How Can You Become an Independent Author
What is the difference between a traditionally published author and a self-published author? Nothing, except one has more control over their work than the other. Realizing your hard efforts, I have put together this front page as an overview of questions and concerns you may have, and which route you may want to pursue.
Why would I choose to self-publish?
1. You have been rejected by a traditional publishing house time and time again. You'll be surprised at how many famous authors have been rejected and how many have self-published!
2. You have all control over your book's content, cover, and pricing.
3. You have all control over how your book is marketed.
4. You have more control over whom your book is distributed to.
2. You have all control over your book's content, cover, and pricing.
3. You have all control over how your book is marketed.
4. You have more control over whom your book is distributed to.
Famous Authors who have been rejected:
Alex Haley-200 times
Kathyn Sockett (The Help)- 60 times
John Grisham (A Time to Kill)- 15 times (and ended up publishing himself)
Dr. Seuss- 24 times
Mary Higgins Clark- 40 times
Joseph Heller (Catch 22)- 22 times
So, you see by the list above that you are certainly not alone. And, this is a small incomplete list.
Kathyn Sockett (The Help)- 60 times
John Grisham (A Time to Kill)- 15 times (and ended up publishing himself)
Dr. Seuss- 24 times
Mary Higgins Clark- 40 times
Joseph Heller (Catch 22)- 22 times
So, you see by the list above that you are certainly not alone. And, this is a small incomplete list.
Famous Authors who have self-published:
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Anais Nin
Bernard Shaw
Zane Grey
Deepak Chopra
Virginia Wolff
Edgar Allen Poe
Benjamin Franklin
Henry David Thoreau
Walt Whitman
Beatrix Potter
Rudyard Kipling
Alexandre Dumas
Mark Twain
Gertrude Stein
Ezra Pound
Again, just to name a few.
How Can I Get Started?
1. Start your marketing before you write or finish your book. This is important for you as an author to build your platform and gain an audience before your book comes out. Get yourself a blogsite, and blog regularly. Use Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Goodreads, Pinterest to get a social following going.
2. You've heard it before: You can't judge a book by its cover. This is not true. People DO judge a book by its cover. An attractive cover is very important. There are programs you can use to make your own, but, hiring a professional is a good idea.
3. Have your work professionally edited. This is also extremely important. If your book is a mess, it will not sell! If you feel confident enough to self-edit, rock on with your bad self, but don't over look proofreading. Having someone else proof your manuscript helps and may catch errors that normally you wouldn't.
4. Write a catchy blurb for your book. This is the second part in which people will decide whether they want to buy your book aside from looking at your cover.
5. The decision whether to e-publish, or go paper is entirely up to you. If you decide to e-publish, it costs you nothing up front. Smashwords, and Amazon allow you to upload your book, then they take a small percentage of your earnings. Small percentage. Did I mention small percentage? It's the opposite when you are published with a traditional publishing house. You will get the small percentage! If you choose to have a book in print, you can check out various places for pricing. Amazon uses Createspace.
6. Once all these steps are completed and you have your book published, patience will need to become your new best friend. You will not see results for a while. It all depends on you, and how aggressive you can be in marketing yourself. The main thing is to enjoy the ride and don't be discouraged!
7. As an end note for your decision making, Smashwords and Amazon provide free ISBNs. If you bought them yourself, you're going to shell out $125.00 for one number, or $250.00 for a block of ten. Each time your book is published in a different format, ie: as an e-Book, and then you decide you want to have it in print at some point, you'll have to have a separate ISBN for each format, or vice versa. The same goes for audio books. I have not pursued the audio book format, so I'm not going to preach to you about that. I think I have bent your ear (or eye) enough for now. Although for more information, and fun stuff, you are more than welcome to visit my blog by clicking the link at the top of this page.
What Invaluable Resourses Can I Use?
If you're not familiar with Smashwords, Mark Coker's Style Guide will give you the tools you need to format, produce and publish your own e-Book, and be readable on any e-reading device. His step-by-step instructions are clear and concise, and a must read for anyone wanting to break into publishing. The guide is FREE and should be read several times.
NOTE: I'm partial to Smashwords because, 1) this is where I chose to publish my books. 2) Amazon has a 90 day exclusivity clause. Ultimately, the choice is yours. Smashwords distributes to Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Apple iBookstore, Stanza, Aldiko, Mobipocket, which is a format supported by Kindle as well as PCs and many handheld devices. PDF format, and much more.
Another wealth of information is Mark Coker's Smashwords Book Marketing Guide, also for FREE. I love free, don't you? The guide gives you the information needed to affectively market yourself.
And, again, for FREE is Mark Coker's The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success.
Even if your not published yet, these ebooks will give you the tools to build a platform necessary to get you on your way and closer to your goals. I advise reading these books before you even get started on Twitter, Facebook, or anywhere else.
Information is priceless when it comes to self-publishing. Make these resourses your bible for your goals, and read them again and again. If you have any questions, you can always email me or visit my blog. I'd love to hear from you, and how your journey is going.
Anais Nin
Bernard Shaw
Zane Grey
Deepak Chopra
Virginia Wolff
Edgar Allen Poe
Benjamin Franklin
Henry David Thoreau
Walt Whitman
Beatrix Potter
Rudyard Kipling
Alexandre Dumas
Mark Twain
Gertrude Stein
Ezra Pound
Again, just to name a few.
How Can I Get Started?
1. Start your marketing before you write or finish your book. This is important for you as an author to build your platform and gain an audience before your book comes out. Get yourself a blogsite, and blog regularly. Use Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Goodreads, Pinterest to get a social following going.
2. You've heard it before: You can't judge a book by its cover. This is not true. People DO judge a book by its cover. An attractive cover is very important. There are programs you can use to make your own, but, hiring a professional is a good idea.
3. Have your work professionally edited. This is also extremely important. If your book is a mess, it will not sell! If you feel confident enough to self-edit, rock on with your bad self, but don't over look proofreading. Having someone else proof your manuscript helps and may catch errors that normally you wouldn't.
4. Write a catchy blurb for your book. This is the second part in which people will decide whether they want to buy your book aside from looking at your cover.
5. The decision whether to e-publish, or go paper is entirely up to you. If you decide to e-publish, it costs you nothing up front. Smashwords, and Amazon allow you to upload your book, then they take a small percentage of your earnings. Small percentage. Did I mention small percentage? It's the opposite when you are published with a traditional publishing house. You will get the small percentage! If you choose to have a book in print, you can check out various places for pricing. Amazon uses Createspace.
6. Once all these steps are completed and you have your book published, patience will need to become your new best friend. You will not see results for a while. It all depends on you, and how aggressive you can be in marketing yourself. The main thing is to enjoy the ride and don't be discouraged!
7. As an end note for your decision making, Smashwords and Amazon provide free ISBNs. If you bought them yourself, you're going to shell out $125.00 for one number, or $250.00 for a block of ten. Each time your book is published in a different format, ie: as an e-Book, and then you decide you want to have it in print at some point, you'll have to have a separate ISBN for each format, or vice versa. The same goes for audio books. I have not pursued the audio book format, so I'm not going to preach to you about that. I think I have bent your ear (or eye) enough for now. Although for more information, and fun stuff, you are more than welcome to visit my blog by clicking the link at the top of this page.
What Invaluable Resourses Can I Use?
If you're not familiar with Smashwords, Mark Coker's Style Guide will give you the tools you need to format, produce and publish your own e-Book, and be readable on any e-reading device. His step-by-step instructions are clear and concise, and a must read for anyone wanting to break into publishing. The guide is FREE and should be read several times.
NOTE: I'm partial to Smashwords because, 1) this is where I chose to publish my books. 2) Amazon has a 90 day exclusivity clause. Ultimately, the choice is yours. Smashwords distributes to Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Apple iBookstore, Stanza, Aldiko, Mobipocket, which is a format supported by Kindle as well as PCs and many handheld devices. PDF format, and much more.
Another wealth of information is Mark Coker's Smashwords Book Marketing Guide, also for FREE. I love free, don't you? The guide gives you the information needed to affectively market yourself.
And, again, for FREE is Mark Coker's The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success.
Even if your not published yet, these ebooks will give you the tools to build a platform necessary to get you on your way and closer to your goals. I advise reading these books before you even get started on Twitter, Facebook, or anywhere else.
Information is priceless when it comes to self-publishing. Make these resourses your bible for your goals, and read them again and again. If you have any questions, you can always email me or visit my blog. I'd love to hear from you, and how your journey is going.
