The How and Where of Indie
Publishing
“An
indie publisher is still a publisher, the same as any traditional publisher.”
Dean Wesley Smith
££££
Amazon. Barnes & Noble. Smashwords.
Kobo. iBooks. Google.
On Demand. Create Space. Overdrive.
Ingram. Sony. Diesel.
Books on Board. Baker &
Taylor. Did I miss any? Yes, tons.
E-book
only? Print, too? What about audio books? Gads.
Any more decisions? Yes, tons.
Branding
myself as an author? Designing my
interior? My cover has to do what? Is there more I need to know? Yes, tons.
The
market is expanding every day with platforms, big and small, designed to
publish your indie author work. There
are also platforms that are willing to handle the distribution end of your book
for you. That means you publish one
place and they do all the work. That may
sound good, but there are some pitfalls.
What
is the essential component here?
For
you to figure out what is your level of expertise. How much time do you have available to spend
on this adventure? How much control do
you want over the details? How proficient are you with technology? Whether
you have written a cookbook, a work of fiction, or non-fiction, some of the
decisions facing you will be the same. Where
do you want to sell your book? What
versions will be available? How are
you going to identify yourself to your reader?
These
are only a few of the questions. There
are many, many more and some will be things you didn’t consider. Every writer brings a different skillset to
the table, experiences that can be drawn on to make this quest a success. Even if you are a published author and have
some familiarity with what it takes to bring a manuscript to fruition, or you
intend to hire out, there are still decisions to be made and things to
consider.
So
let’s run through a few essential questions and answer segment, questions you
should ask yourself before beginning the complex journey through successful
indie publishing.
1. Professional:
Is writing a hobby or a passion?
Because passion will carry you through this process. Not that curiosity doesn’t have its own
learning drive, but passion to put your work out there is going to carry you
through the complicated, frustrating avalanche of information. You
are going to work hard and learn hard.
Be prepared.
2. Physical:
How much time do you have available?
This isn’t an overnight process.
Matters not whether you approach this as a full-time endeavor or do it
in your spare time around job and family concerns. The entire process from editing to book
cover production to finalizing formatting to proofreading to publishing can
take many hours and hours of work. If
you think you’ll read this book one night and publish the next, uh….we’d love
to tell you that, but not happening. There are steps that shouldn’t be skipped,
steps which take time to do. Decide what
level of quality you want your name attached to before you begin this process.
3. Creative:
How would you rate your level of technological savvy? High, medium, low? You don’t have to be a guru. You don’t have to have a computer science
degree. But if you handwrite your
manuscripts and shudder any time you have to turn on a computer, you need to
assess your ability to learn this process and be honest with yourself. There is a high learning curve here. There are no difficult concepts, just new and
varied ones.
4. Emotional:
Do you use more software than the internet? Because being semi-proficient in Word, PowerPoint,
knowing how to convert files to PDF, understanding technology newer than Windows
95 is essential. Coping strategies for
handling your risk-taking, diving stomach are essential. Prepping a full manuscript for publication is
not for sissies. Understanding how to manipulate unfamiliar programs and not giving
up until you can deliver a product YOU are happy with – that’s the aim.
5. Financial:
What’s your budget? Nothing? Hundred bucks? A thousand bucks? And your tolerance for spending that? Because there is a certain amount of overhead
cost that you may not see back. Many
writers don’t see a return until their third, fourth, fifth book. There are production costs depending on how
much of this you plan to do yourself, so think through your financial concerns.
If after all that soul-searching analysis you are still ready to try, congratulations and welcome to the world of indie publishing. Pat yourself on the back, roll up your sleeves, and get to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment