Self-Publishing: It’s Not Just Writing

When it comes to being a brand, it’s not just writing that creates the whole package.

Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash

In case I haven’t made this abundantly clear – I love writing.

Even though I knew this at an early age, I listened to the messages and opinions of others. They looked like this: writing never pays, only a lucky few can make a living from writing, being an artist means being a starving artist, and so on.

I knew, however, that I wanted to make choices involving the arts. But then I tried to pursue things equal or harder to make a living in than writing. This included theatre (I wanted to be a director), radio (I practically lived in the college radio station – I even received a plaque to that effect), and an attempt at graphic layout (attempt – needed more schooling to go down that path).

It took me a while to accept that this was my thing. Given numerous other factors I needed to work on in my 20s and 30s, that’s no surprise.

Blogging is an awesome thing. When I discovered Medium, I even started to make some money from it. But my first love in writing was always fiction.

I tried – for years – to go the conventional route in publishing. I had an agent once – but my genre was not his forte, plus I’d not yet been professionally edited (and learned an immeasurable amount from the experience).

After the edit, I was rejected by a LOT of agents.

This is typical, of course – everyone who works to be published conventionally goes through a lot of rejections. But it reached a point where I saw that self-publishing was an increasingly viable option.

But then – it’s not just writing anymore.

The hats you wear – before publishing

As a self-publisher, you have a bunch of different jobs. First, you need to write. It is impossible to publish anything if you’ve not written anything.

Then you need to do your edits. Because editing before publishing is essential. Unedited work tends to produce glaring errors – and looks thoroughly unprofessional.

Some authors at this point get beta readers. These are to some degree proofreaders – but they also offer critiques about the overall story and their impressions of it. This can be very important – and I’ve used beta readers from time to time to cover certain needs and get impressions of aspects or whole works.

Next, you need to hire a professional editor. If you are self-publishing your work, this is essential. You cannot be the only set of eyes to look for errors, typos, and inconsistencies.

Editing involves multiple processes. The basics are proofreading and line editing. But then you can get into content editing – where they look for errors and issues in your work. And then developmental editing – where they really tear things apart and can essentially rework your work to make it as strong as possible.

For a new writer, more in-depth editing can make a huge difference. My first editor did this – and changed how I write overall. She also taught me how to be an editor myself.

The more thorough and in-depth the work, the more this will cost you. But editing cannot be neglected.

Then comes cover art. Maybe you are a graphic artist and don’t need help. But a professional-looking cover matters. This is why – before I publish the 3^rd book of my Source Chronicles fantasy series – I will have the first two covers redone professionally.

The hats you wear – publishing and after

Once you have all of that done, you need to do formatting. If you are self-publishing via Amazon and their Kindle program (KDP) they offer a free app for this purpose. It’s a pretty awesome app, and I have used it for multiple books thus far.

For paperback, you need to format page numbers, headers, how it lays out for 6×9 or 5×8, chapter breaks, and so on. I do all of this via Word. I know there are apps and software specific to novel writing – but I don’t use them. This, however, might be another place to hire a professional.

In addition to redoing the covers for the first two Source Chronicles novels – I am likely reformatting them, too. I know a lot more now than I knew when I first published them – and to make them stronger, I think this will be as necessary as redoing their covers.

All that done, you need a blurb. This can be challenging – because it’s going to be the first impression. Whether it’s Kindle, another digital format, or the back of the book – you need to catch the reader’s eye and spark their interest.

See why it’s not just writing when it comes to self-publishing?

All that done – publishing! BUT – there are other considerations.

Pre-launch? Amazon, for example, lets you set up the book for sale in advance of its publication. This affords you the opportunity to prep a launch party, do advanced marketing, and other matters that can make for higher sales.

This may be another place to hire help. That’s where I am at presently.

All of this is part of establishing your brand as a writing business. It’s a matter of accountability and business management.

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

It’s not just writing

As I have illustrated here – when it comes to being a brand, it’s not just about the writing. There are numerous other factors to take into consideration.

The upside here is that you do not need to work alone. The downside is that it will cost you money to work with others.

How much? That’s a challenging question. For 50,000 words, good editing can be as little as $250. But it can range way up there. My first edit, which was a 150,000+ word novel and super-thorough, ran me $3000 (in 2003). Just putting that out there.

Cover artists, promoters, marketing companies, and everyone else you can hire to help you will cost money. I cannot offer a specific amount because there is no one true price for anything. But a little research – like some Google searches – will help you find options for all of this, and price ranges that you can budget for.

When you decide to self-publish – if your goal is to make it into more than just a vanity project – it’s not just writing you need to consider. But even the added bits and work can still be awesome and amazing. Seeing your dream become real is a lot of fun to work on.

There many resources out there for everything you need to make your books the best that they can be. In not just writing when you are establishing yourself as an author – it also involves branding. But as a creative, this still has many aspects that can be satisfying to work on and with.