Self Publishing Thread

[themental]

We have a huge thread for querying agents which I love dropping into. I realise most of the lovely people here are pursuing the traditionally published route, but we often get new posts from people interested in independent publishing, so I thought I'd start a thread for that.

This month I am about to launch a new pen name. So I thought I'd post about how I go about researching what to write, researching how to market it, how to set up a new name, how to write a good book FAST, rapid release, mailing lists, advertising, promotions, strategies etc.

Hopefully some of this might be helpful whatever way you publish (because I hear trad authors are increasingly expected to take on the marketing load) - and I'm hoping others will share their tips and advice too .

Some caveats that are probably important...

SP shouldn't be seen an alternative to TP. If you have a book that you think should be traditionally published, it's probably not a good idea to self publish that book (because you can't get an agent or whatever). Well, you can switch, but it is always always going to be easier to start with self publishing in mind - and hopefully the why behind that becomes clear when you research the market. There are books that should be trad published and books that should be indie published.

Also...

I'm not an expert not do I claim to be. I often get PMs asking me the basics so this is a place to direct people and save me writing the same stuff loads of times (not that I grudge it AT ALL!). And hopefully the collective wisdom will be better than one person's opinion.

With that said, welcome 🙏🏻 (that's me praying people actually come haha)

I'm interested in this! I am about to be trad published but I would certainly consider SP or hybrid in the future so am v interested.

@LouisaMayAlcott thank you for popping in! I know a few authors who are hybrid and it seems like it can be the best of both worlds.

My friend got a deal with Montlake last year and said it really opened his eyes to how intense the trad route can be in comparison with the indie route. He has gone back to indie now but I still cross my fingers that one day Montlake will notice me 😂

I wanted to share this completely free course called "Finish you F - ing Manuscript Masterclass"

https://millionaire-author-coaching.teachable.com/p/finish-your-f-ing-book

It's very quick and includes 10 hacks for tricking your brain into getting more writing done.

I personally do the writing down your deadline ten times a day, and the typing on your phone and trying to fit an extra thousand words in. Good useful stuff in there

Thank you, @themental. I find your posts here and on other threads really helpful.

Watching with interest. Hoping to self publish my first novel later this year and currently working on a second. Definitely the indie route for me, however, I did try a few agents (not enough) but then felt happier going along the self publishing route. I have devised myself a pen name and as I am planning a few blogs would also like to have a website (more as a hobby). My book has been professionally copy edited and is now with an artist for cover design. Exciting to see what cover might materialize especially as I felt extremely emotional when copy editor put my book in 5 x 8 format. A friend will help me upload it- paperback form and e-book (kindle) onto Amazon. An author list was suggested but I haven't totally worked out what this is, though I am a bit apprehensive about using direct marketing tools. Other ways to get your book out there? My local county writers network has offered to publicise the book to members but I'm obviously interested to hear about any other suggestions.

Sorry, meant to say - thank you the mental, for starting this thread.

Daphnesmate, are you on Twitter? I find that is the best social media for creating a buzz about my book. I follow lots of writers and retweet others so that they will retweet me. And always keep my pinned tweet relevant.

No Louisa, I'm not on twitter. I'm not sure I can use facebook either because I am using a pen name, so no point linking it to my 'real' facebook page.

Daphnes,

Being positive, you've got a pseudonym and plan to launch later in the year so you have time to plan. Create and regularly update your pseudonym's footprint in Facebook (why would not linking to your IRL Facebook stop you using it for your pseudonym?), Twitter and elsewhere. Learn what you don't currently know how to do. Build an email list of people you agree to be contacted when you publish your first and subsequent novels.

Good luck.

Zilla. I want anonymity, at least at first, hence using a pseudonym. I don't think you can use fake social media accounts can you?

@Daphnesmate01 you definitely can.

I have three facebooks, my own personal one and one for each of my pen names. One has a page for running ads and a reader's group, the other one just has a page.

There's a bit of disagreement on where it falls on FBs T&Cs. On one hand, they can legitimately ask you to verify your name with forms of ID... but I have heard of authors just explaining they are know to fans as "Jenny Jones" and linking their Zon page, and FB accepts that.

That said... it really depends on genre on wether FB will be worth it. Even in romance which is arguably the most engaged audience, most people agree that social media is the sprinkles on top of the marketing cake.

Your absolute best bet is to get started on a newsletter / mailing list. I know you raised concerns above about direct marketing, but that's a very normal part of running a business. Try to shift your mindset into thinking that readers actually want to be alerted to your new releases. You're not going to spam them, by signing up they agree to wanting to hear from you.

Try the book Newsletter Ninja and see how you feel

themental hope you don't mind me asking but how do you build a mailing list?

@HeIsAVeryBadBoy

A mailing list can be a bit of a chicken and egg type thing, because the best way to build one is by utilising the front and back matter of your already published books.

So in each of my books I give my readers only two options (that's important because people are programmed to like no choices OR at most two choices - anymore and you risk loosing them). Do you want to read this book by me that is like the book you just read, or do you want to sign up for my mailing list?

I will usually entice them to do so with a free novella, or in some cases a bonus scene. Some genres lead themselves to bonus scenes better than others (example for romance would be a 5 year later scene). For fantasy, your magnet could be a companion guide, a map of the land. For non-fiction, a cheat sheet summary or a free exercise relating to the subject?

You are basically giving them something valuable in exchange for a sign up - and you do this by putting your 'magnet' on a site called Bookfunnel, and then linking it in the back of your book.

But if you've not yet published you can still get started on a mailing list!

The easiest way is to create a reader magnet like I mentioned above. This could be a short prequel story, a companion guide, some backstory on one of the side characters. Or it could be the first 3 or 5 chapters of your novel (try to find a nice cliffhanger). You'd put the magnet onto a site like Bookfunnel, and start engaging in cross-promotion with other authors in your genre.

For the actual nuts and bolts I use MailerLite (other hosts are available ) I won't go into the nitty gritty as the collective knowledge of google will likely serve you better than me, but I hope some of that helps.

That is genuinely very helpful, thank you.

I've self published one book but it hasn't sold many. I'm now self-publishing another in another genre and I can easily add a '5 years later' section. Thank you for the tip!

I've had two books published by traditional publishers and that went really well, but I want more royalties Problem is that my two new books are under pseudonym so nobody has ever heard of these two fictional writers. So getting started is tricky. Your tips should help enormously, thank you :)

Everything seems to come at a cost. Are there any free avenues? I don't expect to sell many copies (perhaps I have the wrong expectation) but the book will probably appeal to specific people. Perhaps I could try and get a book review or two undertaken by organisations who already have websites...don't know a possibility? Also, I'm not a prolific author and although I am working on a second novel/novella, it might take a couple of years for me to perfect it.

I've just started the millionaire-coaching course, on your recommendation. Initially I found her a bit abrasive, but, once you get used to her, and the format, it's very good. She also has lots of good recommendations - I'm just listening to Brain.FM, and loving it. Has anyone else tried it?
Anyway, thanks for the tip - I feel very encouraged.

Bit confused as to whether the millionaire coaching course if free?

if you go on the site, you'll see that some courses are free and some aren't. Worth having a look, I think.

Thank you for this thread!

Wanted to ask a couple of questions OP as I have written a novel and preparing to SP:

1. After your first book, how quickly should you release a second?

2. Does word count matter as much? In trad publishing we get given certain guidelines. My first book is 80k but second 50k, would that upset readers?

3. Can you proof read yourself, or is it better to get software/ another party? If so who else?

4. Heard you should give away your first book for free to create a buzz. Can you do that on Amazon?

5. Is it best to be exclusive with Amazon to get yourself in KU?

@Fishypants

1. After your first book, how quickly should you release a second?

There are three speeds when it comes to indie publishing. Fast would be every two weeks. Normal would be every month. And then the slower ranges would be 6 weeks +

The reason for this is the amazon algorithm definitely gives you a boost for the first 30 days (you'll be showing up in hot new releases) so if you CAN capitalise on this by using a rapid release strategy then it's a really good idea to do that.

But the actual answer is to be consistent. If you can manage monthly then great, if it's every 3 months, then stick to it. I wouldn't suggest doing 6 weeks, then three months, then 2 weeks etc. You want to be releasing reliably at whatever speed you choose.

2. Does word count matter as much? In trad publishing we get given certain guidelines. My first book is 80k but second 50k, would that upset readers?

No word count doesn't matter as much. Try to stick with what is the normal for your genre. So a 200k book wouldn't be normal in a genre romance but 50-80k would be. Similarly a 50k book is probably going to be sniffed at in epic fantasy.

3. Can you proof read yourself, or is it better to get software/ another party? If so who else?

This will depend on your own skills and your budget and your patience level. If proofing yourself I recommend one round with a text to speech app, because your eyes will skip over errors due to your brain already knowing what you were supposed to have written. Then upload the book to your kindle / phone and give it a final read. Now I get 2 other people to proofread for me because the whole process used to take me a whole day, so it made sense. My proofreaders are my grandma and another superfan, but you can find professional proofreaders online.

4. Heard you should give away your first book for free to create a buzz. Can you do that on Amazon?

Yes you can. There are two ways of doing free books. The first would be a permafree. You do this by uploading the book to wide platforms via Draft2Digital (so itunes, nook etc) and setting it free on those stores, then you get amazon to price match.

The other way is by enrolling into kindle unlimited and doing a kindle countdown deal. You get 5 KCD deals over a 90 day period, so you can set to free, or 99c and still keep your 70% royalty rate.

But... it's important to use these tactics wisely.

Free books get between 10 and 100 times the downloads that paid books get. So you need to have a plan to 1) increase the audience and 2) capture that increased audience.

For a free run, I would promo stack some paid newsletters (like FreeBooksy etc) so my free book is ranking high in the store. Then I'd make sure my free book had utilised front and back matter so that it's directing readers to sign up for my newsletter, and so that it's directing readers to the next book in my series (if the book isn't out yet, then make sure you have book 2 on preorder).

The best way to use this strategy will be when book 2 is available, and you have an optimised mailing list.

5. Is it best to be exclusive with Amazon to get yourself in KU?

I personally really like KU, but this will depend on what you want to do with your career and what other authors in your genre are doing.

If your genre has high amounts of KU readers then it can be really lucrative because these readers are voracious, and much more willing to give a new author a chance if they're not having to spend real money.

It's also just much easier to learn the ropes in KU. You're dealing with one platform, one (the biggest) marketplace, and therefore one set of customers to market too. IMO it's best if authors learn the ropes in the KU, then go on to pursue a wide strategy once they have their launches, their newsletters, and their advertising strategy nailed.

Hope that helps!

It's the marketing side that I am most struggling with. As a new author and in general, I have low self esteem. I'm not good at selling myself. I have a feeling my book is just going to get lost in Amazon somewhere.

Thanks for starting this thread themental.

Thank you so much themental! Very informative.

Have one follow up question you wrote about "promo stack some paid newsletters" - sorry unfamiliar with the terms but what do you mean by this?

Does that mean paying for ads in newsletters in your marketing campaign for your book?

@Daphnesmate01

So there are two types of marketing.

You have Passive Marketing (PM in this comment) and Active Marketing (AM in this comment).

It sounds like you have hang ups over AM. And that's okay - in fact it's probably normal. I have something like 15 books under my belt and I've still only dabbled in AM because my PM is where I focus my efforts.

AM will ALWAYS be the sprinkles, the cherry, the icing etc on top of a really solid PM cake.

And that is where the PM comes in.

It's called passive because it's always there. Think about it this way... people are already looking for books. They're browsing the store every single day in search of new books.

Your PM is your niche, your keywords, your cover, your brand, your title, your blurb etc.

And it works a bit like a relay race.

I'm going to link you to a post on another forum to save me writing paragraphs of text, because it explains what PM is brilliantly!

Bear in mind that the most important form of marketing you will do involves no direct selling whatsoever.

https://www.reddit.com/r/eroticauthors/comments/eqodkt/passivemarketing/?utmmsource=share&utmmedium=iossapp&utm_name=iossmf

Also it's important to have realistic expectations. Barely anyone hits it out of the park on their first book. This isn't traditional publishing. You don't have a marketing department, a way into brick & mortar stores, and you probably don't have the types of budgets a massive publishing house does.

You need to learn the ins and outs of publishing all by yourself.

Sound difficult? Good. Because it is. If it wasn't, everyone would be doing it. But if you're willing to take the time to learn, to work hard, to build your own 'book house' one brick (book) at a time, then the rewards can be phenomenal. You'll keep all of your royalties. You'll have full control of your business. You'll have a customer base that you can sell to again and again.

But it is something that you build one book at a time. That really is the nature of indie publishing.

I hope that doesn't come across as harsh -- I just don't want you to think that you'll release one book and become an overnight success because I have never seen that happen. I'm sure it does happen to some people, but the chances are very small, and it's definitely better to shift your mindset now into thinking that this will be more of a mountain, and you'll have to keep working all the way to the top, picking up fans and getting bigger and better with each new book you launch.