Intro to Self-Publishing with Chris Eboch (for SCBWI-Houston, 9/13/2021)
Who Should Self Publish:
• Traditionally published authors who
want to make out-of-print titles available again.
• Published authors who wish to release
books in a series that a publisher has dropped.
• Professional writers who have a book
that doesn’t suit the current market, but may still find a modest audience.
• People who have a marketing platform
for distributing their books, e.g. they do a lot of speaking on a professional
topic and can sell books at their talks (best for nonfiction).
• Amateur writers who want to make a
title available in print form for their family, such as memoirs or family
genealogy, or a child’s favorite story.
• First-time authors who have studied
writing for several years and gotten professional feedback on their manuscript,
who also:
• want
complete control of the publishing process
• prefer
the work of self-publishing to the work of researching and querying publishers
• enjoy
marketing and have experience with it
• and/or
feel they don’t have time to wait on the traditional publishing industry
Advantages:
You retain all
rights to your work. You can earn more per copy sold.
You get to make
decisions about cover art, pricing, content -- basically everything.
If the book does extremely
well, you may interest a traditional publisher.
You get to see
your book in print in a few months, instead of several years if ever.
Disadvantages:
You get no advance. You may sell few copies
and make hardly any money -- ever.
You have to make all the decisions about
cover art, pricing, content -- basically everything.
A poorly written/edited/designed book can
hurt your reputation as an author.
To produce a professional-quality book, you
will have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars and dozens or hundreds of
hours of time. You have no marketing support from a publisher.
Your book will not be available in
bookstores.
Steps to Self-Publishing:
•
Write and
edit a book. Edit it some more. Get professional critiques and edit again.
•
Write any
front/back matter: title page, illustrated by, summary, dedication,
acknowledgments, “other books by,” authors note, bio, etc. (You can follow the
format in other books).
•
Hire a
professional copy editor and approve/reject their suggestions.
•
Hire an
illustrator. Make sure you understand whether you are getting only cover art,
or complete cover design with title and (for print on demand) spine and back of
book. What rights are you buying?
•
Upload,
publish.
•
Publicity and
marketing.
Resources:
Download Chris’s Indie Publishing
Worksheet: https://chriseboch.com/for-writers/
David Gaughran: books, videos, a
newsletter, and a free courses on self-publishing: https://davidgaughran.com/
Jane Friedman: blog and newsletter with a
focus on business: https://www.janefriedman.com/
Darcy Pattison: a blog focused on SP
children’s books: https://www.darcypattison.com/category/publishing/
Roxie Munro: a blog focused on SP
children’s books (not recently updated):
IBPA: Independent book publishers Association (news, discounts on services): https://www.ibpa-online.org/
Learn more at chriseboch.com or her Amazon page, or check out her writing tips at her Write Like a Pro! blog.
