Now that I work from home, trawling social media sites and marketing my wares, I've come to know this amazing community of independent authors on the web. It's really interesting, and makes that little dream we all have of becoming an author seem like a reachable goal. With all that being at home in front of a computer as well, I've been able to start writing again (I don't think I'd spent much time at it since I was a teenager!), and I've thought about trying to casually (har har) put together a novel in my free time.
I've come accross a great article though, that has some really useful tips for those of us considering self-publishing:
Self Publishing a Book: 25 Things you Need to Know
I say 'casually' put together a novel in a way that I'm sure any published author would wrinkle their nose at. But that's ok. I don't need it to be good, it's just for fun... and could maybe turn into something more serious down the line...
...after all, that's how Coryographies started!
Do it!
ReplyDeleteI self-published for the very first time last June and it was the best decision I could have ever made. I made lots of mistakes and have grown by leaps and bounds in the process but just do it and you won't regret it. Check out the Indie Authors Resources Tab on my blog wordswithletidelmar.blogspot.com
All the best!
Hmmm I wonder ;)
ReplyDeleteI will say, it is not easy. Especially if you care about making it the best it can be in terms of editing and presentation (which, really, you should be, even if you're doing it just for fun.) Also, it doesn't stop at just writing a book. You have to edit it to death and be prepared to make a lot of mistakes. You have to be willing to put yourself out there and let people rip your creative soul to shreds. (I realize you already do creative things, but fiction is so highly subjective you get people going in expecting one thing and coming out feeling the exact opposite...and really, really mad about it.) You have to understand the genre you're writing in. Say, if you try to pass off a love story that doesn't have a HEA/HFN as romance? Oh boy. Have fun with the backlash!
Also, you're probably never gonna get rich with it. That's the cold hard fact. The only way to really get your name out there as an everyday writer is to create an extensive backlist. If you're not interested in money though, it still may be worth it. But it still helps to understand what you want from your writing career so you can work towards those goals.
Of course if you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I've been pulling 12 hour days at my publishing business since September. (And yes, that's almost every single day.) I've got about 100 dollars a month income to show for it, so, it's a really frustrating gig. But I love it so it doesn't bother me. Also, I would check out the Kindle Boards WRiter's Cafe for publishing and marketing facts. http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/board,60.0.html
I know that some people have had a lot of success, but I know of what person that ended up losing a lot of money (and pride) through the process. You have to do all of your own editing, publicity, distribution, and marketing. I guess I'm too lazy!
ReplyDeleteI'm a baby in the field of self-publishing. I put my book on Amazon in December. It's been a learning road for sure. The one piece of advice I can offer is to have a solid social network established before clicking that publish button. All the other stuff, editing, choosing book covers and titles, pricing, that's all a matter of research. But even the big publishing houses want an author that has a network set up. Blogs, Goodreads, Twitter, more places I'm barely aware of since I knew nothing of the marketing side of the book biz, require as much attention as the writing. Congrats on getting back to writing, that's the most fun part.
ReplyDeleteI'm also interested in self-publishing. The most important thing for me is to realize that once my words are out on an e-book that I can't take them back anymore. I think that details do matter a lot, even if it's just for fun.
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