WARNING…Lots of TEXT to come
As many of you already know, I am self-publishing my very first title Cursed by Fire which has a scheduled release date of January 28th, 2015. So how exactly do you self-publish a book you may ask, well let me be the first to tell you that it is entirely more complicated that you might thing.
Self-publishing is not the “easy way.” I personally chose to self-publish for a variety of reasons. I wanted control over my books cover design. I wanted a hand in my own marketing. I didn’t want to hand over the majority of my earnings to a publishing house and agent. These are among a few of the reasons I chose to self-publish. I have not even looked into pitching my book anywhere because I knew this was the route I wanted to go but for others who’d like to follow this path, this is what I have learned so far and this all BEFORE the book even comes out.
First and foremost, it is EXPENSIVE!
Not including the time you spend writing the book, you have several expenses to consider. You have cover design, interior design and formatting, marketing, editing, proofing (this can often be more than once round) and distribution.
The average QUALITY book cover design runs $450. I was lucky enough to win my design in a giveaway and have the amazing Regina Wamba with Mae I Design complete my cover however, it is money I will have to cough up on book #2 and believe me when I tell you, a cover really does matter. As an experienced blogger and book reviewer over at Coffee and Characters, covers make a difference on whether a reader is going to pick up your book and give it a try.
For interior design and formatting, this will vary but my book was $150. Then add in an additional $60 because I found typos in the book that I had to have later corrected.
Editing can get very very spendy, especially if done correctly. I personally feel that each book needs 3 round. How you divide these is up to you, Maybe you need 2 rounds of line editing and one round of proofing. Maybe a round of developmental edits, a round of line editing, and one round of proofing. Each MS will vary but for me I believe in the rule of 3 and here is why…Because 2 didn’t cut it. My book went through two rounds, I though we were good to go. I sent it to my formatter, got the file back, read the first four chapters and had to hid my head against my desk. I needed another round of proofing. It was a hard pill to swallow not only because it delayed me in having viable eARCs but also because it cost extra for another proofer and then to have the formatting redone. As I said, editing prices will vary but plan for $600 if not more. Each editor charges a different rate. Some per word, some per page and some a flat rate. The two editors I used for the 3 rounds of editing charges a per word rate.
Marketing: So this is where it can get confusing because well, what do you do? As a blogger I know I should have a blog tour and maybe a release blitz. Send out eARCs and talk about my book on social media but being a self-published author isn’t easy and many sites won’t touch you or your book with a ten foot pole so how do you break through? You hire someone. That’s what I did. I hired the lovely gals over at RockStar PR who thus far have organized a review event, release day event, and promo event in addition to having me featured on Under the Covers for an xmas promo, on I Scream books for an author promo, and have scheduled a feature with USA Today Online as well as Maryse’s Book Blog. So far, I would say it is money well spent but this is all pre-release so we shall see if it actually helps with sales. Either way, I decided to go big or go home. I didn’t want to wonder if my book would have book more successful had I done A, B, or C, so I just did them all to cover my basis. How much has marketing cost you may want to know…well so far we are looking about $2000 and that includes having the book added to Netgalley and yes you read that right. Two Grand…I did mention self-publishing was EXPENSIVE…right?
So now we shall discuss distribution. How do you get your book up on all of those websites? You do it the hard, long way and upload them all yourself and figure out how the heck you are going to get an ISBN number, or you hire a site like draft2digital who takes 10% of your earnings, or INscribe who charges a flat rate. I’ve been told it’s $50 per tile plus $5 for the ISBN but I don’t know for sure since it is not advertised on their website. I have an email out though so we shall see because it does say they prefer authors with 5 or more titles and I have, well, one so who knows. They may not even be an option for me.
Distribution leads me to question the Kindle Unlimited program and whether it would be a viable option for me. There has been so much discussion about KU and many authors hate it, they think it devalues their work, that they’ll make less money, yada yada, and much of that may be true but here is how I see it. Lets be realistic for a moment and realize that the majority of book sales likely occur on Amazon. I’ve yet to speak to an author who sells more through other retailers than they do on Amazon. KU might mean less money per book (still more than you’d get through traditional publishing) than if you did not enroll but it also opens you up to a ton more readers. Would I rather sell less books but make more money per sale or sell more books making a bit less per sale? Rachel Aaron has a great post about KU and how it was a no-brainer for her. I’m not sure where I stand on it quit yet but I am curious and it would make distribution a heck of a lot easier because you only have one site to worry about, only one place you have to leave your bank info on. Thats just my thought though.
So this ends my rambling regarding the beginnings of self-publishing. I’m sure I will discover much more I wish I would have known before once the book releases but for now, I’ve learned that it is expensive as heck but you’ve got to be in it to win it. Without GREAT risk, you will not have great reward.
It is an absolute must to have a quality cover, quality editing, quality formatting (lets be honest, this is a pet peeve for many) and you need to figure out how to get your book in the hands of readers. No easy feat.