It’s more than just writing, editing, uploading and posting a link on Twitter.
Writing a book is an amazing feat. If you’re thinking of trying out the self-publishing route, there is, believe it or not, a strategy to it. You’re not going to sell very many copies of your latest masterpiece if it’s poorly written, haphazardly designed or not promoted at all.
Here are a few self-publishing tips, and links to some of our other resources, to help you start working toward some of your 2016 writing/publishing goals!
Write, rewrite, edit, share with a friend
The first step to self-publishing is obviously writing the book you’re going to distribute online. Which is hard enough. But just because you don’t have to jump through traditional publishing hoops doesn’t mean you should put any less effort into producing the best book possible.
Take the time to not only write a great first draft, but also to edit, revise and recruit a friend or two to read and give you honest feedback. Here are a few self-editing tips to help you get started.
Find the self-publishing platform that works for you
If you have ever started the self-publishing process to get a free proof copy of your book to edit on paper, your best bet is to use that same platform, the one you’re most familiar with, to actually go through the entire process when you’re ready to publish your book. You can shop around all you want, but sticking with the platform you know works, and seeing how it goes the first time around, will save you time.
Platforms like CreateSpace do a lot of the formatting for you as you’re putting together your book, if you’re not quite as experienced in the book design department. You also have the option to design, via templates or on your own, in whatever way you want.
Check out our review of CreateSpace.
Build up to your release
Don’t just toss your book on the market and say, “Hey, look what I did!” Part of marketing your work is getting your potential readers excited about what’s yet to come. Your friends and family will (hopefully) be totally on board, but you might have a decent social media following – and they might be interested in your latest project, too.
Set up a group or email list to invite those interested in your book to receive updates leading up to your book’s release. Share excerpts and even let them help you with some of the smaller decisions, like designing your cover or picking a name, if you want.
Get more tips on how to promote your work strategically.
Even if you give self-publishing a try and it doesn’t work out the way you expected, at least you took the time to practice the various steps of the process and started to narrow down your target market. We wish you the best – happy writing!
Image courtesy of Novelty Revisions.
Meg Dowell Writes 
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