Self-Publishing

Malak

Cadet
I see alot of you are getting out there with self-publishing. I'm looking to have my manuscript complete by August. My question is: where do I start in actually publishing?
I appreciate any advice
 
Make sure your manuscript is ready. Check it for errors, and check again. If you know a writer, ask for a critique. If you've done that or are planning to do that, great.

You asked about Create Space. That's a good way to get your book into print. It's easier to create an ebook. Do a little research about formatting. I publish my ebooks through Amazon and Smashwords. The latter gets you into several other online bookstores. Go to the Moblie Reads and Knidleboards forums; your questions may have already been answered.

Most of all, don't expect success right away. You may need to have several books out before you see very many sales. The advice always is, think marathon not sprint.
 
Do like the other posters say...

Also, you'll probably ignore this, but rushing to publish your first-ever novel isn't a good move. I don't even want to look at the first two book-length fictions I wrote. It would just be too embarrassing. Writing does improve with practice.

I tried the Amazon e-book route, and so far I have found the results rather dispiriting. Negligible sales, and just one review. I've since seen that even e-books one would think are noteworthy don't necessarily attract any reviews. Various people say that professionally designed e-covers and a time-consuming online social media publicity campaign can help...
*******************************************************
See my e-books at:
Amazing Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories – Shoujo & General Weblog
 
Do like the other posters say...

Also, you'll probably ignore this, but rushing to publish your first-ever novel isn't a good move. I don't even want to look at the first two book-length fictions I wrote. It would just be too embarrassing. Writing does improve with practice.

I tried the Amazon e-book route, and so far I have found the results rather dispiriting. Negligible sales, and just one review. I've since seen that even e-books one would think are noteworthy don't necessarily attract any reviews. Various people say that professionally designed e-covers and a time-consuming online social media publicity campaign can help...
*******************************************************
See my e-books at:
Amazing Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories – Shoujo & General Weblog

Well, considering you give me the above advice then plug your e-books makes me question your advice to begin with.
 
I considered self-publishing but elected to go with a smaller publishing company, Grey Gecko Press. They're a great little operation. Far superior to self-publishing since you get many of the benefits of a large publisher with out all the felgercarb.

For instance, I was involved in the cover art and worked directly with the editor in several rounds of drafts. With the big guys, if they bother to read your book at all, and they accept it, you send it in, and then 1-2yrs later it's for sale and you have almost no say in anything. I'd recommend at least submitting to GGP.

Now, if you've decided definitely to self publish, then the best advice I can give is to make sure your book gets edited by someone who is not you. I've tried reading a number of self-published books, and the concept was good, and the writing had promise, but they really sucked because they never got a proper edit. And I mean story edit as well as grammar. In my writing, I've learned that sometimes, what sounds cool to me makes no sense to others.

Uploading to Amazon is a simple matter and its going to be your biggest market. That's just the ebook though. There are lots of options if you want to produce a physical book as well.
 
If you're looking to get into self-publishing, my biggest piece of advice would be to make sure your work is to a level that deserves to be published. By that, I mean it should be getting feedback from agents and/or editors that they want to accept it. In my own case, I was getting contract offers on my short stories, and my first two novels had been previously accepted and published by a small press. As such, I knew that the writing was "publishable" and I ventured off into self-publishing.

The worst thing you can do is to publish a book yourself before it's ready...because readers have long memories, and if they remember your book as utter dreck, no amount of practice in the world is going to make them want your future work.

Just my two cents...
 
This is good advice, Aston & Maarkean. I am not a novelist, but my wife wants to be. She's told me that she is nervous about self-publish. I think she believes it wouldn't be viewed as a "real book", but perhaps I can steer her towards Grey Gecko Press as a publisher who wants to work with new writers. Thanks again, I'll pass this along to my wife.
 
I looked into self-publishing when I completed writing WATDOT: List of Twenty. With further research I decided to go with American Book Publishing. They allowed me to be involved with every step of making my book come to life, from the cover art to the narrative on the back. I had one representative that I have been working from the beginning. Any questions or concerns along the process were answered immediately. I agree that having a publishing company, most likely a smaller outfit, would be a better way to go. Get the advantages of having the Publishing Co represent you, while not getting lost in the larger companies.

Good Luck!!

www.WATDOT.com
 
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