Wednesday 10 April 2019

Thinking about Self Publishing

The time has come when I’m starting to think about self-publishing as a serious option for some of my novels.

I write what I love to write. I write the books I would like to read that I can’t find on the shelves. I know there’s no point in following trends and so I don’t. But I’m also aware that the market is very trend driven, and so there is a large element of luck involved – if you hit the right trend at the right time then your book will sell. If not it won’t.

Making the decision to self publish is a big commitment. I have to be prepared to put in the effort, to make sure the product I put into the market is as good as it possibly can be. And I have to be prepared to put in the time and money to do this.

I also know I’m unlikely to make any profit. Without the weight of the marketing and publicity departments of a trade publisher my reach will be small, unlikely to extend far beyond my own circle of contacts. I have to be prepared for that fact that it probably won’t sell.

I’m also aware that the best way to market a book is to bring out another book. For this reason I’m going to hold fire on self publishing for now. I’m going to wait for two things:

1. Having the time to dedicate myself to this project properly.
2. Having a portfolio of books to follow up with.

I’m not going to try to self publish my MG books. I’m going to go with my SF thrillers. I have one in a good complete state, one that needs some reworking and two that are in progress, but not very far.

So I need to get on with some writing, and get on with some research into what I need to do in order to give them the best chance I can.

Any tips or resources that you can share please do.

And I will share my progress with you on this blog.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Kate, I check your blog every so often but now I can possibly contribute. If you need a good book cover, I'd recommend http://mariazanninihome.com/book-cover-diva-gallery/ She's excellent to work with and has done everyone of mine. I'm posting another link so you can see the stuff she's done for me. And you're right about the small income, but as a hybrid business model it keeps me in beer money, increasing slightly as another book is added to the list. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-Keyton/e/B016S5RBI4?ref=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Think you for the tips and the links. :-)

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