seeking the Lord and being with the family, and the desire to complete the book. Besides that, we were going through a lot as a family, even learning to farm. Aynsley and I both suffered from new health problems.

At one point, I even prayed, “Lord, I know that You don’t usually just drop a published book in a person’s lap, but that’s what I’d love right now!”

I went back and forth between enjoying the book and hating it. God didn’t let me quit. Faithfully, He taught me how to seek Him, love my family, and get the work done. (He has continued to do that to this very day!) God was showing me that it was His plan that I publish Chained.

My plans included giving up and doing something else. God consistently kept my steps moving in His plans.

We began this journey in June, 2019. Chained was officially published in March, 2021. What an adventure!

Thank You, God, for determining our steps and never leaving our sides! Also, for being my Strength when I was weak and revealing Your heart to me!

Thank You, my dear family, for all the hard work, encouragement, love, time, joy, energy, patience, and confidence you poured into this endeavor! I love you all so much!

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”

Want to enjoy the fruit of our labor? Read Chained now!

All of the stages of this journey also prepared the way for Trapped…

NEW BLOG COMING SOON!
These Determined Steps: Trapped
What the Self-Publishing Process Looked Like for Us