I will be the first to admit, I have not had high rated, best selling success as a self-published author. Which is why you should learn from my mistakes. I beg you to start off on the right foot.
I jumped into self-publishing head first without a lot of thought. Sure, I did some research, but even I know it wasn’t enough to prepare myself for what I was really getting into.
So, here are five things I was never told about self-publishing.
1. The Cost
I mentioned some of the major costs of self-publishing in my last post, so I won’t dive back into it, but self-publishing in a way that prepares your book to compete with traditionally published books does have some cost to it.
That being said, the cost of self-publishing should not be confused with vanity publishers. There are thousands of vanity publishers out there, some are designed to trick you.
Keep an open eye. Paying for an editor, a quality book cover, a formatted book, and the upfront costs of your own events is not the same as paying a so called publisher thousands of dollars to “publish” your book.
You should never pay your publisher. Your publisher should pay you.
2. The Work
If you are feeling brave and confident enough to attempt things such as covers and formatting yourself (both are possible), it’s not going to be a simple task. And if you aren’t, even finding a good cover designer, editor, or format designer takes effort.
All of my cover designs have taken time, effort, and thought to create. And I’m studying to do this for a living.
And, I won’t even get started on formatting, getting the margins spacing, font size, and headings just right. Or, going through an editors remarks and suggestions and plugging them back into my document.
Speaking of editors, you absolutely need one. This is the one thing you should never do yourself. Even an editor shouldn’t edit their own work.
3. The Stress
No one wants to admit how frazzle brained the last few weeks before a publish date can make you. But, making sure everything is in place, especially if Amazon keeps rejecting your files because of one small detail, can really grind some gears.
And that isn’t even the stress about the book itself. Things like the cover and formatting, the edits, the final read through.
It’s a lot.
4. The Time
If you thought writing a book took a long time, you had no idea.
Formatting my books takes three weeks at minimum. Adding edits can take another two. Covers can take up to a week.
And sending out all those review requests.
Oh. M. Gee.
5. The Possibility of Disappointment
As I said at the beginning of this post, I’ve not had a lot of success as a self-published author. I’m not a best seller. I don’t make a living doing it (yet).
But, writing is what I love. It’s my passion. And there are so many stories in my head that just have to be told.
That being said, I had such high hopes for my first novel. And my second. And my third. And…you get the point.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of books published each year. And only a fair few become best sellers. Reaching that takes work, time, and money, things not everyone has just lying around.
I set myself up for a lot of disappointment in the beginning because I didn’t realize that it isn’t just about getting your book online. You have to drive traffic to it. You have to get reviews, events, publicity, and you have to do it yourself.
If I only knew then what I know now. I guess that’s okay because now you do.
xoxo,
Ellie,