So you want to be an independently published writer? Great! Welcome aboard. Just as if you were planning to sail solo across the Atlantic, you'll be pretty much on your own. You'll be fixing your own engines, preparing your own food, sending up your own signals…don't forget social media!
I'll start by assuming you have a sea-worthy craft. Dropping the metaphor, this means a book that is well-written, well-edited, and well-covered. You've worked out a game plan, done your research in how e-books work and how you are going to get paid for this. That puts you streets ahead of most people who are doing the same thing.
Many writers decide to go 'indie' (which makes me feel like I should be wearing a broad-brimmed leather hat and carrying a bull-whip) through sheer frustration. Publishing houses have been consolidating like mad over the last dozen years until there are only 5 or 6, depending on how you count. While small presses are springing up in the shade of those big, old oaks, the odds against being traditionally published have never been higher. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, even for a wet-new author.
However, after your 'quirky', 'non-mainstream', 'we love it but don't know how to market it' book has been around a few times, the chances of placing it become vanishingly small. Even famous and well-regarded authors have had trouble finding a home for a book that is outside their usual style. Not to mention the extended time frame involved in traditional publishing. Even if your series is accepted, it can be 18 months or more between titles. Readers are binge-reading the same way they watch a television series on a subscription service. Making them wait almost two years between titles may not be the best way to grow your readership.
Fortunately for both authors and the future of the book, e-book publishing began a meteoric rise a few years ago. Most people would count this rise from the advent of the first widely used e-book reader, the Kindle, in 2007. In a mere seven years, e-books have gone from the province of a few to the reading medium of choice for millions. Indie publishing began growing by leaps and bounds starting in approximately 2010 – now known as 'the good old days'.
If you decide to go indie, be advised that it can be expensive to get started. Everyone seems to have a hand out. There are always work-arounds. Do you have a friend or a friend of a friend who is gifted in electronic art and is willing to make you a cover? A sister who is an editor? Fellow writers who are willing to do beta-read exchanges? I belong to several small writer groups that are always willing to offer an opinion on a cover mock-up or a blurb. We also do anthologies together and experiment on sales techniques. There are also a plentitude of online groups where you can share triumphs and disasters. Writing doesn't have to be a lonely profession any more.
Covers are a vital part of your sales efforts. A sharp clear image that looks professional is vital. People absolutely do judge a book by the cover. An amateurish effort can have a very depressing effect on sales. I've seen covers where the author proudly states that their five year old drew it. Don't do that. Find a designer or an artist online. Google 'ebook covers' or 'pre-made covers' to get a look at an artist's style. Getting a good cover doesn't have to be pricey, though you should pay what the artist's time is worth. Artists are in the same leaky boat as writers and musicians. Do be sure you have the exclusive rights to that particular cover. You don't want to see it everywhere the week after your book comes out.
So, the book is written…edited…has a great cover…now comes the scary part. Putting it out there. There are several portal sites to help you upload your book to the internet. Smashwords.com is famous, though it can be persnickety, and Draft2Digital.com is up-and-coming. They upload your to a variety of retailers, more all the time. Then there is Amazon, the 800-pound gorilla. If you choose to go exclusive with them in their KDP-Select program, you gain payments through their Kindle Owners Lending Library program but you lose any potential sales you might have received through ibooks, Google Play, Barnes and Noble, etc. Fortunately, running the numbers is quite easy as all the sales information is available to you in (almost) real-time. For instance, you can instantly see how effective a particular advertising campaign was which helps you control your expenses.
Once your book is uploaded and ready for purchase, you have to let people know about it. In the wake of the e-book revolution, hundreds of advertising sites have appeared. Most work on a subscription basis. You put in your email and the type of book you like. The site accepts advertisements from writers, more or less curated depending on the site, and sends the information to the subscriber. Sites like Bookbub and Ereader News Today have done very well and the authors who are accepted also do very well. But they don't take everyone – they require a certain number of 5 star reviews for instance – and they are not inexpensive. There are other sites that are more reasonable – The Fussy Librarian or EbookSoda among numerous others – and some that are free. The more subscribers, the higher the cost as a general rule. There is also social media – Facebook, Google +, and Twitter – though it is easy to oversell and turn people off. Shouting 'buy my book' into an echoing cavern might be more effective.
Of course, this is the briefest overview of e-book publishing. There are endless ramifications and nuances and many sites and books to assist you. I haven't discussed books on CD or how to create a paper book from your e-book. However, if your goal is to start finding readers and making your mark, independent publishing is the swiftest way forward. There's even the potential to make more money than in traditional publishing. You are not writing for a miniscule percentage of the cover price and you don't have to share what you earn with an agent, an editor or the president of some Madison Avenue publishing firm. All the work is yours and so is all the cash. And all the responsibility.
Challenge: One thing every good e-book needs is a stellar, buy-this-book-now! blurb. Write one, either for your current Work-In-Progress, your NaNoWriMo efforts or the biggest, baddest bestseller in human history. Watch out, Bible! Here comes….
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Before signing a contract with any agent or publisher, please be sure to check them out on Preditors and Editors, Absolute Write and/or Writer Beware.