Self-publishing and Staying Grounded
One thing that I would definitely recommend to all authors wanting to self-publish is avoid unscrupulous vanity publishers. There are plenty of great, inexpensive ways to publish your own work in today's self-publishing climate, whether you want to publish in print or as an eBook. Publishing with a vanity publisher often results inyour books not being sold in to bookstores, having little publicity or promotion and selling like, well, cold cakes (rather than the proverbial hot cakes). Check out Preditors and Editors and Writer Beware to get the credentials, or lack of, for a company before you request a quote.
A better choice would be to consider Print on Demand or digital publishing, in which you format your work yourself (or with Karin's help), send it off and see it on Amazon or the POD associated website and affiliated sellers. Of course, this doesn't guarantee you publishing success. Many self-published authors only to pick up a handful of sales from family and friends, fail to get store representation, and may be sitting alongside product of very dubious quality because many POD companies don't vet anything they publish, and I mean anything! This can mean that books that share your virtual shelves are riddled with errors. However, that's not to say that self-publishing is a mug's game and can't be done properly. It can! But it still requires a lot of effort and at least a little expenditure to make it successful. To work best, it will also make some demands on your time to generate your own "buzz" in the form of publicity and social network marketing for your book.
I'd advise anyone wanting to self publish to first assess their dreams of global publishing domination. Are they realistic? Self-publishing via Print on Demand or e-publishing might be the way to go if you think your book would appeal to a handful of niche readers, or if you have an accessible market yourself and are a competent computer user and promoter. For example, you're a public speaker or have a business you can sell the book through. It might also be that all you really want to do is leave a permanent lasting record of your life or your family tree for your loved ones, rather than printing out a lot of copies. In that case, Print on Demand publishing or publishing as an eBook using Smashwords, Createspace or Lightning Source may be a good idea for you. Authors who are shameless self-promoters and prepared to do their own marketing and become "Authorpreneurs" have managed to successfully self-publish with little expense and several have become chart-topping success stories.
Self-publishing is not for everyone, but that's not to say that POD publishing or eBook publishing can't be great stepping stones to publishing success. Both can be wonderful tools for promotion and some eBooks and self-published books have done exceptionally well and garnered representation by an agent or traditional publisher in the long run. But, like everything, it's best to know what you're getting yourself into. Karin can edit books for self-publishing authors, ensuring your work is up to "traditional publisher" standard, no matter how it's published. She can also provide you with advice on the self-publishing process, either the "old-fashioned" way using an offset printer, or using new technologies. If you desire, she can also arrange a complete self-publishing package for you that incorporates itemised editing, typesetting, cover design, sourcing print quotes and project management for your manuscript from beginning to end. To email Karin today, click here.
A better choice would be to consider Print on Demand or digital publishing, in which you format your work yourself (or with Karin's help), send it off and see it on Amazon or the POD associated website and affiliated sellers. Of course, this doesn't guarantee you publishing success. Many self-published authors only to pick up a handful of sales from family and friends, fail to get store representation, and may be sitting alongside product of very dubious quality because many POD companies don't vet anything they publish, and I mean anything! This can mean that books that share your virtual shelves are riddled with errors. However, that's not to say that self-publishing is a mug's game and can't be done properly. It can! But it still requires a lot of effort and at least a little expenditure to make it successful. To work best, it will also make some demands on your time to generate your own "buzz" in the form of publicity and social network marketing for your book.
I'd advise anyone wanting to self publish to first assess their dreams of global publishing domination. Are they realistic? Self-publishing via Print on Demand or e-publishing might be the way to go if you think your book would appeal to a handful of niche readers, or if you have an accessible market yourself and are a competent computer user and promoter. For example, you're a public speaker or have a business you can sell the book through. It might also be that all you really want to do is leave a permanent lasting record of your life or your family tree for your loved ones, rather than printing out a lot of copies. In that case, Print on Demand publishing or publishing as an eBook using Smashwords, Createspace or Lightning Source may be a good idea for you. Authors who are shameless self-promoters and prepared to do their own marketing and become "Authorpreneurs" have managed to successfully self-publish with little expense and several have become chart-topping success stories.
Self-publishing is not for everyone, but that's not to say that POD publishing or eBook publishing can't be great stepping stones to publishing success. Both can be wonderful tools for promotion and some eBooks and self-published books have done exceptionally well and garnered representation by an agent or traditional publisher in the long run. But, like everything, it's best to know what you're getting yourself into. Karin can edit books for self-publishing authors, ensuring your work is up to "traditional publisher" standard, no matter how it's published. She can also provide you with advice on the self-publishing process, either the "old-fashioned" way using an offset printer, or using new technologies. If you desire, she can also arrange a complete self-publishing package for you that incorporates itemised editing, typesetting, cover design, sourcing print quotes and project management for your manuscript from beginning to end. To email Karin today, click here.
