Have you self published before or are looking at self publishing in the future?

[Quinn]

Hi all, has anybody self published their work before?

I have researched it extensively, so I'm aware of the pros and cons to the process. I'm just interested in other people's thoughts and experiences

So, who has self published before? And what was your experience?
Or, are you currently looking at self publishing yourself? If so, what your current thoughts?
Or are you an aspiring self publisher for the future, and just getting your plan together? Is so, please share

Thank you

[Arrogantstep367]

I self-published a book which some of my friends told me was brilliant, but I've never believed it was good enough. It's available on Smashwords.com. It's been there since 2010. I have sold two copies.

In September I began self-publishing the novel I'm currently working on. I originally intended to serialize it, thinking the serialization would help me set deadlines for myself and hit them. I quickly saw that wasn't going to work and took the book down from Amazon and Createspace. Now I'm hoping to have a completed novel ready for self-publication within two months.

I have mapped out a thirteen-novel paranormal series. I already have chapters completed in four of the successive novels and I have outlines of varying detail prepared for the rest of the stories as they detail the collapse of human civilization due to a convergence of paranormal threats. Beginning this year, 2014, I intend to release two or three novels a year in this series.

I have a number of friends who are also involved in self-publishing, though none of them is making enough money to live off of yet.

In my opinion, a few things are required for success in self-publishing.

1. Good/commerically viable writing. You sell books primarily by word of mouth. Someone reads your story and it resonates with them enough that they recommend it to friends.

2. Branding. People develop an expectation of the sort of story they're going to get from you. That's what will compel people to buy multiple stories from you. It's highly unlikely that by writing *one* good self-published novel, you're going to enjoy financial success. The people who make the most money self--publishing do it by writing either series fiction or by writing consistently within one genre. The more books you have available, the more likely it is that someone will come across your writing, enjoy it, and look for other works by you. People who like one book are eager for the next one because they expect more of the same.

3. Internet marketing. You have to have a means of getting the word out that your book exists when there are literally MILLIONS of books available on Amazon.com.

4. Real-world marketing. You need to have a marketing plan for your novel(s) beyond just Twitter acounts or blogs or what have you.

So that's my take on self-publishing. Check back with me in two years and I'll tell you how it's gone for me. Until I've had success, all these ideas may just be pipedreams.

[Steven J Pemberton]

I've self-published four novels, three fantasy and one sci-fi (see my profile for details) and will be publishing another fantasy later this year.

Before I self-published, I tried to get an agent, but had no luck there. I haven't sold as many copies or got as many reviews as I would've liked, but overall, I've no regrets. I'm making more money and reaching more readers than I ever did the traditional way.

What I like most about self-publishing is the freedom to write what I want, how I want it. I don't have to worry about whether the book fits with an agent's or editor's notion of what will be popular in two years (which would be when the book would come out if they wanted it). I don't have to put up with crappy covers or lack of marketing support. (Not saying the covers I have now are great, but I can easily change them if I want to.) I don't have to worry about some pointy-haired sales executive deciding that my last book didn't sell fast enough, so they want me to wrap up the series in the next book, forcing me to cram everything I wanted to put into three books into one.

[Jonnie Comet]

Rule 1: Never pay to have your work published. The so-called 'publisher' will regard YOU as their customer (since you paid them) and be perfectly content to keep advertising to you (their customer) all sorts of marketing schemes to 'promote' your book whilst remaining content to not sell (nor even print) the books themselves. (This is why it's called 'vanity publishing'. And why vanity is a sin!) This will preclude Lulu, PublishAmerica and PublishBritain, WaveCloud, Dorrance and many more.

I belong to a small writers' cooperative-- we are authors, scholars, editors, instructors who edit, publish and promote each other's work. We chose CreateSpace, by Amazon (actually my idea!). This scheme automatically gets you top-choice placement in Amazon, Kindle and other programmes. It enables very simple uploading of '-.pdf' content and unlimited updates, revisions, new editions, and so on. It provides you with an author page and plenty of opportunity to create discussion boards and other promotional devices. They pay up to 35% of the list price (up to 70% on Kindle) when most big-name publishers (if you can ever even get accepted by them) pay 15%. It presents you with very good-looking hard-copy (trade paperback) product or Kindle e-texts. And it costs... nothing. Nada. Not a farthing.

The secret to the CS programme is that they (Amazon) view their vast network of customers as their customers. They need your work to sell something in order to make money. They want you to submit something, to enter all the marketing outlets, because this is what they do: sell books. And they get results.

Best of all, the CS/Amazon platform represents an excellent start in marketing, which is really the very toughest part of the whole process. You can send people your Amazon page link whenever you approach them and advertise your book. But make no mistake-- the FACT remains that, whether you are represented by an expensive and exclusive Park Avenue agent, published by a big-name publisher and stocked at Barnes & Noble or just hawking your own wares on the pavement, YOU are still responsible for about 98% of all promotion and marketing of your work. Even the big publishing houses will ignore you, even if they signed you. So why waste the time, effort and money on those other schemes if it's all down to you after all?

More to the point: I receive monthly cheques from my book-sales royalties. It's more than enough to require me to file US tax returns. I'd like to be making a little more than I am now; but, again, that's down to me-- and I'm working on it all the time. I've found that more is more-- I currently have about 60 titles listed on Kindle.

All that said, I cannot stress enough that your finished product, the book you write, has to be truly worthy of any publication. Study others' work to see good examples. Edit the whole thing to within a breath of its life. Beat yourself up over every small error in it-- and fix them all. Accept nothing from yourself but the best. Taking any effort at all to promote a poorly-prepared text is just a waste of your time-- and much else, for it will colour your name in the marketplace as a nitwit who can't write. So write well-- and prepare to do plenty of good, old-fashioned hard labour into the bargain.

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[Jennifer]

I'm in the process of writing my book for self publishing and like you I did some researching into the subject before I even started the writing. Diabolically Devilish's opinions are pretty standard in that many first time self-publishers don't see much sales. I thought long about this - I mean, what are the chances that I hit the jackpot on my first attempt? I would love to of course, but I really can't expect it.
I finally still went ahead because the book that I am writing is very close to my heart. I would like to make some money out of it if possible, but that is not the primary reason for me to write it. So if your book is very close to you, then go ahead and write it. Just make sure that it is the best that you can turn out. It's not a question of whether the world repays you for your effort or not, but in whether you are satisfied with your book at the end. If you are, then that's all that matters.