What I learned Writing and Self Publishing My First Book

When entering quarantine, I had no idea that my new habit of daily journaling would transform into a published work of organized creative thought. My newly found passion for writing inspired me to write, and self-publish my first dystopian novel. This is one filled with short stories, poetry, and songs, and incorporates those elements within a cohesive storyline that offers a message. (Throughout the story, chapters are divided with poems to spark deeper level thinking. These poems are abstractly retouching on what the previous pages tell.)

Synopsis of The LP

Josh, an adolescent who overcomes adverse life experiences while growing up in?Las Vegas, is transitioning to an independent life in the mile-long, posh, beach town of?La Jolla. There, he meets a charismatic lady who offers the opportunity to participate in a new form of therapy,?EnTherapy, provided by the technology startup she founded,?LP. She promises to detangle his past traumas and position him toward success, but the company ensnares Josh, leaving him powerless. It isn't until he trusts his intuition that the ultimate truth unfolds. Will pure love and compassion save the other patients? In this dystopian novel: poems, short stories, and songs may inspire a journey of healing, progress, and self-discovery among readers.

The Writing Journey

Along the way, my appreciation for literary devices only grew. Symbolism, similes, metaphors, and plenty of others down their way into my work. My attention to detail, passion for expression, and creativity grew tremendously.

Examples a few of my favorite uses of literary devices:

Imagery

• "Again, the racing embers leave a cloud of lacy smoke and gentle snow of falling gray. The fire effortlessly erodes the stiff, and the flame transforms into powder transition. My predetermined life plan, pressured by others, has been set on fire. I hate a blueprint. Without a map, I must trust my intuition."
• "The warm satanic breaths infiltrating from the dense smog-filled streets fumigate the angelic presence of cold air conditioning." (Introduce Motif/Symbolism)
• "Florida's air feels like the cloud of spit after a sneeze: warm, misty, strange-smelling."
• "The warm satanic breaths and licks of salty sardine-scented saliva brush my cheeks." (From a puppy, last page // motif closure)
• "Instead of peering down at the fluttering pieces of ceramic teetering like fish below the tide, my eyes glance up; like migrating creatures, wings of orange, green, indigo, violet, and red speckle the sky. Then, with pure freedom, we glide into the horizon. The ball of fire plunges into the ocean as a final closing act. It's a spectacle Mama would give a standing ovation. As we glide into the cliffside, I appreciate the blue- below. Melodies from Astragalus can be heard from this part of the beach, luring my stop post-glide."
• "Silently, I pencil dive between the pages where the bookmark meets the blue. I am electrified at all touch-points. Zap Zap-Zap Zaaap!"

Metaphor

• "Before I could reply, she forcefully pushed and zipped me back in the cocoon."
• "Jalendula gaffed Jermaine through the heart and brought her up on a much more luxurious yacht while mine slowly sank into the murk. Jermaine was a rare siren; I blame my inexperience in relationships for abandoning the security provided by my family to voyage into the unknown. It was luring, appealing. Now, Im stranded with my plans upended. Alone on an island, scavenging for resources needed for survival, my motivation to strive has been depleted."

Symbolism

• "Boarding the coastal train atop the thin strip, we return to inspire."
• "LPWallOfInfluence" ,"Patrolling Bats // Western Mastiff" , "WorldWideGovernment", "CaliforniaPalm", "TheInstitution // TheInn" "HereAndNow", "OrangePlunge", "TheSap", "TheThirdImprintment", "TheValley", "NOW", "Leptotes-Pirithous", "EyeDives", "TheAcademicInstitute", "TheWindAndSea", "Kaleidoscope eyes", etc.
• "Before pushing through the doors of LP, a glimpse of the artwork in the lobby shows a change. The canvas holding the collage of white card-stock shreds, layered in pattern, has incorporated traces of orange." (TexturedCanvas)
• "My beverage of choice is the non-alcoholic seltzer infused with the floral essence." (At Astragalus)
• Reel, Map, Obfuscated Time Clock!

Simile

• "We awaken like slumped seals on broken rock."
• "Like a shooting green comet across the ever-expanding universe, the lime green acrylics on her fingers zip through the darkness created inside the cocoon."
• "Intense focus clings to the lime-green trapezoids as they become smaller until mere specks in the darkness of the case. Like a twinkling NorthStar, but green."
• "As an asteroid that does not chase neither the sun nor moon, this light does not get sidetracked by the colorfully tempting gasses of Jupiter. Instead, it stays focused and proceeds on a clear path, birthed NOW but holds precocious intuition."
• "An earthquake of maximum magnitude shakes the floor, shakes the beach, and brings the cliff upon us where we lay, squashing us like insects. The face of LaJolla kisses us, but it is a suffocating kind of love. We are buried in sandstone, smothered felicity and liberation."

What Brainstorming Looks Like:

After the first draft was finished, lots of work with still required. I faced the obstacles of editing, publishing, and distribution. I approached the editing process using creativity, and I decided to leverage existing editing platforms to make the job easier. I first utilized Grammarly premium to check any surface-level mistakes, then I sent a rough draft to various mentors and friends for their feedback. Through this, I was able to catch inconsistencies within the storyline, grammatical errors, and advice on increasing clarity for readers.

Once the editing was complete, and I formatted the book through the software provided by Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. I could now think about the cover, design, and layout of the book. One of the leading reasons I chose to self-publish list first book was to keep my creative freedom when it came to the assembly of the final draft.

Images from the KDP Process:

I am grateful for this because it allowed my poems to keep their form, and for me to work with a graphic designer to come up with an original design for the cover. On the cover, I chose to commission an artwork that was symbolic of the story message. It is a butterfly that is half blue and half red. It is placed in the center of the ocean and the beach. The protagonist of the story, in the end, has a realization that “life is a quickly melted ripple between the vast orange burn and extinguishing blue." Additionally, at the end of the book, the protagonist, and his newly created friends leave their destination to transform and leave an impact. They are sitting on a train along the coast. The butterfly is symbolic of that train. The message of this book is to inspire other people to continue on their journey and to stay persistent.

Final Book Wrap

A Glimpse at Creating the Cover

After finalizing all of the creative decisions, it was time to publish on the Amazon platform. I created an entry for my product and posted it there. However, the main mission for this first book was to establish me as a creative. I did create a marketing plan for the distribution of this book, if I would like to focus on that in the future. I also created a lean stack for the business model of this book and it’s a strength if I would like to pursue that in the future as well.

This book was not intended or created for a large total addressable market. It is written with high level concepts and motifs that may not be appreciated by the general public. I describe it, to the people I have shared copies with, as an extremely long poem. But, this is how I chose to express myself during my first project. I will use this dense book as a source of inspiration for my future art, poems, and books. Through future work, I plan on revisiting these thoughts and delivering in a more accessible form. I published this book while entering my final year at University, so I did not have the time available which was required for serious distribution and marketing.

I did take the opportunity to print and distribute copies to my close friends through individualized packages. I was hopefully able to strengthen our relationships because now they have a deeper glance into my thinking patterns and we have a tool for conversation sparking. Now, I also use my book as a replacement for a business card. After discovering that I enjoy writing and creative expression, I will be pursuing more creative work in the future and look forward to being able to share that with my community.

A Few Copies I Shared

Looking ahead, I will consider the traditional publishing route for future work, especially if I am not going to dedicate a large effort to independent marketing.

I will love to help any of you who may be interested in exploring writing. And, feel free to let me know if you would like to get a copy of the book as well!

*Closing Fun Fact: The Pen Name, Joslindo Neude is a combination of my grandparent's names. Joslindo is a mixture of my grandfathers, Josmar and Arlindo. Neude is a mixture of my grandmothers, Neide and Saude. I would not be where I am without family.

Speaking of Family:

I learned that I come from a family of writers. In my great grandfather's self-published biographical genealogy book, he shares stories of my great-great grandmother and some of her poetry. She was even featured and published in some magazines.

I also include this message at the end of the book, this was my intention with the story:

Message from the Author

This is a story to empower. Those who feel as if they are trapped in past traumas or feelings of helplessness, you can help others. Sometimes, it is necessary to disintegrate from reality’s habits and reflect on areas that have caused you pain; only then can you rebuild. And in your new armor, you can walk in the way for others protection, for you have learned to protect yourself.

You are not alone. Nobody has endured the pains and struggles unique to your perspective, but you can find comfort in the growth others have experienced. Look into the eyes of your trusted companions, even if that means?EyeDiving?with yourself. Understand that you have survived, will survive, and are surviving. Now, take this inspiration to thrive and lay the path for others to follow. Be the glue that holds with compassion. Find the beauty in everything around you and point others toward that beauty too.

This is the most beautiful thing, teaching others to see what you see. To form a mindset of abundance, growth, and optimism is a changing moment. A switch that may have only been flicked with your inspiration may never be turned back to what it was before.

Once you begin to see in color, past the gray and monochrome, you see life for what it is.

A life where dust is the opportunity, a mountain is an adventure, and the least likely person is a friend: a life of plenty.

You can break past the seemingly infinite hurtles and manifest goals that exceed the material form through this. Actualization requires self-awareness. This is the needle you should trust. Others may attempt to sway your direction, but your certainty and vision are what motivate you. Others may impose a trajectory that they’ve unfortunately overlooked, but that path may have been guiding them to their desired destination and not your own.

We are all connected to a universal intelligence that we can fully dive into; the well is never-ending. Here, you can find the answers. You have access to the answers. Be brave. Life is an adventure where cynics never win. Stagnation is death. Keep progressing; you can do it. You are doing it.

Spread this story. Spread joy and love so we can all fly free.

-With thanks and care.

What's next?

One of my favorite parts of writing was the ability to do it from anywhere, poolside was my favorite! Looking forward to writing much more.