2018. On Amazon for print and kindle. On iBooks and various e-formats. Copy at the British Library. Audio format on Findaway Voices. First poems reflect a chaotic train of thoughts, longing for calm and rest, with the last few poems weaving in many aspects and images of the earlier ones, especially the very last and longer poem: “The Journey”, which I have attached below. Front Cover by my son Matthew Dale.
Self-publish info (2017/2018: Draft2Digital for e-book, perfect for novices like me (update Feb 2022, D2D has just merged with Smashwords, but I am yet to read the updates), e-book cover using free Canva tools and templates and Matthew's art, but free images can be used as well I believe, just check the small print and restrictions (for example the use of a Canva logo as your own etc.
A little more complicated for print-on-demand, using Create Space (which has now become Kindle Direct Publishing), I spent many weeks studying articles by amazing bloggers giving precious step-by-steps, advice and bear-in-minds! Formatting was not easy, especially with poetry (I had to change the shapes of poems to fit the block quote only available format, I believe things have changed a lot since then) but if I did it, most people will be able to. Create Space cover generator is no more, so it's now Kindle Direct Cover Creator, it offers a good selection of templates and you can add your own designs onto them. Again, another learning curve for me. I also had to read articles on what to include in the blurb and the author bio (found more bloggers and other self-publishing writers who were generous with advice and links on the web.)
I kind of indulged in going the audio route with Findaway Voices (affiliated with D2G.)
I shan't add links and websites here, as things have progressed so much since then in terms of what's on offer and new platforms and technology.
I have an idea I'm going to have a lot to catch up with for the oncoming projects when it is time to publish again!
One last thing I found useful when I needed pages/documents as images, is a free tool, still currently offered online on the pdf2jpg.net website. You don't need to subscribe to anything (unless you wish to)to use the converting tool on their front page, upload your pdf, then press convert, then it comes on your screen and you are then able to save it in your files (I usually opt for desktop, which I move to other files once I've finished with it.)
Voilà for now!
SC Dale 