Self Publishing Your Book

[Fukui San]

Has anyone tried their hand at Self-Publishing? I've just done so with a Children's Book here:

In Other Words: A book full of words that sound like other words but don’t mean the same thing at all!

It's pretty simple to do if you can get someone to do the art and know Photoshop and InDesign. But after getting it on Amazon, what are the other things I can do to promote the thing?

[NDW5332]

I've been working on a book for the last 15 years almost that'd I'd like to self-publish if ever I get around to finishing it (a specific history that would have little interest outside of the area I'm trying to write about).  I've read a lot into the subject of self publishing, but there were some good ideas that might generate some interest.  Donating copies to local libraries, and offering to do readings.  Leaving copies in various "Little Free Libraries" that seem to have popped up all over the place.  Create a youtube trailer promoting your book.  If you have any friends that do a podcast or youtube show, ask if they could feature you.  Send review copies to local newspapers.  For a children's title, like yours, I would also reach out to local Mom's Clubs and see if you could do a reading for them and offer your book for sale - my wife was always coming home with personalized signed copies from authors that did readings and meet & greets with them.

[Danny Franks]

I've read up on self publishing, and with Amazon it seems to be the easiest thing in the world. You can self publish anything on their Kindle platform. Whether anyone is interested in reading it is another matter, and the discouraging advice I've seen is to publish stuff for free or extremely cheap, to try and get a few people to read it, and get some renown through word of mouth, or Amazon reviews.

It's not a format I really want to follow, because it just seems to be a far more precarious way of doing things, and could end up with very little reward, either monetary or in terms of satisfied readers, for your time and work. I think I'd rather still follow the arduous route of trying to get traditional publishers interested first, with self-publishing as the fall back option.

[starri]

I have a novella self-published on Amazon.  I've made tens of dollars from it.

But the point was never about getting a following.  It was a story I really wanted to tell.

I've wanted to sit down and work on another one for years, but I never seem to be able to block out enough time.

[auntiemel]

I'm a self-published author. My sister and I write together under a pen name. We've done well on our own, and have turned down multiple traditional contracts. Self-publishing works for us. The key is, you have to either know how to market, or learn how. If you want to make a living at it, let alone a good living, you have to treat it like a business. You would never open up any other kind of business and expect customers to just show up, and books are the same way. There are free marketing methods, definitely - but nothing will ever compare to the quality and level of traffic you can attract by investing in ads.

Incidentally, don't expect that to change if you do get a traditional contract. Publishers don't invest in marketing new authors, with very few exceptions.

Good luck!

[libby80]

I also want to publish my own book. But I have no idea where to start. Do they proof read your work before having them on Amazon? How much do you think I can possibly earn?

[auntiemel]

On 2/26/2018 at 12:41 AM, libby80 said:

I also want to publish my own book. But I have no idea where to start. Do they proof read your work before having them on Amazon? How much do you think I can possibly earn?

You need to hire a professional editor. Please don't listen to anyone who says it's not necessary. IT IS!

[toomuchtv47]

I've self published as well. It started with a few small stories and stuff I should have worked on more but that taught me what not to do. There are a few things I learned about rights and who actually owns them, depending on the format.  This time around, I did a lot more work (I don't have the money to hire an editor right now). It's been a few weeks since I approved my proof and it's been almost like having two full time jobs. Being active on social media is really important as well. I check in and interact with my Twitter and Instagram author pages as well as Facebook. I'm amazed by how many different ideas and resources I've come across. I just want people to read my story and be entertained and with the people I've messaged so far, I'm able to get my book out to different audiences that I couldn't have approached before. The bonus right now is that my sci-fi novel is now the number one Fiction and Science Fiction book on the site. 

If anyone is interested, I say go ahead and do it. I really like actual books so the site I use, Lulu.com, is great for me. They're full service and it's all free until you order. They also have professional packages where you can get editing assistance, cover design and lots of other things. Bottom line, just write and get it out there!