My Experience with Self Publishing

You do not know me, and you have probably never read any of my other works. These are most likely the first words you have read with my name attached but I am the author of two books that are sold at Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Walmart.com, etc. I am a self-published author, which at times feels like being a ridiculously small drop of water in a vast ocean. I love to write, and I am truly passionate about it, so it only makes sense that I would want to share that with the world. I hope to someday make a career out of being a writer, but the true success of a livable wage seems to come from trial and error so here we are. Me a self-published author waiting for someone to grace me with a click and read my latest book, and you a reader wanting to learn more about self-publishing.

So here is the God’s honest truth.

To be successful as a self-published writer, I believe you need to have an inherited readership and/or enough money stashed up to advertise the heck out of your perfectly curated copy as possible. I started with neither and still struggle with both aspects as many will. Sure, at times I may be able to kick a couple of dollars to advertising or get a complimentary review, but it is not possible to grow these things organically overnight. I know that if I am going to be successful as an author, it is going to take time and a lot of unwavering effort. When I was ready to publish my first book, I did a ton of research and chose to publish on Kindle Direct Publishing. Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is linked to Kindle and Amazon, and anyone can freely submit their copy for print-on-demand publishing. This is a good aspect of the company because writers will not be stuck purchasing or housing a ton of copy upfront. A royalty for each copy sold whether it be an e-book, paperback, or hardcover is calculated subtracting printing costs. Authors can choose their own pricing based on printing costs for their book. This is a helpful system when calculating profit margins and ACOS. ACOS or cost of sale is important in terms of advertising farther down the road. This concept helps you calculate how much advertising it takes to get sales, and in turn create more organic growth for your book.

I have enjoyed my experience with Kindle Direct Publishing for many reasons. Firstly, many modern publishing houses are in it for themselves, and it is easy to be scammed by sharks in the water as a self-published author looking for exposure. KDP allows an author control over their title, copyrights, designs, pricing, and marketing. It is the easiest way to not only learn about the publishing industry but get your work out there which can be a sense of fulfillment on its own.

As someone who has published two books on KDP Select, which provides distribution to many other companies and marketplaces, the biggest type I would give a “newbie” is to grow their audience, create a budget, market your book to local stores, and create a budget that fits your lifestyle. Your biggest expenses should be advertising and rights. You want to make sure you are selling something you are proud of. In my experience, many writers will pay lots of money for their book to be edited by someone with a quick turnaround and a large resume. Finding someone familiar with your genre is more important than turnaround and having a large resume does not always prove quality. Again, a lot of lessons learned by a self-published author will be learned by trial and error. Do not get down on yourself if your first project is not as good as future projects, not all your work will be up to your standards as you learn and earlier projects will show your trajectory as a writer.

In all, I would recommend that aspiring writers try their hand at self-publishing. If anything, the lessons learned through your publishing experience and your writing growth are worth it.

If you enjoyed this article or would like to check out some of my self-published projects click the links below.

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