Questions about Self-Publishing

Questions about Self-Publishing

So you have written your book. The work is a masterpiece and you want to get rich and famous. Squeeze as much money out of it as possible. Make a million sales and then sell the film rights to holliywood!

Who can help you doing so? Of course, big publishing companies.

You submitted your book to a couple of publishers, already visiualizing the riches and fame. Unfortunately nobody is interested in publishing your book. No matter how good you try to sell it, you just can´t find a buyer.

As time passes you get desperate. You now have 3 options:

- – – Abandon the whole project and start all over again with a new book

- – – Be persistent in finding a publisher. Improve your business plan and sales presentation

- – – Take the long path of self-publishing

We are going to discuss important questions about self-publishing. There are a lot of dangers you need to be aware of. Before taking the self-publishing road you will also have to ask yourself a couple of very important questions. Please take your time to answer these questions honstely and in detail.

Reduce the Dangers of Self-Publishing

Question #1:

Have you taken the time to research both the traditional publishing process and the self-publishing process?

Did you come to the conclusion that self-publishing really is the way to go? Or do you feel like a conventional publisher is the better option. If so, perfect your book business plan, your sales pitch and try again. Over and over until you succeed. Otherwise read the other questions about self-publishing

Question #2:

Are you prepared to spend, and in the worst case even lose, money?

You need money to make money. This old saying is also applicable to self-publishing. You need to invest at least a little bit, even if you are a jack-of-all-trades. If you do everything on your own, the endproduct is going to be far from perfect. A good read on this would be Adam Smith´s theory of divided labour

Question #3:

Do you have enough time to self-publish your book?

Can you address all the tasks that need to be addressed, when they need to be addressed? Self-publishing takes a lot of time and work. Expect having to spend countless hours on promoting your book etc.

This brings us to Question #4:

Are you prepared to lose the time you spent self-publishing?

Losing money is not the only danger of self-publishing you will come across.

Question #5:

How much are you going to charge for your book?

This depends on how long your book is. Pricing will also affect royalities so make sure to inform yourself before setting the price. It´s highly recommended to adjust your price a couple of times, based on various factors like revenue, sales, rank, promotion time, etc

Question #6:

Can you handle editing and proofreading or are you in need of experts and freelancers?

If you are unsure on the definite answer, the answer is YES! Many statistics indicate that books with great covers, proper format and minimal errors sell much better.

Question #7:

Are you capable of reaching and selling your book to a broad audience?

Marketing is a huge factor and an even bigger area to master. You need to be an expert marketer in order to see you book selling. Having a marketing plan is mandatory. If you just go ahead with the mindset „I´ll post in a couple of forums and FB groups, let´s see what happens… que sera, sera“ you are planning to fail!

Question #9:

You posses enough enterpreneurial spirit?

Writing and self-publishing a book and keeping track of its progress is like managing a small company. You should write a business plan for example. Make yourself familiar with basic business rules and skills required to succeed.

Question #9:

Do you fully understand the entire publishing process?

So many questions about self-publishing arise… What about: Writing, Formating, Writing Style, Topics Covered, Formatting, Uploading, Marketing, Promotions, Price Setting, Price Adjusting, Niche Finding, Aduience & Keyword Research, Description, HTML, Platforms, Reviews, Dealing with Bad Reviews, Improving the Book, ISBN, Outlining, etc, etc, etc…

There is so much you need to know it´s almost not funny anymore. As a full-blooded writer the only detail you had to focus on was finding an idea and then writing your book. There are so many questions about self-publishing you need to answer to be successful. On the other hand if you can´t find a publisher, you will ultimately need to…

All of these questions will be answer in my blog, eBooks and courses though so don´t dispair!

If you have more questions about self-publishing and dangers of self-publishing feel free to contact me!

Questions about Self-Publishing