Self-Publishing Basics
What I’ve Learned Along the Way
Introduction:
This is an honest assessment of my experiences with self-publishing. My first publishing attempt was an unmitigated disaster. What follows are some things I wish I had known before publishing that first novel and what I know now. I hope everyone can take something from this article. I’m writing it for the first-time publishing crowd. In no certain order, here are ten things to consider when starting your publishing journey.
one | My First Attempt
I was really excited when I finished my first novel. I had spent years of off-and-on attempts to complete it and when I finally wrote the last paragraph and I was super excited to put it out into the world. Publishing too soon is a common issue with new writers and I fell right into the trap. I didn’t know any writers or anything about the process, so I was a prime target for the seedy side of the business. Enter the vanity presses.
Putting my faith in a vanity press was one of life’s decisions that has stuck with me. It was about 24 years ago, and I still have anger issues related to the experience. I paid an enormous price for not knowing what the hell I was doing. Bottom line, I had a completely unedited, first draft novel released to the world by this company. The reviews came quickly, and they were savage.
Everything in this article is with great hope that whoever reads it won’t make the mistakes I did.
two | Establishing Your Goals
What are your goals? Do you strive to create memorable characters, vivid settings, induce emotion? My goals included creating engaging stories, introducing memorable characters, and inserting complicated but believable plot twists. Some other goals I dabbled with included setting a regular writing routine and honing my skills. The honing my skills part is what I really should have been concentrating on.
three | Due Diligence
Writing your book is the easy part. The real work begins after you’ve finished. If you haven’t already done so, take time to familiarize yourself with the steps that lead to publication. My biggest regret is that I didn’t do any due diligence. I had a story in my head and all I could focus on was getting it onto pages. Once that was done, all I could focus on was getting it published. I found out the hard way that there were many steps I should have taken prior to that.
After you finished your manuscript, step away from it for a while. This is the perfect time to research your path to publication. If you’ve elected to go the traditional route, familiarize yourself with the process. Learn how to approach literary agents, how to write killer query letters, and how to track where you’ve submitted them.
For the self-published minded, decide whether you are going to do it all yourself, or go with a publishing company. If you decide to go with a publishing company, it is critical you vet any company you consider handing your hard work over to. There are scams everywhere out there. One thing to remember is that any company that requires payment for their services is not a traditional publisher, and you should thoroughly vet them. Here’s a must-read article from the Author’s Guild to get you started.
four | Snake Oil Everywhere
I feel I should expand on the last section of the previous topic. Companies taking advantage of new authors have led to an entire industry of those that specialize in separating you from your money. You can do it yourself. The publication process through the top five online publishers is extremely easy. Apple can get a bit convoluted, but if I can get through it, I’m sure you can too. It’s costs nothing to sign up for their service and publish your book. Here are the top five.
How to start? For print books, the process can be daunting. I’ll do another post on that later. If you’re just doing an ebook, it’s easy.
First, create a cover. It’s best to hire a pro, but if you have experience with graphic design apps, you can create a cover using your favorite editor. There is also the online graphics go-to site, Canva. Avoid legal issues and make sure any stock images you use are in the public domain, or purchase a license.
Second, convert your manuscript to ePub format or pdf format for print versions. Here are some popular dedicated writing apps.
• Vellum (Mac Only)
• Atticus
Third, polish up your synopsis, blurb, and keywords and have them ready to copy and paste as part of the publishing process to the platforms mentioned above.
If you are still leaning towards using a publishing company, please, I can’t stress this enough. Vet companies that charge a fee for their services. I’m not saying they’re all bad, but I would hate to see anyone fall into the same trap I did. Once you publish a dud, it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to take it back.
five | Proofing - Reading Aloud Helps
Proofreading your content comes way before editing. Whenever I finish a manuscript, I walk away from it for a week, even a month or so, and then come back and proofread it. I’ll look for obvious grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. I also look for spacing issues and improper line breaks, all prior to giving it my best shot at a deep edit. After that, I look for a professional editor. Doing the proofing before handing your work to an editor can save you a lot of money.
Here are the Five Steps of Proofreading I use:
Have the text read aloud to you using a text-to-speech app
Read the text aloud slowly
Check for missing or repeated words
Check for extra spaces
Read the text backwards
And… the one I find most effective? Number one, use a text-to-speech app. I use a Mac and it has a native app for this purpose.
six | Allowing Excitement to Rule
Don’t let the excitement of finishing your book guide your judgement. If ever there was a time to slow things down, this is it. Rushing to publication is a terrible idea and you should talk yourself out of it. Take a step back and develop a plan. This would be an excellent time to take that vacation you’ve been putting off, or spending time with friends and family. You want to go into the next phase of your publishing journey with a clear head and focus on exploring your options.
Start thinking about your next book. If you’re looking to establish yourself, you’ll need to publish more than one. I usually have two or three rough drafts, and at least one other finished manuscript queued up.
seven | Know Your Publishing Goals
Should you establish goals? Yes, you should. You should always establish and document your publishing goals. Here’s an example of one I always refer to.
“Where do I want to be 3, 6, and 12 months after a book launch in terms of sales?”
At each junction, I evaluate where I am and define what, if anything, I need to tweak to help stay on target. Are you currently working on a new book? If so, set a deadline and add it to your list of goals.
eight | Make Marketing A Plan
Eight: Marketing: Make A Plan
You should plan your marketing strategy before publishing. As soon as you finish your manuscript, start thinking about marketing. Research where you may get more bang for your buck in advertising. Amazon ads are a given. There’s a learning curve, but once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll get the hang of it. With Amazon, the use of keywords is the biggy. You’ll definitely want to brush up on Amazon keyword strategies. Read this for a primer. Facebook is another given. I have success each time I run Facebook ads.
nine | Develop a Thick Skin Early
Writing is not for the faint of heart. Once you have your manuscript as polished as you can make it, you send it off to your editor and wait. It eventually comes back to you with enough red to make you question your grasp of the English language. It can be shocking, but your editor is not your enemy. Imagine releasing your unedited book to the world. I have first-hand knowledge of this, and it ain’t pretty.
Once you’ve cleared the editing phase, you pitch to literary agents and wait. Agents may or may not respond, but of those that do, expect rejection letters, lots of them. Don’t take it personally. An agent’s first responsibility is to determine whether a manuscript has market potential. How likely is a new author’s chance of getting an agent? Unfortunately, slim. But if you keep at it, eventually you will find one and be on your way to a traditional publishing contract. Congratulations! That’s a bucket list level of accomplishment.
Once published, your book is out there for public consumption. Hopefully, your hard work will pay off. Keep in mind that no matter how accomplished you are, no matter how well written your book, there are people that will not like it. Reviews can be brutal and lead to some gut-wrenching emotions. Again, don’t take it personally. Reviews are for potential readers, not the author. You’ll likely find the positive reviews far outweigh the bad. Keep pushing forward.
ten | Patience is the Key
You should never rush to publish your book. As you can see, there are a lot of steps involved. There is a lot to consider. When you decide to self-publish, you wear all the hats and there is a ton of stuff to learn. I wish someone had shown me, or better, I wish had known what to look for. Resist the urge to rush your manuscript to market. Bad things happen when you do. Be patient, do your research and due diligence, and you’ll be fine.
I hope this article helps. Drop me a line if you have questions.
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