So, in the Indie world, there are two kinds of authors: Published and Working to be Published. And just to be clear, Indie mean Independent, so you’re doing this all on your own as your own personal publishing house. That said, keep in mind more successful Indie artists will have agents and publicists still working for them, but they are the CEO & President of their decisions.
Keep this in mind, publishing is hard, but worth it. If this is your true passion only two things will stand in your way, time and money. There aren’t any other justifiable factors.
Full disclosure, thanks to some helpful friends and insights, a spent a total of about $1300 to get my first book up and out there. I am certain it could be done for less, but the main thing I would tell anyone looking to publish, double your budget for marketing. I had (have) no marketing budget beyond social media and giveaways. I’m hoping to change that for the next book [tune in later for more on that].
After being submersed in the publishing world for the past couple of months, here are some insights to help you on your way:
- Join/Look for book clubs. Best place I’ve found is on Goodreads.
- Social media…just start getting out there. Befriend anyone and everyone with similar interests.
- Beta-Readers, start with friends and family then try branching out. The more eyes you have on your story, the more input you’ll get. [Note: betas are not editors and should not be treated as such. They are more for content and flow.]
- Invest in a good cover. (Lord some of the books I have come across look like someone created it on their smart phone from 2007)
- PAY FOR EDITING! This is the same principle as selling your car and not cleaning it. I wouldn’t get in a filthy, smelly vehicle to test drive it anymore than I would continue reading a broken-English mess paragraph after paragraph.
- Get to know authors and ask questions. There is more to a book than simply putting it on paper and authors who are out there know plenty. We’re a community in an ever-changing world. Let’s stick together before we get picked off one at a time.
- Be prepared to hunt for Reviewers right after your editing phase is done. Reviews = Sales
- Look into Giveaways. Why just hand out copies to anyone? Hold contests to draw in a crowd, get interest. Those that don’t win may just go on to buy your book anyhow.
I’ll have more tidbits for you later! Until then, feel free to email me your questions.
Jonas Lee 