You have a big idea and are ready to publish your first book.
But the traditional publishing process may appear intimidating.
Luckily, theres more than one way to get the next great American novel in front of readers.
Tamara Lush estimates she spent about $1,000 per self-published book on editing. Chris Zuppa/The Penny Hoarder
As of late, self-publishing has provided a way for authors to bring their words to the masses.
It isnt a subpar alternative but a popular way to publish your great ideas.
James even went on to have her book Fifty Shades of Grey turned into a Hollywood blockbuster.
Self-publishing isnt a cakewalk, however; it involves contributions of your own time and money.
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Write the Darn Thing.
Although the image of a frantic artistic genius may sound romantic, for most of us its not realistic.
And a lot of willpower.
Maybe more than once.
Others force themselves to hit a minimum daily word count.
Whatever structures you have to put in place to meet your goal, stick to them.
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Dont expect this to happen overnight.
The average novel is about 50,000-80,000 words.
That is alotof words to dream up, polish and put in order.
Its going to take awhile.
And youre also going to need help.
Which brings us to:
Self-editing is good.
Enlisting the help of some enthusiastic volunteer readers is better.
Not sure where to start?
Now for the Fun Part: Design and Format!
If youve successfully written a book, first of all: congratulations.
Youve definitely earned a few deep breaths and a piece of chocolate.
But now its time to get those words in front of some eyeballs.
And the first step toward that goal is to format your book and design the cover.
Like other aspects of self-publishing, you could make this a DIY effort.
Many people who self-publish choose to hire a professional designer for either the layout, cover or both.
And again, this part can get expensive.
The cost goes up if you add in extras, like an audiobook-version cover.
Your vision gets a bit blurred.
to help you create a book thats physically eye-catching.
Of course, there are more bargain-friendly routes available.
Which leads us to the next, and perhaps most important, step.
The Make-It-Or-Break-It Moment: Plan Your Launch and Marketing Campaign.
With traditional publishing you get a good amount of help in the launch and marketing department.
You also need to be ready to continually self-promote once your book hits the shelves or virtual shelves.
Knox, on the other hand, took full advantage of her media contacts.
(Both her book and her business were born in December 2019.)
She was also able to sell all the physical copies of the book she brought to the party.
It was as easy, she said, as filling out a form.
She ended up turning her back on independent publishing after learning exactly how sophisticated and expensive it could be.
For her genre in particular, she says, paid ads are essential.
It made me feel like I was gambling.
And still, she found, others were matching her game and then some.
Writing a good book isnt all thats necessary to be successful, unfortunately, Lush said.
(How to get people to actually give you their email address?
Go Ahead: Publish!
Now comes the moment youve been waiting for: Actually.
The simplest way is to publish throughAmazons Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) program.
However, Amazon doesnt have a monopoly on the self-publishing world.
Maybe youve got the next Fifty Shades on your hard drive.
In fact, were willing to bet youve got something better.
Rather, the platform charges you fees when a book is sold, and you receive the remaining royalties.
Different book distributors will provide varying rates.
Self-published authors can indeed make money on their book sales.
Michael Archambault is a senior writer for The Penny Hoarder specializing in technology.
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