Do's and Don'ts of Self-Publishing

The table below sets out a few tips I have put together following the self-publication of my book Into Dust and Other Strange Tales via CreateSpace and KDP. The book was published a year ago and it seems like a good time to reflect on the journey so far.

I'd love to hear from any other self-publishers out there - feel free to post comments on your own experiences, particularly if you have used a provider other than Amazon. Or perhaps you are thinking about taking the plunge yourself but have reservations?

​Beneath the table you will find two short YouTube videos which are well worth a peek. The first one, produced by Amazon, is an inspiring trip to the self-publishing stand at the London Book fair. To give a balanced view, I have also included 'Seven reasons why you shouldn't self-publish' by literary agent Piers Blofeld. Again, all views welcome. I am curious to know what you think.

​I'll be attending the course being run by Susan Elliot Wright and Russell Thomas in Sheffield on Saturday to answer questions about my experience self-publishing with Amazon. Hope to see you there! ​http://www.susanelliotwright.co.uk/p/workshops.html

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Do's	Don'ts
Your research.   If you ignore everything else, do this. Read, discuss and read some more. There is plenty of information available on the internet (CreateSpace, KDP, blogs, YouTube etc), in magazines, in books (e-books are a cheap option).    How much of it can you/do you want to do yourself? There are companies offering everything from a full package to a simple proofread. Will you create your own cover? Format the book yourself? Obviously the more you spend on production the more books you have to sell to cover your costs. But a poor cover or errors in the text will hurt sales. It’s about balance.   If you are not tech savvy and are using Amazon (there are other providers out there), use the Word template and Cover Creator tool available in CreateSpace.	Hand any money over to anyone EVER unless you are completely sure of what you are getting.   Ideally seek a recommendation from someone you trust. There are still people out there who will take your money and give you very little in return.
​ (like me!)·        Think carefully about your reasons for self-publishing.   If it is because your work has been rejected by agents and publishers, think hard about why it was rejected. Was it because it is not yet ready or because they do not believe it is marketable? Whatever the reason, try to understand it and think about how it will affect your self-published book.   Certain types of books are more likely to be successful than others. If, for example, you are producing genre fiction with a recurring main character and you can produce good quality novels on a regular basis then you have a better chance of selling your books than someone writing a one-off collection of short stories (like me!), for example.	​·        Set your expectations too high.   This isn’t the same as setting your standards high. Aim for a finished product which is as close to a traditionally published book as possible. But don’t expect too much sales-wise. Only a few make money out of self-publishing. Though that’s not to say yours won’t be one of those success stories we all love to read about.
​·     Give yourself plenty of time.   A couple of months, at least. Once you have been through the process you will probably be able to format and publish in an afternoon but for that first time, give yourself plenty of opportunity for checks and rechecks. There WILL be glitches!	​·     Use a cover design which screams ‘self-published’.   Either work out how to do it yourself using image manipulation software and professional images (which you will probably have to purchase – take a look at Shutterstock and istock) or pay someone to do it. And use a proper font. One that shows up clearly against the background and can be read when your image is reduced to thumbnail size. Take a look at the Font Squirrel website.
​·     Make sure you don’t infringe someone else’s copyright.   You won’t have the safety net of an agent or publisher to give your book the once over from a legal perspective so either make sure you are crystal clear on the law or play it safe. In particular, don’t use song lyrics or images unless you are sure that you are entitled to.	​·     Sit back and wait for the sales to roll in.   They won’t. If you are serious about this then you will have to do the leg-work. This means an on-line presence, perhaps regular blog-posts, appearing in local press, soliciting reviews, conducting readings at schools, writing groups etc.   Ideally have an online presence built up before you launch your book. But don’t ignore the power of local media and personal appearances and events. Obviously a cost/benefit analysis needs to be done and the more books you have to promote the more you will get back from each investment of time or money.   And you need to do all of this whilst writing the next book!
·        Reward yourself for each success, however small!   Be it a compliment from a reader or a sale. Celebrate steps forward and don’t dwell on set-backs unless you can learn something from them.	​·     Give up.   Ever. Full stop. If it is what you love then go for it. Your passion will come across and inspire others.   And you never know, you might be the next Kindle bestseller!