Hi, everyone! Today I’m guest-blogging over at Laura Smith’s blog with a post for self-publishing beginners. I’m offering 5 self-publishing basics. Hope you’ll hop over. :)
Photo credit: Stuck in Customs on Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-SA
Tag: self publishing
Tips for Less-Expensive Self-Publishing
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I read a lot of posts that assume that writers have unlimited funds for book production. But many writers who self-publish books are having to fit the process into a budget.
First off, you’ll usually save money (not time, but money) if you contract out for everything you need instead of going through a self-publishing service.
My main costs in book production are covers and editing. And I think most writers would agree that those are the two most important things. Both things can vary dramatically in cost. But both things are vital to the success and sales of our book.
Cover: If you have a very small project (short story, etc.) you could consider going somewhere like fiverr to get your cover. Look at a lot of different profiles and read the reviews to compare designers. There are also sites like Covervault where you can get free designs.Continue reading
Resolutions of a Self-Publisher
by David Wogahn, @wogahn
Self-publishing is a humbling experience. When I started, I was in fear of my work being ripped off, good friends didn’t review my book, blog readers and subscribers didn’t flock to my website, I was (still am!) frazzled by all the social media and marketing options. On top of that, Amazon takes a huge slice of my sales.
Who among us have not had these thoughts? Heck, I admit to still having them. It’s not productive.
To begin this New Year, I’ve written down 5 resolutions to help me stay on track. At least one is easier than the others—in fact I have little choice. But keeping them all in mind will make for a healthier, and more productive mindset for 2017. I hope they help you too.
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Think: Reciprocity.
How often have I uttered the phrase, “I write blog posts but no one reads them. Why should I bother?”Continue reading
Self-Publishing a Series after Its Traditional Start
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
My self-published Myrtle Clover series started out as a traditional release through Midnight Ink. They published the first book in that series before deciding against a second book in the series. That’s when I got my rights back (well, the ones that I could get back), and self-published the rest.
Now I’ve got the Southern Quilting mysteries which will be dropped by Penguin after the upcoming June release of book five in the series. I’ve gotten those rights back and will be embarking on the same process soon.
These were good decisions for me and for my series. But there have definitely been some bumps in the road.Continue reading
With Self-Publishing, We Control the Future of a Series
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
For years, I belonged to several email loops with other traditionally published mystery writers. We would share information and resources with each other and were on a blogging schedule to contribute to the group blog.
Eventually, I dropped out of all of these groups. One of my failings is my lack of patience and another is my overwhelming desire to fix things. These two issues combined with a dose of me-trying-to-be-professional meant that I was constantly biting my tongue while reading messages from these loops regarding author issues with our traditional publishers.
I was especially sad on the occasions when an author would apologize for having their series canceled. They would be in the process of pitching another series to their agent and/or publisher and would offer to drop out of the blog since they weren’t sure if they were going to continue being contracted writers.Continue reading