I attend a fair amount of conventions across the country every year. At these conventions, I have a table where I sell my books and connect with readers. Sometimes, if I am able, I speak on panels, perform readings, and give presentations on some aspect of publishing.
Whatever I end up doing, there's always at least one starry-eyed person—usually someone young—who approaches me with The Big Question: "How do you self-publish?"
That's kind of like asking, "How do you build a house?" or "How do you start a business?"
This article isn't about answering that question. Because there is no one way to answer it. And also because the answer could fill an entire volume.
Commiting to a life of publishing isn't for everyone. Maybe you are a one-and-done person who just wants to produce a book or two for friends and family to enjoy. That's fine. But if you want more than that—if you want to create a sustainable author brand that will outlast you—consider the following before jumping into the deep end.
Your Books Are Not Your Children.
As a writer it's easy to romanticize your work. After all, didn't you pour hundreds of hours into a developing (hopefully) rich and complex tale that will (hopefully) delight potential readers.
But remember—publishing is a business. That means your books are your products. You don't dress children up pretty only to send them into the workplace for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, just so they can make money for you (let's hope you don't, anyway!).
Books are more like employees. You invest in them and send them out into the world to represent you and your brand. If they are in line with your brand, if they present themselves well, you'll see a return on your investment and then some. They might even make you some money if they are really good at their jobs. But if they fall flat—it reflects on your and your author brand.
One of the hardest aspects of publishing is acceptng that some of your books won't be well received. Hell, your first few may even be ignored. Your challenge is to make your potential readers care enough about your works to give them a try, and to make it easy for them to like what you've written by packaging it attractively and selling it effectively.
Do You Have The Proper Resources?
By becoming your own publisher, you are financially responsible for the success of your book. You must hire the editor ($500-$1000 minium for a professional line edit, depending on the length of the work), pay for the formatting ($300-$500 for interior print layout and eBooks), cover design (varies—budget $300-$500 minium for something beautiful, more for custom illustrations), and budget for marketing activites (however much you want to spend!). If you've decided to do an offset print run of your book, that's another few thousand dollars.
Of course, many people publish their books for much cheaper than that, but if you want a professional-grade treatment of your work, you have to be willing to pay for it. Editing and designing a book is time-consuming and is priced as such.
Publishing — Is it right for you?
by Clare C. Marshall