Adventures in Self-Publishing: Laying Down the Bones
Some say self-publishing is for the brave of heart and the foolhardy. I say it’s for the adventurous and never mind those who disapprove. In my opinion, traditional publishers have pretty much closed the doors on authors, especially debut authors. As I see it, their way of doing business often erects an obstacle course for writers. Self-publishing has its drawbacks too, but it does offer some hope and reward to writers who are willing to engage with this new trend in publishing. My advice? Be a pioneer.
That said, there are basic things you need to do to publish your masterpiece. (I am assuming here that you have a completed manuscript that you have work-shopped it thoroughly.) There are no hard and fast rules for starting off on a self-publishing venture, but here are some things to consider.
EDUCATION
The first thing you need to do is educate yourself about self-publishing. God knows there is plenty of information out in cyberspace, but it’s a little daunting sorting through it and making sense of it all. Some of it is not good advice and some sites are plainly devoted to making money for themselves rather than helping authors.
I suggest you start out with a Self-Publishing Roadmap course that is offered from time to time by Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer (http://www.thebookdesigner.com ). This six-week course is not cheap, but you will be paying for the expertise that Joel offers. It’s a big time saver in terms of acquiring the information you need and being eventually able to discern what is good information and what is bogus. Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn (http://www.thecreativepenn.com/) also sells a course on publishing which is more affordable, but not as detailed as Joel’s.
YOU ARE A BUSINESS
The second thing you need to do is look at self-publishing as a business. You may protest that you are a writer, but in this day and age you must also be able to wear a business hat no matter which path you take to publication, traditional or self-published. I, more than anyone, would love to just be able to focus all my energy on writing, but that is not the world we live in. We are light years away from that old-fashioned notion of the creative writer plunking out his or her stories on an old Olympic typewriter and placing the finished product in the hands of an eager publisher.
So if you are a business, what are the initial things you need to do? This varies from country to country, so check out the rules in your own country. I can only speak for what is required in the United States, but some of the information is relevant and just good business sense wherever you come from.
- Choose a publisher name. In the United States, you will need to file a business name notice. The name I chose for my DBA is Scheherazade Bookworks.
- Publish your statement in a locally-approved newspaper for the required 30 days. (Not a requirement in all countries.)
- Be prepared to keep track of income and expenses from book publishing. Open a business account at your local bank using your publisher name. You may want to consult with an accountant or your tax preparer.
- Keep a list of expenditure. You may be able to claim deductions at tax time.
- Set a budget. Self-publishing can cost you anywhere from $1000 to $50,000 dollars. You will have to make realistic decisions about your goals and what you can afford and what you can forego. You are going to have to evaluate how you can get the most bang for your buck. Most importantly, you will need to be aware that there are people out there who will happily separate you from your money. In setting a budget, you need to understand which services you can do yourself and which you will pay someone else to do. There are many things to consider such as book cover design, editing, formatting, distribution, marketing, and so on that can be quite costly. If you don’t see the point in laying out money for at least cover design and editing services, you may live to regret it.
- In the United States, open an account with Bowker and buy your ISBN numbers. (I assume other countries have a similar method of maintaining a publisher database as ISBN numbers are accepted worldwide.) It’s not cheap, but you might as well buy a set of ten because print and e-book formats all require their own ISBN. Currently, it costs about $250 for ten in the US, whereas I’ve found it is considerably cheaper in Australia, for instance, ($80). Some author services will furnish you with a free ISBN. That’s fine, but realize that they will probably be listed as the publisher and that may not be something you want on your book cover, etc. You also want to retain editorial control of your book's metadata in Bowker, which you can't do if you are not listed as the publisher.
So there you have it from a newbie—my quick and dirty version of laying down the bones, the first steps in creating the structure from which you will launch your self-publishing venture. Once you get past these first steps, there are many other things to consider such as:
· preparing your manuscript for publication
· setting up your author platform
· utilizing social media and so on. (This is usually required from the traditional publishers. How much more important it is for those of us going the self-publishing route.)
These are complex decisions and part of that initial self-publishing education I suggest you get for yourself. Take one step at a time and remember to breathe. Eventually the dust will begin to subside and your decision-making path will become clearer. Uh, at least that’s what I tell myself.
Author Bio
Linda Katmarian grew up in the Midwest and graduated with a Master’s Degree in French literature from Illinois State University. In June, 2012, after a long career as a technical writer, she was able to finally commit herself to writing fiction full time. She lives in Southern California and is working on publishing her debut novel, ‘Dreaming of Laughing Hawk’.
You can find Linda herea;
http://www.scheherazade-
For further reading, I suggest you go here...to one of the sites Linda mentioned, The Book Designer. This is a direct link to checking if you're reading to self-publish and how to go about it.
And here is another link with real-life stories about self-publishing from a wonderful blog I follow, How to Plan, Write and Develop a Book.
For further reading, I suggest you go here...to one of the sites Linda mentioned, The Book Designer. This is a direct link to checking if you're reading to self-publish and how to go about it.
And here is another link with real-life stories about self-publishing from a wonderful blog I follow, How to Plan, Write and Develop a Book.
Thank you for sharing, Linda. It is especially exciting when a RFW member embarks on the exciting journey of becoming a published author.
- Any questions for Linda? She'll pop in from time to time to take questions from the floor. I know you're just bursting to know more about self-publishing, so fire away.
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