Take a look at the Count Down notice on the side of this blog. I’m putting the pressure on myself to get my novel finished so I can self-publish it this summer. There are those that may be curious as to what goes in to publishing. I have many questions myself. But I thought that I might include my journey here so that people can see any successes or mistakes I make to getting my WIP out there.
First, I made the decision to self-publish with this particular piece because based on the subject matter, it fits in well with the self-publishing model. The categories it fits in with, including any keywords I will use when building its purchasing page, is one of the better selling categories for e-books. However, for anyone keeping up with current self-publishing changes, Amazon has made recent changes to selecting a book’s categories. They’ve opened up new categories like New Adult and they’ve made some specific categories under larger umbrellas. So for my WIP, under Fantasy, I think it would be under the Paranormal & Urban category since I have “witches” (or more accurately root practitioners), fairies, mediums, and other supernatural beings. While there is some romance within the story, I don’t think it qualifies as Paranormal Romance.
Second, I’ve gone through the decision-making process any author should go through to weigh the pros and cons of traditional versus self-publishing. And I’m taking the job of self-publishing seriously. I’ve got several professionals lined up to help me get my piece ready including a professional editor, formatter, and cover designer. I’m transitioning my editing business from last year into my publishing side, and am already prepping the marketing for Book One.
Things to do before hitting the button to publish:
- Create an author website & hook in this blog
- Establish my Author Facebook Page
- Find the blogs & bloggers who review similar works
- Set up an Author Goodreads Page
- Prep the storyline for Book Two & start writing it
There are other steps involved, but these are the basic things as a self-publisher that need to be covered. My intent is to cover my process as I go through it here so that others can see what I’ve done and see what works and what doesn’t work.
Third, I’m trying to embrace what Neil Gaiman said in the conclusion of his Book Fair speech. It’s time for me to be a dandelion and put some seeds out there. Book One will be one of those dandelion seeds. Check back here for updates on the progress as well as information on steps such as choosing an editor and editing level of service, choosing a cover artist, looking at the different ways to self-publish, and other decisions and choices I’m making. But the first thing to do – go Like my Author Facebook Page!
Falls Into Writing 
Hi Jenn, thanks for sharing your publishing process with us. I’m working through the same sort of steps with a collection of “wonder tales.” Have you thought about hiring someone or some agency to help with marketing/publicity? I’ve looked into this, but remain skeptical about the utility of this strategy given the cost; yet I want to spend time writing and blogging, not marketing. Sigh. Good luck with your project–I’ll be following what happens.
Hey – thanks for stopping by! It’s funny you should mention that as I consulted with a PR company for a little in terms of a job I had with an indie author being their marketing & publicity person (handling their email, Facebook, etc…). So I have person experience doing this for an author.
My opinion is that you should only spend the money on it if you’re making it. It’s not something I would suggest paying for before you have the income coming back in. And it depends on how you want to market.
I think it’s one of those things you want to have an idea of how to build your “brand” and readership. I think the best advice is to get your next piece out within 3-4 months. Having one piece and then trying to get the “megaphone” out to bring attention to it is hard.
It’s finding the balance. And finding out what you want to do in terms of marketing – blog tours, free promotions, twitter, Facebook – because you’re the publisher, you’re in charge. And what works for some doesn’t necessarily work for others. If you get big enough, you might just be able to convince someone to become your assistant to handle things for you (that’s how I got my job)! Thanks for following!
Hi, I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog. I can relate to your blog entries because I, too, am going the self-publishing route. I must admit the process is not as easy as some people make it to be. But the good thing is you’re in charge. The downside is that a writer can fall into the trap of wearing too many hats (that of publisher, writer, editor, marketing staff, etc). It means time away from writing. It can really be overwhelming. Having a checklist means half the battle is won *lol*. Good luck on your book 🙂
Thanks so much. I’m getting ready to write my “I’m never going to meet my rough draft deadline” blog post soon because I’m sooo not going to meet my Sunday deadline! I’m lucky that I’ve got some good mentors to help me and already have a few professionals lined up. But yes, it is a hard process. Thanks for checking me out, and stay tuned – I will get that rough draft finished soon!
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