Publishing My First Book On Kindle

I took the cover photo at Kolkata flower market

It's taken me 10 months but I've finally managed to self-publish my first book. It's a 'travelogue' which is basically a diary/memoir style piece based on a month off that I took last December. I wrote most of it while I travelling, in the evenings, and on public transport.

Writing on a long train  journey through West Bengal

I planned to come back to the UK, spend January editing it and then publish it in February. But real life set in and it never happened. Fitting the editing side in with my day job and other commitments was really tough and I found myself disconnecting from it. Eventually I got stuck in again but that was just the beginning. 

Sunset in Kathmandu

Next came the preparing the file for Kindle part (it's only available as a digital read on Kindle for the moment, I may extend it to other digital readers and possibly print on demand paperback but I'm not sure yet.) 

This involved another few months. I looked at endless on-line tutorials and even enrolled on a four day course called 'How To Publish Your First E-Book.' But came away none the wiser, in fact it confused me even more.

Children at Darjeeling Train Station

Eventually I settled on the simplest conversion which is creating it on word, inserting some images then converting it to a html file (instructions for how to do this can be found on the Kindle Self-Publishing site. Why I didn't do that to start with I'll never know!

For complicated booked other processes would be required but as I say, for simple text and pictures it's straight forward enough, the secret lies in the formatting which happens in the word file. 

Traditional Naksha Buti weaviing in Tangali, Dhaka, Bangladesh

The book is written in the first person as that's how I've always written my diaries. One of the main reasons I wrote it is that before I went away, and while I was away, I really enjoyed reading other people's self-published travelogues. They are far more interesting than reading travel guides. 

But looking back at it now, when I dip into it on my Kindle the trip becomes so vivid, I feel like I would have forgotten so many things. Even just looking at the photographs isn't enough as they only form half a memory. Writing provides a more real picture.

The book costs £3 (I only get £1 of that!), I'm not expecting to sell many copies but I hope that anyone who is travelling to India, Nepal or Bangladesh will consider purchasing it for inspiration or if you simply fancy a read that's a bit different you'll take your chances.

The first chapter of the book (sample chapter) is available to read for FREE here. If you've got five minutes, have a browse.

Altering A Nightdress Into New Clothes

I picked up this incredible night dress in Kolkata last year. It was clearly too big for me, but I couldn't ignore the gorgeous green script print fabric and bold colour combinations so I decided to buy it with plans to alter it into something more wearable.

When it comes to be being ruthless I'm very brave so I started by cutting it in half to create a top and bottom section.

Originally I was thinking of changing the shape of the collar but when I tried it on it didn't need anything so I just brought it in at the sides to make it fit better by trimming off the edges with an overlocker before hemming the ends. 

The skirt was more complicated. I held it against me to choose the kind of length I liked and then decided to create a waistband which was cut separately. The waistband was going to be made from the excess green fabric but in the end I settled on a wide band of red cotton which was folded over and padded with interfacing. I also used a gathering foot to pull in the fabric to create a more wearable shape.

The most exciting part of this project was that it was the first time I used a button hole foot to affix buttons and make button holes. 

And here are the two finished garments just in time to wear for the summer! I love the flare the skirt has and the ''50s diner theme' of the top.

To be honest I feel like this blog post makes it look really simple but it did require patience, especially for the skirt which has a zip and buttons and there was quite a bit on unpicking but I got there in the end. It's definately given me the confidence to have a go at altering more garments - especially charity shop finds that don't fit! 

Bins of Kolkata

I wasn't expecting to ever publish a blog post about public litter bins, but since Kolkata has a lot of unique 'garbage cans' I thought it was worth a share. 

These images were mainly taken in a particular park but that was only because the light bulb clicked at that moment to capture them. I had previously spotted creative bins around town, particularly in public spaces. 

The jaw shape on this croc isn't the most practical of designs...

Not all the public bins in India are overflowing with litter as one may be led to believe

This one would have been happier stationed at a swimming pool rather than a park

Conclusion? The bins in Kolkata are far superior to the bins we have in London! 

I should point out. Indian fire extinguishers are pretty cool too:

Starting the new year on a high

I've just returned from the biggest and most exciting expedition of my life. I took a few weeks off to go travelling; visiting India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Every day was a highlight from riding vintage trams in Kolkata, going for afternoon tea in Darjeeling, embarking on a sunrise boat trip in Pokhara and meeting rickshaw artists in Dhaka.

I have so many tales to share over the coming weeks on my blog and I'm working on a travelogue where Ill be sharing my travel diaries.

In the mean time above is the photo that sums up how I feel about my holiday and how I feel about the coming year. 

I always like to mark the New Year by doing something out of the ordinary.

For January 1st 2014 I decided to take a private jet flight through The Himalayas. It symbolises taking a leap of faith, seeing the world from a new perspective, discovering a new found confidence and reminding myself that I can be whoever I want to be.