Wildly Honest: Rejection, Resilience, & How to Self-Publish Your Book!

Hey nature lovers – Lauren here, and today’s podcast is a little different. I want to take you behind the scenes of one of the most personal, emotional chapters of my creative journey so far.

This is the story of how I wrote a book, poured my entire soul into it… and then got rejected. Not by a publisher, but by a platform that’s supposed to make self-publishing accessible.

This is the story of Wildly Unplug: A Creative Guide to Reconnect with Nature – and what happened when Amazon KDP said no. And the steps you can take to self-publish your own book!

If you’re writing your own book — or thinking about it — I’d love to hear about it.
Tag me. DM me. You’ve got a cheerleader in me. 💌

And if you want to read Wildly Unplug: A Creative Guide to Reconnect with Nature, it launches on Earth Day, April 22, 2025 — available on Amazon. 

Click here to buy "Wildly Unplug: A Creative Guide to Reconnect with Nature" 

Transcript

 Welcome to wildly Unplug, sharing stories of nature conservation and creativity. Discover what develops when you unplug and step outdoors.

 Hello, nature lovers and welcome back to Wildly Unplug, the podcast where we slow down and reconnect with nature. I am your guide, Lauren Connolly, and today I'm doing something a little different. I wanna take you behind the scenes on one of my most vulnerable chapters of my creative journeys so far, I wanna talk about rejection and rejection sensitivity, and what happens when you put your whole heart and soul into something and you get told no.

Because that is exactly what happened with my book. I recently finished writing Wildly Unplug, a Creative Guide to Reconnect with Nature. It's 138 pages of stories, prompts, pictures, QR code, playlist and nature journaling exercises, and I poured everything into it, my heart, my healing, my love for the natural world, some personal stories, and I'm used to creating.

Start with visuals, not with words. So it was already pretty vulnerable and I submitted it to Amazon, KDP. My original goal was to have it done in January, but through some editing problems. Hot tip. If you hire someone through Fiverr, ask them a bunch of questions and see how they give feedback, and if they're editing using ai.

I thought I had asked all the right questions, but I had not, and I was deeply disappointed with the results. The quality just wasn't there. There was no feedback. Basic corrections were missed, and the table of contents I was given back, everything apparently was on page six. So thankfully I found an editor who is a friend of a friend, Suzanne Hardwick.

And she was fabulous. She gave me great feedback and suggestions, and she did it in a way that helped me to learn, and she also helped me to stay true to the voice and the tone of the overall book. So I was happy I went with Suzanne, and after she was done editing, I felt very confident and I was very excited to release my book into the world.

I. Well, because I had to find a second editor through no fault of Suzanne at all. Um, I did have to push back my original release date and it was ready around March and I thought, well, what's a good time to release this book? And it's about nature. Um, hello Earth Day, April 22nd. So I submitted the book with a few weeks extra time in case something was to happen.

And it did because. After I submitted the book, like less than a Day, I got an email and it says, your book is blocked. It might result in a disappointing customer experience. No explanation, no clarity. I couldn't get into edit it. It was just blocked. Rejection, could not do anything. So at first I spiraled.

Let's be honest, this is where my rejection sensitivity kicks in, and if you're a  neurodivergent like me and you live with a DHD or autism, you know what this feels like? One vague message. And suddenly your brain is screaming, you failed. You did something wrong. You don't belong here. What you created is crap.

Why do you even try? And I felt like all this time and energy that I had been. Putting into creating this thing was just wasted and I almost scrapped the entire thing. Here's what pulled me out of it. My people, my community, and most importantly my husband, who said, lots of authors get rejected. It's a rite of passage.

And he is right. Although this was like direct publishing and not necessarily with a publisher. Um. But I mean, he's right. Rejection does happen. Tony Morrison was rejected. Dr. Seuss was rejected 27 times and this, this is just part of the story, so I decided to push back respectfully. I did some searching it's not very easy to find, but through some searching on Google and through Amazon, I was able to find where I could email Amazon and be like, look, why is this being blocked? Why am I not allowed to publish this book when there are tons of other direct to publish authors out there?

I asked for them to review it and I reminded myself, I am the author. This is my work. My voice matters. And you know what? The content review team went through about two rounds of reviewing my book, the first email. They said they needed five business days to review.

Within about two days, I got an email back asking to answer these questions for further review. So their email said To further review your book for publication, please reply to this message with the following information. One, describe your content and how it was created. Include any relevant information about how you researched the topic or themes, any expertise or credentials you have in the relevant field and the process through which e drafted and edited the content.

Two, describe the customer reader you are targeting to purchase your content, and what steps did you take to ensure that they would be satisfied with their purchase?

Three, what differentiates your content from other books on the same topic or in the same genre? And four, what steps did you take to prevent copyright infringement and to ensure all of your content is original? And this is how I answered. I went to the About Me section of my website and copied and pasted everything in my About Me section, all of my awards, publications, all 20 of my certifications that state why I am an expert in the subject matter and all of my education.

And I said that this book is accumulation of all my years experience in the science and art fields. To answer question number two, I put, I spent months pouring my heart and soul into this book. It does resonate with people. However, this feels like a loaded question. Not every subject matter is for everyone, 

but it will be enjoyable for adults who are burnt out and looking to reconnect with nature. My information has been very well received through multiple presentations that I've given throughout Ohio and Florida on the same subject, three. This book is different from others on the market because it is my stories.

No one has been through my experiences, which makes it unique. I have been through a lot of abuse in corporate settings, and it makes my work relatable. 

It also takes a unique approach of combining stories with action steps at various levels that meet people where they are in their stage of life. And then to answer question four, the stories in the book are my personal experiences. To prevent copyright. All the information is original and my own.

I have two quotes from two famous people, which I cited appropriately, and the rest of the quotes were taken from my podcast, which I produce and edit.  I spent months drafting my book in Google Docs.

My husband edited the first draft, and I hired an editor, Suzanne, for the final draft regards. Lauren,  within 40 minutes of submitting my email, my book was approved. Through a little research, I discovered that KDP, especially the eBooks, do not like the journaling format. So I feel like 

this might have been a red flag and thrown off, uh, the whole process and made for some drama, but it's okay because if you're listening to this right now and you're wondering if your dream is worth fighting for, if you've ever heard no and thought that it meant that you should give up, please hear this.

Your voice is still valid. Your story is still unfolding and sometimes the detour is the real destination. Maybe you've been told no by KDP in the past, and if so, this is your sign to go ahead and try and resubmitting it, or maybe another publisher or something else altogether told you. No, keep trying.

It never hurts to ask for clarification. Maybe it was a mistake on their end, or maybe it gives you the opportunity to learn and grow. Here are some steps to publish your own book through Direct Publishing. Step one, write your book. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Just start. I use Google Docs and I just opened it up and started typing. I did this over the course of a couple days. It would be several hours each day, and I had already had notes and things that I had collected throughout the years, so I did have to gather all that information and then just start brain dumping.

Do it however it feels natural to you. You can organize it later. Just trust the process and it'll be okay that it's a little bit messy, and there are things that I wrote that I did have to take out, and I'm saving it for another book or maybe for another podcast. So sometimes brain dumping is a great way to get that creative stuff out into the world, and you can use it for other things.

Step two, format for print and or digital for paperback.  The trim size, I use six by nine inches. Make sure you leave room for margins and bleed settings. If you use a program like reads, E-R-E-E-D-S-Y. It's great because Readsy will do all the page numbers, the chapters, and the copyright page for you, and it made the whole process so much easier.

You can do this through Canva, and I've done it before with a coloring book years ago, and coloring books, formatting in Canva is great if you're writing more of a a written book. More stories. I highly recommend Readsy for this. It just saves you so much trouble. The only complaint that I have about Read Z is that you can't change the size of the pictures, which made for giant QR codes.

In the back of the book. I really wanted to have small QR codes peppered throughout the book. Every time I quoted one of my guests in my podcast, I wanted. A QR code to go directly to their podcast. So whoever was interested could directly listen to their episode. So unfortunately I did have to, to make some changes there for eBooks.

Make sure you use simple formatting table of contents. That links a lot of times. Um, there are programs that will do that for you. I believe Resley will do that for you. And then you don't want headers or footers. 

Step three, choose your publishing platform. Some of the big ones you've got Amazon, KD, P. It's free. It's got a huge reach. It can be frustrating though, based on my experience. You've got Ingram Spark and that's great for bookstores and libraries. Book baby. , I've heard it is supportive and has paid packages and high quality.

And then there's lulu or Blurb, super friendly for creatives and art books. I've used Lulu before to create journals where it just has a beautiful picture that I took on the front and then blank pages throughout. So Lulu was pretty easy to deal with  make sure that you have your tax information ready to input into these platforms like you would fill out for any other job, because you're gonna get paid for each book that you sell.

The publishing platforms are going to keep a portion of the proceeds so you can adjust your pricing accordingly so that you are getting what you think you want from each book.

You can also sell directly on your website using Gumroad Pay Hip or Shopify, or you can do a PDF with bonus content like audio meditations or printable worksheets. Step four, you're gonna upload and order a proof copy. You're gonna wanna check for print quality, color issues, typos, and layout shifts.

It is totally unreal to be working on the computer for so long and see the format on a computer, even if you've printed out your book. It's still not the same as holding a bound book with your name on it and seeing that, that you're an author. It's kind, it's surreal, and it's so cool. Step five, launch It Your Way.

You don't need a publicist or a publisher to celebrate. You can share on social media. I shared. My book opening when the package came in the mail, so people got to see my initial reaction when I got to hold my book for the first time, and I had some great support. Thank you to all my family and friends who have ordered the book so far and have reviewed your support means the world to me.

You could. Host events or readings, you can reach out to,  libraries or schools, uh, wherever it might be appropriate to read your book. Sometimes they will let you do that. You can do author signings, you can offer a launch day discount or some freebies, , like a guided meditation or something related to your book, maybe a bookmark that you've signed or something like that.

Bottom line, your voice matters. Your story matters, and there are people waiting for your exact message.

Whether it's a book about nature, healing, motherhood, or birds with boots, create it, finish it, and publish it with or without permission. I hope this episode reminds you that rejection isn't the end. It's often just a detour and sometimes it leads to a deeper wilder path. One where you can reclaim your voice, your timing, and your why.

You are not alone. And if you ever need a cheerleader. You've got one in me, and if you're working on your own book, I'd love to hear about it. Tag me, message me. Let's walk this creative road together. Until next time, unplug. Get outdoors and see  📍 what develops.

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