Is Self-Publishing Easy?
“Is Self-Publishing Easy?”
I’ve been getting this question quite a bit, lately, from a good number of people that we meet on the Con circuit. It’s a strange question to answer, but one that I’ve certainly asked myself as well.
Sure, it takes some cash, a good deal of hard work, and some real tenacity to finish the job… is that hard? Sure, I guess. Is it impossibly difficult? No way!
Really, it all comes down to how dedicated you are to publishing your work.
It took me until I was 35 years old to have the maturity and drive to really get the job done. I had a number of the pieces in place, but it took the ambition to finally be able to finish a project of this scale. Surely, many of you will be able to accomplish this years before me. You can do it, if you maintain strong focus on the end result.
Below is a series of questions to ask yourself about self-publishing, to help you realize if you’ve got what it takes.
This is in no way meant to dissuade you from self-publishing. It’s just a list of things that you ought to consider before diving in.
Skills
How much of this can you do yourself?
It’s my belief that the more you can do yourself, the better. You don’t have to rely upon other people, and you don’t have to spend precious dollars on other people’s services. If you’ve got wads of cash to spend, then this really isn’t much of a problem. I don’t, so I embrace the DIY work ethic.
- Can you write and flesh out your own ideas?
- Can you edit?
- Can you illustrate?
- Can you layout the book?
- Do you have the software that you need, or can you get it?
Or, are you waiting for someone to discover your talent?
If you’re waiting for someone else, self-publishing might not be for you.
Labor
For me, this was the killer. Before I finished Caught Creatures, I had no idea if I could really finish such a large project. It wasn’t that I was afraid of doing a lot of work; I was just afraid that I’d lose interest before I’d finish. By the end, I found that I imagined the task to be far more difficult than it really was.
- Are you willing to work weekends and nights to finish your book?
- Are you willing to travel promoting and sharing your books with others?
- Will you be able to finish the last 10%, which takes about 90% of the effort?
- Are you willing to not cut corners and do things the right way?
- Will you be able to create websites, business cards, and the like?
Or, would you rather somebody else do the hard part, and develop your ideas?
If you’re an author or illustrator, you need to embrace the “work” and make that the fun part. I relish in it. If you want someone else to do the “hard stuff” then maybe consider something else.
The Idea
Ultimately, you should also be asking yourself about your overall idea. It’s one thing to publish, but another to publish something that someone else might want to read or enjoy. If you don’t care about this, then why do you want to publish in the first place? Save yourself a headache, and be pleased to create it for yourself.
- Do you have a clear idea of what your book will be about?
- How is your book different/better than what’s already out there?
- Can you explain your book’s concept in just a few sentences?
- Do your ideas appeal to your support system? To strangers?
A good idea is far easier to market and sell than a mediocre one. Make sure that your idea is sound before you spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on your project.
Money
Let’s face it, one of the largest facets of publishing is paying for the production and marketing of your books. Print on demand (POD) is lessoning this need, though I still find that it isn’t a very feasible way to really sell your books at conventions, in stores, etc.
- Are you willing to spend thousand dollars getting your book printed?
- Are you willing to spend cash promoting your work, when it’s done?
- Can you manage large sums of money and plan ahead? (Or find someone to help you do this)
- If you’ve got lots of money on hand, then you probably don’t need to read this article. You can throw piles of money at any problem, and likely get something accomplished.
Research
I believe that the world is yours if you can learn how to learn. You need to be willing and able to ask questions, scour the web, and ask people for their advice and guidance. the internet age is ideal for this. When I was 20 I was painfully shy, and could hardly call strangers on the phone without a great deal of distress and interior turmoil. It’s taken some life-experiences to get me where I needed to be.
- Can you get quotes from a number of printers?
- Are you able and willing to learn and follow business tax laws?
- Do you know where to find people who can do what you can’t?
Okay, that’s a brutal list, and it’s nowhere near complete.
The good news?
You don’t have to all of this at once. No way. You can tackle one thing at a time. But, you do need the inner drive to muscle your way past each of these challenges. That’s the real point of this article.
It’s cliché, but if you want it bad enough, it won’t be that hard at all.- Daniel
www.steamcrow.com
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