I often get questions about getting published. My answer?
I have no clue. I’m definitely not an expert.
I admit I’m sometimes a little surprised when I look at my backlist. I have a lot of published books. And I’ve learned a lot about how to publish them. I know how to format a manuscript, how to upload it to Amazon and Smashwords, I’m usually able to edit my own stuff, and I’m slowly learning the ins and outs of designing my own covers and illustrating my books when necessary.
And every kind of book I publish is a little different. Thus far, I’ve published novels, children’s chapter books with illustrations, poetry books, illustrated poetry books, and (to date) ten issues of a literary magazine for my store, The Next Chapter Books & Art.
My path to being published and learning about publishing isn’t really going to work for everyone. I’m self-taught, but I know my limits and I know when I need to consult an expert. I’ve hired developmental editors, for example, because I know that’s not my field of expertise. I used to hire someone to design covers for me, but my more recent efforts were designed by me using a combination of Canva, ibisPaint, and Amazon’s Cover Creator on KDP.
My best advice for publishers who want to self-publish? Don’t go to a self-publishing publisher. Do as much as you can yourself. And take an a la carte approach to the rest. Chances are very good if you go to a publisher who charges you to publish your book, you’ll be overcharged and your book will not be a quality product. You’ll make less on royalties from your book because the publisher will take a cut, and you’ll be overcharged for author copies of your book, making it difficult to sell them yourself and make a profit. (Nobody wants to pay $20-plus for a paperback book by an unknown author.)
To sum up, self-publishing a book is a learned process. Approach it that way, and not with an open wallet. Nobody goes into this realistically expecting to make money, but you can go into it and hopefully not lose money. Learn what you can do for yourself and what you need to hire someone else to do to give you the most professional-looking product at the end. By that point, you can consider yourself…maybe not an expert…probably not a best-selling author…but definitely a bookmaker.
That’s what I am. I am a bookmaker.
