Self-Publishing Points Part I
Embarking on a self-publishing journey can be scary. Terrifying. Horrifying. Like "looking a spider dead in its eight eyes and going in to hug it" scary. I was especially timid, as outside of some short stories for a class in Elementary school, I'd shared very little of my work with others--so when my friend insisted that I publish my book after reading only a portion of it, my automatic answer was NOPE. I didn't feel qualified. I didn't feel like I had the experience. I didn't feel like I had the means.
But, look at me now--nearly six years later, and the positive feedback and experiences continues to roll in. It was terrifying to take that first step down this road, but well worth it in the end. It has helped me grown as a person, as a writer, an illustrator, and a creator.
For anyone who is considering taking those first steps to self-publishing, I will offer up some of my hints and resources used. Listed below first are the five most important things to take into account before self-publishing, and then five important tips to getting started. I hope they're helpful, and I wish you all the luck and love in the world on your endeavors!
Top 5 To Take Into Account Before Your Book (BYB)
1. REMEMBER WHY YOU WRITE // I did not--repeat did not--start publishing books for the fame, the glory, to get my name out there, to get tons of money...none of it. I started publishing books to challenge myself, and to share my creations with others in hopes that they would be inspired or influenced. If you let deadlines and due-dates or monetary gain get in your way, you'll lose sight of why you started, and get burnt out rather quickly. Write from the heart, and it will set you apart (Isn't that such a great, cheesy little line? I just thought of that. Hopefully it doesn't already exist).
2. READ LIKE NEVER BEFORE // Great writers are also great readers. My best works are always written during the times in my life when I'm also a more avid reader. When I got to college and started reading less, I also started writing less, and felt more dissatisfied with what I wrote, even if others thought it was good. Reading constantly for fun will help keep you inspired and motivated to keep writing.
3. BEGIN TO BUILD YOUR BRAND // This is a concept that I first was introduced to towards the end of high school, but learned more about as I entered college. Building your brand, or helping to promote yourself and your successes is not something that is limited to book writing, but to all aspects of life, especially when looking to start a career. Talk to people in the right places. Find other authors in your area to talk to. Connect with those at the local library or an independent bookstore that sells books by local authors. Start thinking about developing a website, purchasing business cards, a LinkedIn account, and ways to reach out to potential readers. Put yourself out there, and make your name known. After publishing my first books, I had business cards ordered on VistaPrint.com, which I recently revisited to order more updated cards. I started to build my online brand by creating an author Facebook page as well as a basic website using Webs.com. Other web building sites I've used are GoDaddy.com and, of course, Wix.com (my favorite!). Wix and Webs both offer free webpage options while GoDaddy has an annual fee. Work out which is best for you, and what best suits your budget. As a broke high school student, Webs.com worked for me for years until I realized I wanted to step my game up. The next level is to have my own domain name...stay tuned for that one!
4. BEGIN TO BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE // As a self-published author, a lot of the work is on you! You've got to be the one to get the ball rolling on a website, a story, a book signing, any public speaking events, etc. All of this self-promoting and advertising takes confidence! Even if you end up hiring someone to help you do the work, you will have to make those connections so you know who to hire. Becoming an author and having the courage to share my work with the world took guts, but the even harder part is that I have to keep doing it. I have to keep sharing, keep informing, keep inviting--keep on keepin' on, as I like to say. Be sure that anything you do is purposeful, and burn no bridges! You never know when you may need to reach out again.
5. TAKE YOUR RESOURCES INTO ACCOUNT // Whether it's money, access to a computer, or having someone else to help revise and edit your work, take into account what you have to work with. When I was sixteen, I had a lot less to work with than I have now. I had to do most of the editing myself, design my book cover using my very limited knowledge of Photoshop, and almost everything I did had to be free since I didn't have a job during the school year with a way to replenish any money I spent on my projects. On the other hand, I did a car, which helped get me to speaking events, connections to the local libraries, as well as connections to the local school districts and the closest elementary school to me. Now, I know a host of graphic designers and artists that I am working with on book covers and book cover designs, photographers who help with my professional images used on my Facebook page and website, and a steady income with which I can purchase things such as a web domain name. It doesn't matter if you have a million dollars or ten; you can self-publish a book! Remember: the cost of the entire book writing, publishing and printing process for my first novel cost less than $10! However, you do need to know which end of the spectrum you're on so you can proceed accordingly, and make the best book possible with your available resources.
5 First Steps to Self-Publishing
1. CHOOSE A SITE // Knowing where to go to publish your book is incredibly hard. There are a number of websites out there that offer some sort of book-publishing services--sometimes free, sometimes not so free. When I first started out, I tried three different websites: Lulu.com, Bookemon.com and CreateSpace.com. If you are looking to reach a broad audience and go far in your book journey, I would recommend using CreateSpace.com. After being published, all books are made available on Amazon.com, and eligible for Amazon Prime in the US as well as Europe. You can also choose to have your book made available to library and bookstore databases so that if Barnes&Noble wanted to sell your book, they would be able to do so by looking you up on these databases!
2. CHOOSE A FORMAT // One of the first things you'll do to publish your book is put it into what I like to call an Official Publishing Format, or an Official Format. This document will have the measurements the company needs to print your book and make it look like a book. This formatting includes which size you want your book to be--large like a children's picture book might be, or small like some adult romance novels or comic books. It should be followed closely to avoid any printing errors once your book is complete. Be sure that everything stays within the margins and has the spacing between lines, words, paragraphs and pages you'd like before submitting it to be printed. Keep in mind what size your type of book typically would be; for instance, if you're writing a children's picture book, it may be a large, square-shaped book whereas a novel would be smaller and rectangular.
3. CHOOSE A TIME AND SPACE // If you want time to write, you'll have to make time to write. Schedules are busy, and unless you're a full-time writer, chances are you have classes, a job, a family, and other responsibilities to tend to. Set aside a chunk of time per day or per week to write uninterrupted so you can get into your groove and let your ideas flow. The space in which you write is equally as important. I could never write in my bedroom as I'd more than likely end up laying down and taking a nap. I tend to write better in a quiet, public space where I can put my headphones in and listen to my music while I create. Others may have an office or a desk space in their home that helps them. Wherever the space and whatever the time, be sure that it works well for you, and is the optimum creation environment!
4. FOCUS FIRST ON YOUR DRAFT // Even if you choose to start writing your book in your Official Format versus a regular Word document, do not stress over the little details before you've finished with your bigger picture! While writing and editing my first book, my first time around writing was purely for writing, getting my ideas our and developing the plot, characters, and setting. The second time around, I would focus on some mistakes, as well as mostly cutting out any parts of the story that didn't need to be there, or adding in paragraphs and sections needed to help the story make more sense. The third time around, I would focus on formatting errors--adding in a space where it was needed, making sure indents were all the same, double-checking that the book was aesthetically pleasing. The fourth time around, it was a combination of everything.
5. REACH OUT // If you have questions, ask! If you need help, ask! If you want to collaborate with others either on the story or the cover art, ask! Whoever you lean on will appreciate that you thought to come to them, and that they had a part in the process of helping you become an author. While working on my first book, I did not utilize those in my life who would've liked to be a part of the process as I did not yet have the confidence (see point 3 in the first section of this post), and I decided halfway through the process that I wanted this to be a surprise to my friends and family. Now, I know better. There are sure to be several individuals in your life that would gladly lend a hand, whether you need them to help you edit a chapter, or you want to ask them about what their self-publishing experience was like.
I apologize for the long post, though I hope these tips and links were helpful to you in some way. In my next post on self-publishing, I'll go more in-depth about the websites I used to write my stories, obtaining ISBNs, and more.
All the best,
Reina
