This week, the RWA/NYC Blog is all about self-publishing.
Here is the last of three articles on the subject.
WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE-ISH?
TALKING ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING
by K.M. Jackson
When it
comes to self-publishing, you know what you know and what you don’t know you
ask- I went into writing this piece with
it titled “Self-publishing: What I know for sure. Well that quickly changed
once I sat down to write it. I don’t know nearly as much as I’d like to know
and even less of what I need to know. So the title got changed and my fist
point was made. You need to study up and prepare if you’re going to try your
hand at the self-publishing game because like traditional publishing it’s not a
game. It’s serious business and must be approached that way. So it takes time
and preparation and even then there will be stumbles and obstacles but luckily
there are tons of resources out there to help you along the way. So like in
school when you don’t know an answer, ask a question.
Your
team is key. Unless you are a true jack
of all trades then having your team in place is essential when you go into
self-publishing. This is where it’s key to know your strengths and be brutally
honest about them. You may be a fantastic editor but are you really good at
editing yourself? I’d daresay most of us are not. So a good editor is key. Are
you a computer wiz? Know the ins and outs or formatting? Have what it takes to
put a professional product up on the major e-tailers? Than great for you! If
not than I say you need to think about finding someone who is and free up your
mind and your time for what it is you are truly meant to do. What about the
cover? We all know how hard it is to be discovered in the vast sea of e-covers nowadays
so a professional cover may be just the thing to get you that look inside and
on your way to a 1-click.
There is
a right way to be published. Yeah, um.
No, it’s not. The right way to be published is the right way for you. With
hitting publish on BOUNCE I officially became a hybrid author. This gave me
more excitement, and at the same time, more angst than I could imagine.
Suddenly I had a product out there that I was fully responsible for and in
charge of which was a wonderful thing. On the flip side… Suddenly I had a
product out there that I was fully responsible for and in charge of. Gulp.
There would be no one after me with reminder emails and timelines. No marketing
or promo that I did not initiate. It was all my deal. Back to the flip side of
that. All the timelines were that of my own making. All the marketing (much of
which I was doing myself anyway) would be my own deal. It is scary and freeing
and very much empowering. But if you are not prepared to put in the time, work
and take on the responsibility of all of that then you have to think about
which path to publishing is the right one for you.
If you
want to get rich self-publishing is the way to go. Okay,
so I was trying to write this subtitle with a straight face, but sorry, I
couldn’t quite pull it off. No, no, just no. That old don’t quit your day job
applies doubly over here in self-publishing. Mind you it’s easy to get sucked
into the shiny media news that crops up just about every week about some new
self-pubbed success story and yes, there are plenty that are indeed very
successful. But I’m not going to be one to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes and
say this is the guaranteed way to go.
Self-publishing
may be just the thing for you… then again it just may not. Right now I’m a hybrid author, being both published by a
publisher, Crimson Romance, and now self-published too. In the future I see
myself trying both routes again. I’m a person that just can’t get my Nana’s
voice out of her head and the old eggs in one basket thing is stuck but good.
So self-pubbed over traditional? Which way to go? The fact is I don’t have the
answer to that. And I don’t think all those folks out there spinning those
yarns about this way or that way do either. What they really know is what
worked for them and for the folks they are writing about. So that said you have
to consider how you work, what you are looking for both professionally and
financially, and go from there. I’m sorry, no easy answers this way. I think
when it really gets down to it, the true power is in your hands as the artist
to write the very best book then to go on and do that again and again and after
that the power is in the hands of the readers as it always is.♥
A native New Yorker, Kwana spent her formative years on the ‘A’
train going from her home in Washington Heights to The Village where she
attended Stuyvesant High School. On that long ride to study math and science,
Kwana had two dreams: 1. to be a fashion designer and 2. to be a writer. After
graduating from Stuyvesant, Kwana studied fashion design at FIT. She then
spent ten years designing for various fashion houses. But after having twins
and juggling that and fashion, Kwana took the leap of faith and decided to
pursue her other dream of being a writer. She currently lives in a suburb of
New York with her husband, teen twins, and a precocious terrier named Jack that
keeps her on her toes. To learn more, visit her at www.kwana.com.
Great post, Kwana. I, too, am a hybrid author, published by an indie publisher and self-published. I couldn't agree more that there is no right way to go. It depends on the individual. But I also agree if a writer thinks self-publishing is a magic button to riches, he or she should think again. The best thing an author can do is work to write the most incredible, wonderful book they can. Then it won't matter which method of publishing you choose. Either way, though, you will have to take responsibility for making success happen.
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