So, I was recently asked how I got started on my self-publishing journey. The asker knows someone who wants to self-publish. My decision to self-publish took quite a bit of time going back and forth between self-publishing and traditional publishing.
Once I made the decision to self-publish, most of the information I’ve found since then has simply reinforced the idea that for what I’m doing, self-publishing is the better choice.
I understand that the same may not be true for all authors or even all works.
That said, perhaps the main reason I intend to self-publish involves maintaining the rights to my books. This protects my creative abilities within the series, and allows me to control what happens with regard to the different elements of publishing, from writing and editing to things like book cover design. Additionally, I will own the stories and the characters. I won’t need to worry about what happens if a publisher picks up the first part of the series, but decides not to pursue the rest. I suppose I should also mention that I would like to show that the idea of publishing houses serving as ‘gatekeepers’ is not as necessary as some people seem to think.
Yes, self-publishing will involve a lot of work, between finding editors, marketing (which is typically an individual task even with traditional publishing, unless you happen to already be a big name), designing a book cover, and many other elements that go into the final product. However, the rewards and creative freedom self-publishing provides should make it worthwhile.
Currently, the questions I’ve gotten are:
- How did you get started with self-publishing? (I’m currently trying to decide how best to break this question down)
- How did you find beta readers?
What questions do you have about self-publishing? Can you think of any questions I should add to my list as far as ‘useful information.’ I would love to offer any advice I can. I think it would be great to set up something of a reference for people wanting to know how to self-publish, or even just to share the knowledge I’ve gathered over the years.
What would you like to know?
~ Theresa
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