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Anyone Ever Self-Publish?

Scripter

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Hi Everyone...

Got a new book ready. Sucide Note. Book one of a three part series. PM me for more information...

Book cover.jpg
 

CrimeWave

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Hi -
@DirtyFeetPete - I just registered today. Do I need to wait a required amount of time before I can ask for an invite to join the Creative Writers Group? I self publish and I would love to join the group.
Thanks
 

Poohbear6797

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Hello all I came across this post! I submitted my book for review to KDP through Amazon, hoping to have it released by the 17th of this month. I have some press releases coming out but I was wondering if there was any advice on what promotions worked for you! Thanks
 

SnowFlower

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I self-published an e-book and I am surprised that Amazon Kindle has it live in the store in less than 2 hours.
 

Moon9

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I self-publish on Amazon and Google Play. I did it free. I am not someone with money so I had to do the cover, the editing; everything, on my own.
Figuring out the mechanics is the easy part. What I find to be the most difficult is getting your writing in front of readers. Unless you already have a massive following, it is a huge undertaking. I haven't cracked the code yet.

Kindle vella has just come out and I have been publishing episodes on there. I have made more money doing that than I ever have uploading the full book and trying to sell ot to no one who knows me. Most of that money comes from the bonus which seems to get smaller and smaller the more writers show up to participate.

I highly suggest writers' groups on Facebook. I have found a lot of helpful info.

The process for me went like this.
Write a short story (I am honing my craft so I am starting small. I spent most of my youth as a runaway so I don't feel like I have an adequate education. I am in the practice stage.)
Create a cover using canva (it is free)
Edit using Grammarly, and people around me who are willing to glance it over.
Upload the manuscript, cover, etc to the bookshelf. Set your settings. (Ebook Price, print price, whether or not you want to be in KDP select, etc.)
Preview and publish. It says 72 hours, but typically mine publish in about 14 hours.

After that I post about it on social media and hope for the best.
If you create a print copy you will have to preview it before publish. You can choose doing it online or you can order a proof copy. Highly suggest getting the hand-held copy.. This way you can make sure your cover and the font and everything is how you want it.

Biggest piece of advice...
Market and network well before you publish. Don't wait until a few days before you publish.
 
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Malahaha

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I have self-published one book as of today, my rewrite of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It sells a fewcopies evry month, but I never expected more. It's a labour of love and wasn't meant to be commercial.

On the other hand, I am all set to self-publish a novel next week. It's a new edition of a novel published by Bookouture; their title was The Lost Daughter of India. I have given it a new title, a new cover, and am right now revising the content so that it's a better book.
I would not normally self-publish as I am very bad at promoting myself/mybooks. But as this one was published before, and as I do have a readership for my other books, I'm quite excited about this one. I'll post here when it's ready to go.
 
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JessesGIrl

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Self publishing is a lot easier process now than it was when this thread began. I am self-publishing a book, and it has been a relatively painless process with only minor hiccups.

I sought out developmental and line editing on reedsy, used a royalty-free stock photo for commercial use and hired a design studio to put together a cover on fiverr. Then, I found another artist on fiverr to do mockups of my cover. All these hiring out of services is adding up, honestly, but I feel it's worthy investment. You have control in a way that you don't if you let an outside publisher do all the leg work. The downside is you assume all the financial risk, too.
I agree with this comment. It's relatively easier to self-publish now. However, the financial risk is high (imho). I've read so many self-help books for indie authors/publishers and gathered so much advice and still, I've come nowhere close to breaking even on my book profits since I started this venture. For me, it can get frustrating or leave me wondering if I'm a good writer or not. Maybe I'm just not a good businesswoman. It seems too easy for others, but I'm not getting anywhere. No matter how hard I've tried. Lately, I've been thinking of pursuing traditional publishing. At least I wouldn't have so much financial risk on my shoulders and I can just focus on writing.

So far I've self-published five works and one Kindle Vella. I've recently unpublished three of the books (a series) and I'm currently choosing to write under a new penname.
 
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SnowFlower

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I agree with this comment. It's relatively easier to self-publish now. However, the financial risk is high (imho). I've read so many self-help books for indie authors/publishers and gathered so much advice and still, I've come nowhere close to breaking even on my book profits since I started this venture. For me, it can get frustrating or leave me wondering if I'm a good writer or not. Maybe I'm just not a good businesswoman. It seems too easy for others, but I'm not getting anywhere. No matter how hard I've tried. Lately, I've been thinking of pursuing traditional publishing. At least I wouldn't have so much financial risk on my shoulders and I can just focus on writing.

So far I've self-published five works and one Kindle Vella. I've recently unpublished three of the books (a series) and I'm currently choosing to write under a new penname.

Well I have been doing self-publishing at zero cost. I know that's bad. But I truly don't have the funds to invest into it. So when I get a sale here and there and few hundred pagereads, I am thankful. If I had the funds, I would be doing Amazon ads for sure.
 
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I agree with this comment. It's relatively easier to self-publish now. However, the financial risk is high (imho). I've read so many self-help books for indie authors/publishers and gathered so much advice and still, I've come nowhere close to breaking even on my book profits since I started this venture. For me, it can get frustrating or leave me wondering if I'm a good writer or not. Maybe I'm just not a good businesswoman. It seems too easy for others, but I'm not getting anywhere. No matter how hard I've tried. Lately, I've been thinking of pursuing traditional publishing. At least I wouldn't have so much financial risk on my shoulders and I can just focus on writing.

So far I've self-published five works and one Kindle Vella. I've recently unpublished three of the books (a series) and I'm currently choosing to write under a new penname.

If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your genre and who is your target audience? Also, are your covers professionally designed and your MS professionally edited?

It can take a while to gain traction for sure, so I wouldn’t go too hard on yourself.
 

Curvy Jones

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Im a self published author. I’m writing book 12. It’s… a lot. I do everything myself just about. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The amount of control I have over every aspect of my books… I cant see giving that up for a raggedy advance and to not have a choice in stuff like how much my book costs and what my cover looks like.
 

LBLogan

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So far, I've self-pubbed three books. One, I've since unpublished and I intend to rewrite it before releasing it again.

I just finished a new book and now I'm querying agents. However, the process is long and there are no guarantees I'll get an agent or a deal. I'm seriously thinking about self-publishing it, instead.

My biggest issue with self-publishing is the expense of it all. Editors, book covers, advertising, translations... it all adds up and can be hard to break even, much less make a profit.

I've heard 30 books is the sweet spot where self-publishing begins to pay off. I've got a ways to go, lol.
 

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