So you want to go for it on your own? Let me tell you that self publishing is definitely not a solitary act. You will need a solid support base in order to achieve your goals of self made stardom.
Okay, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. Self Publishing is not a get rich quick scheme by any means. It is a lot of hard work but with the right attitude and effort, it can be a very rewarding experience.
In part one of Self-Publishing I will discuss mostly the marketing and budgeting aspects of self publishing. Even though its called self publishing to be successful, however that looks for you. There is a heavily social aspect to the job.
Things to Consider
1.) Self Publishing is not an excuse to produce sub par work!
Your reputation as an author is everything in Publishing. So don’t skimp out on editing to meet some arbitrary deadline. One of the perks of being self-published is being on your own schedule. If you need more time to put out a quality product take it. If it’s an issue of money, that can be worked around too. There are tons of blogs like this one with ample resources to help you put forth a quality product no matter you time and budgetary constraints.
2.) How good are you with budgets?
You aren’t going to have the privilege of an advance or the resources of a major company behind you. All of your production and marketing costs will come out of your pockets. That’s why it’s important to set a budget, figure out what services you are willing to pay for and which ones you can DIY. The lower your costs, the higher your profits if any. Gig sites like Fiverr can come in handy for discount book covers, and marketing graphics but I wouldn’t suggest them for an editor.
You will also need to learn to budget your time. It’s very easy to get caught up in the social media and marketing aspect and lose sight of the actual writing, or vice versa. Setting a schedule for writing, marketing, and networking will go a long way in easing the burden of the multi hat wearing self publisher.
3.) How are you with self promotion?
Being shy about promoting yourself and your work will not go over so well in the self-publishing world. A lot of your sales will come from people who feel connected to you in some way. There are ways to maintain a level of anonymity, but the more outgoing you are, the easier it will be to reach and attract an audience. On the flip side, you also don’t want to be that person that doesn’t interact with others but is constantly posting promotional material. You will quickly be labeled a spammer or worse a scammer.
Outside of the digital realm, be sure to have some sort of card or flyer to hand out to people who may be interested in your work. The boots on the ground method is often more effective than wading through the depths of social media. Cards can be placed at local businesses (with their permission of course), handed out by your personally, and/or given to friends or family to help spread the word in your community.
4.) Are you good with social media?
Social Media will be your number one avenue for marketing. You don’t have to be an expert or a master of all platforms. Just find one or two that you are most comfortable with and start building your audience. By audience I mean readers! While having a bunch of writing friends is excellent, and some authors do support other authors. You don’t want to get caught in a trap of groups and spaces of authors promoting their work without reaching actual readers.
Not so good with social media? Having an active mailing list is often more valuable than a thousand followers on social media. So focus on building a list with a simple newsletter format. My newsletter is weekly but monthly is just fine if you don’t have a lot going on. Update your readers about your writing process, share some funny memes with anecdotes to your writing or daily life, inform people of upcoming appearances and events both your own and other writing-related events. There are plenty of options to keep people invested in what you have to say.
Here’s a sample of my newsletter. Feel free to join my mailing list as well!
I am one of those people who happens to be fairly social so I’m across multiple platforms. You can check me out at the following links and don’t be shy about being friendly!
My Social Media Links in Order of Activity
Facebook
www.facebook.com/stellawilliamsauthor
Instagram
www.instagram.com/stellalove4life
YouTube
https://bit.ly/2RRbd9f
Twitter
www.twitter.com/stellalove4life
Pinterest
www.pinterest.com/stellawilliamsa
Tumblr
http://serpentinecreative.tumblr.com
Let me know if this article has been helpful and post any other questions you may have in the comments. Happy Self-Publishing!
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