THE ART OF SELF-PUBLISHING

Never in the publishing industry as there been so many ways for an author to publish  their books. Most authors look at self-publishing as the way they want to go. Let\’s look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good.

1.You decide when you want to publish your book. It\’s up to you when you want to publish. You make all the decisions. The best part is you don\’t have to wait years to see your book in print.

2. You get all the royalties. Yes, you get that royalty check from the printer/distributor. You don\’t have to share a percentage with anyone. It is all yours.

3. You decide how you want the cover to look.

4. You decide how to market your book.

5. You pay for everything.

Did I say you pay for everything? Yes, I did.

1. You pay for the cover design.
2. You pay for the edits.
3. You pay for the formatting, or the program that does the formatting.
4. You are responsible for all of the marketing.
5. You can blame yourself if it doesn\’t sell.

What, did I say,you can blame yourself if your book doesn\’t sell? Yes, that is what I said.

How do I keep from getting those bad reviews, those bad comments about my book? This is the part you have to work at, and it\’s called, \”Marketing.\” Marketing takes up a lot of time for an author. You have to work the crowd, get people interested in your book, tell people about your book, and make sure you have a good cover.

There is a lot of responsibility when you self-publish. More than writing a book. There is also a lot of cost to self-publish. You will be paying for a cover designer, a formatter, and any extra marketing you do. There are ISBN#s to buy. Everything connected with the publishing of your book is done by you. It can be a big task. It can also be a satisfying task.

Two things I\’ve learned from experience, get a good editor and a good cover designer. The cover is the first thing a reader sees. Make it stand out. A good edit will keep you from having bad reviews. These two things are so important, and I\’ve not always abided by my teaching. I know the difference between a good and a bad edit, and I like the good kind.

When you self-publish, you have to do all of the marketing yourself, but it\’s basically the same with a large publishing company now. We all think our book will sell millions when it is published, but don\’t be deceived, it isn\’t so. You have to work hard to be a top seller. You have to have a large following or platform. You have to work hard to get that. One thing I have said time and time again. If no one knows you\’ve written a book, no one  will buy it. I had a woman tell me she had written a book two years before and only sold twenty copies. I asked her if she had marketed it? Her answer was, \”no.\” Before I could think, I said, \”That\’s why you have only sold twenty books.\” I know that was rude, but sometimes we need to say it.

Don\’t be afraid to let people know you have a book coming out. Get people interested in your book. Get people interested in you. It will pay off big time.