I joined an online writing group a few weeks ago. I haven't really participated, just lurked reading other members' posts and learning. The group seems to be really supportive of each other regardless of what you write. Fiction, non-fiction, if you ghost write for someone else or if you write for yourself, what genre you write in, none of that matters. If you have a question about pretty much anything writing, research, or promotional related, odds are someone will have an answer or point you in the right direction to find what you're looking for.
The majority of the group are self-published authors. While I haven't been leaning that way myself, all the posts make me wonder if I shouldn't give it a try. I have two books that I can get my rights back on and could then tweak them a bit and publish them myself.
What's holding me back is that I know next to nothing about the mechanics of self-publishing. I have no idea how to format the manuscript, how to upload it to the various platforms such as Amazon, IBooks, Kobo and all the rest. I would also have to have new covers made for both books because the covers are owned by my publisher. While I could probably do the covers myself, I don't want them to look amateurish and turn off any potential readers. I know there's the old saying about not judging a book by its cover, but I think we all do it to a certain extent.
I'm certain I could learn how to format the manuscript, upload it, and all that entails, but I don't know if I have the time. I'd have to take time away from writing and goodness knows, it's taking me forever, and I do mean forever, to get my current work in process into publishable shape, that I really don't want to sacrifice the time to learn how to self-publish right now. There is the option of hiring someone (or a company) to format everything, make new covers, and get the book up for purchase on all the different platforms, but I don't think my budget can withstand the costs especially now that I had to lease a car as the old one was on its last legs needing over $1,000 in repairs and probably was only worth that much.
So while I'm working away at getting my current manuscript in tip top shape, I'll think I'll shelve the idea of self-publishing for a while. Meanwhile, I'll continue to lurk (or maybe even participate) in the writer's group and keep learning what I can about the process.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'd say go for it. But I've been doing it for years. It's a learning curve, but there are many of us around (and on Facebook and so forth) that can help you out. Formatting the manuscript can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it. You can do it in word or calibre if you want to get really fancy and tweak code, but you don't have to (I just do because I'm a nerd. ;)). And as for uploading, that's not hard at all with KDP and Draft2Digital. There are tons of great cover artists out there. Some of it takes time and is a learning curve, yes, but you can learn to do it, Katherine. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Juli. I am leaning toward at least trying it. Maybe once summer is over. Summer seems to be the busiest time of the year for my family, other than December. I may reach out once I'm ready to really put some effort into learning the ins and outs.
Delete