My first foray into the world of self-publishing has certainly been a learning experience. Through the advice of a friend I was encouraged to work on and publish a short that could be put out for the public to enjoy. She told me that my work was up to par with other writers and that small ego stroke pushed me into a direction I've wanted to go in since I was 12. Self publishing was the way to go for me, I control all the content, the cover etc.
Now there are different schools of thought on self-publishing and equally strong opinions. I'm not discussing that today. Not directly anyways What I am covering is what I'm finding to be true as I work my way through self-publishing.
Self-publishing has it's advantages, you can publish when you want and how you want. You don't have to ask any for content approval. There's no anxious waiting to see if a publisher picks you out of the thousands of other submissions. There's no fighting to have just the cover you want because this is after all your dream and your vision. All of those things are the exact reasons I chose self publishing.
However those upsides are met with some labor intense down sides. You will do ALL the work. And once you put it out there any and all mistakes you've made are out there for your readers to see. This is not something to be taken lightly.
Covers: Very simple covers are somewhat easy to make (somewhat) as long as you're okay with very generic title choices etc. However as both a reader and a writer we know that a cover is what helps our readers make a choice. The old adage "Never judge a book by it's cover" well that's nice in theory but in reality our eyes are drawn to pretty shiny things. So making a cover requires skills, various photo editing programs and lacking those funds to purchase the right cover. If you're lucky you know people who make covers and can sometimes work out a trade. However this requires a lot of give and take and networking skills.
Content: Yes you can publish any and all words that come into your brain. There is no overlord editor forcing you to cut the two page epic about your characters Aunt Sue. This is great for those of us that are control freaks but it means that whatever you put out there stays out there, if it doesn't fit, doesn't work or is just plain weird it can and will hurt your name. Avoiding this as a self publisher can be tricky. A good beta reader is vital. Someone who will be brutally honest and tell you exactly what doesn't work. It's important to listen to them. Not the same as an editor's demands but essential to putting out good work. I recommend more than one beta reader familiar with the genre you write.
Additionally when it comes to content Editing. I'm am not savvy at grammar I know it, I don't like it but there it is. So having someone edit your work for publishing is a MUST. This isn't running spell check on word. This goes beyond little squiggly red and green lines. This has to be done by a professional or at the very least someone who has studied the English language. I truly believe a professional is best. Again this is a cost that you will have to incur all on your own.
Name recognition: To put it bluntly you have to pimp your name. The hardest thing you'll do is get book sales. At least at first. No one knows your name, what you write and no one cares. You have to network, twitter followed by every other way you can imagine. Getting your name out there and selling those first few books is an every day process. You can stand on your head holding a sign and they still won't sell. Unless you pay for advertising and social media blurbs.
On this note is where a LOT of work comes in. You need to create a market around your name. FB author page, twitter account, author email, author website, author business cards, bookmarks (for dropping here and there) and the list goes on. You have to do all of this and you have to keep doing it. Build Twitter followers, and talk about your book constantly, promote it post blurbs and reviews when you get them. It's work and to think otherwise is going to get you in fast trouble.
Read and Follow: Interacting with other Authors reading and promoting their work is essential. If you promote other work your name gets around as well. It's a give and take business. By interacting with other authors you build that ever so important network. Trust me that network is what will build you. Build up others and they will build you up.
Write: Despite all this work that has to be done every-day you have to write. And in volume. The more you publish the more you put out their with your name out there the more you have to promote. Time will pass when zero copies of your book will sell. Ignore that, for now it's about getting it out there and building a foothold.
Now having said all the above, I'm going to plug along with my self publishing and keep hoping fort the best. I just wanted to share what I've learned thus far. And while it has been an enormous amount of work and book sales are currently stalled for me I'm more than optimistic. I'm encouraged, I have to keep doing the work, doing everything I can to put myself out there. In time it will pay off and I'll be able to point to my books and say "I did that"
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