It has been a long one, my self-publishing journey.
Trying the “Traditional” Publishing Route
For my first novel, I did try going down the traditional route, to begin with. Although, it really started long before that when I helped my Dad try that route himself. We didn’t have any success. It was the nineties. The internet was in its infancy, mobile phones were not smart and searching for information meant a trip to the local library. Self-publishing only really existed as vanity publishing: you could pay someone to publish your book and the costs were high. If you had to pay someone, it implied that nobody was willing to pay you and that your product just wasn’t good enough.
When it came to my turn in the 2010s, I sent letters, synopses and the first three chapters, or whatever was requested, to a number of literary agents. Two of them actually asked to read the full manuscript but it went no further, and I will be the first to admit that the book wasn’t finished properly. In terms of the writing itself, that’s when my Dad stepped in and offered to help, as I explain in working with my Dad. But back to publishing.
Tentative First Steps
When I was ready with a self-edited manuscript in June 2017, my only notion of the next steps was to use Amazon Kindle. I hadn’t really done any research and I was almost wholly unaware that there were alternatives. So I just followed the instructions on the website, formatted the Word document properly, uploaded it with the cover image that my daughter, Laura, had put together for me and sat back to wait for the sales that did not come. Even though I know there were specific circumstances that meant my heart wasn’t in it, my total naivety still surprises me. I had self-published successfully in that the book was available on a digital platform but the only marketing I did was to let my family and Facebook friends know.
The Self-Publishing Learning Curve
I let the book sleep for over two years. Then in 2019, I decided to shake myself up, get motivated and start writing again. I’d been thinking about joining the Alliance of Independent Authors for some time and I took the plunge. It is invaluable in terms of resources and advice and there is no doubt that being part of a community truly helps a struggling writer to keep some sense of perspective.
Through ALLi, I discovered so many other platforms and ways to sell my book such as IngramSpark for printing and print distribution, Smashwords, Goodreads and others for eBook distribution. There are links on the purchase page to all the platforms I have now distributed to. I chose not to use KDP Select because of the exclusivity clause that you have to agree to, again following in the steps of those more experienced writers who have self-published before me.
My very first paperback proof copy arrived yesterday and I couldn’t be prouder of how far I have come. I just wish my Dad was here to see it.
Next Steps
I am currently writing book 2 in my Cathy Stewart series. When I’m ready to publish, I plan to put all the learnings to good use. For example, I will avoid using the book-builder or cover designer tools provided by Amazon or IngramSpark; there are better ways to format and design that don’t tie you to one platform. I will also spend more time on pre-launch activities and definitely more time on my marketing strategy (which merits an entirely separate post).
As we never stop learning and there is so much information available today, I have also joined other online communities and I follow a number of excellent blogs for inspiration. I have also invested in some tools and writing aids, which I will discuss further in the soon to be published section on writing. I’ve included some useful links in the footer.
Now that I have some of my own building blocks in place, such as my author platform and writing aids, and with my increased understanding of the self-publishing world and the options available to an independent author, I feel (almost) as though I actually know what I’m doing!
