You put your heart and soul into it, and you’ve finally finished writing your first book. Now comes the next step; publishing it. But rather than pitch your book to multiple agents, you may choose to self-publish your book. Self-publishing has its own unique process, so here’s everything you need to know.
You Have Full Control Over Everything
One of the most advantageous things about self-publishing is that you have control over the entire process. From the content you wrote to choosing a design for the book cover, to the web tools and services you use for promoting your projects. it’s all determined by you. You can even get in contact with designers and editors who can offer insight and suggestions, but the final say ultimately goes to you. If you do choose to hire some outside help such as content editor, make sure you’re thorough as you search.
Note, however, that having control of everything may sometimes cloud your judgment and give you a distorted bias. It’s always better to have another set of eyes to look into what you have done to know you’re publishing an excellent book.
You’ll Be in Charge of the Finances
Although it may be tempting to rush in and self-publish your book as soon as possible, you need to pace yourself. Being in control of the whole process also means you’re responsible for financing it too. While self-publishing your book isn’t free, it’s not always expensive either. The amount you have to pay depends on a number of things, which the length of your book, the editing process and designing a book cover.
Some authors may spend as little as $50 to $100 to self-publish while others take it a step further and spend as much as $5,000 or more. If you want to go all out, you’ll need to be prepared. A great way to get the money you need is to get a life settlement. A life settlement is an alternative method of selling your life insurance policy. Rather than simply giving it back to your insurance company, you instead sell it to a third party. The third party then gives you a lump sum of money that’s determined by the value of your policy. If you’d like to learn more, you can read an online blog to help you determine how much your policy is worth.
Even if you have the initial capital to fund your book, remember that it would be wise to project your expenditures and personal financial needs. You should have set your goal from the get-go and established your objective for doing this endeavor. Additionally, you might need to price your work smartly, ensuring you’ll have ROI at the expected date.
Furthermore, in this age of digital dominion, safeguarding your literary treasures takes the spotlight. Just like a knight guards their realm, writers too need to be the keepers of their work’s fortress. Imagine your words as precious gems, deserving a secure vault amidst the cyber jungle. What’s the key to this vault? Strong, unique passwords that are as tough as a fortress gate. But wait, there’s more! To thwart even the craftiest of hackers, enlist the trusty two-factor authentication as your virtual guardian angel.
Publishing is Guaranteed
Remember how we said you don’t have to go through various agents to get published? When you are adding up the pros and cons, that’s another benefit of self-publishing. You see, there’s an entire process surrounding getting a book published the old-fashioned way. You’ll have to look through a long list of agents, in addition to writing a book proposal and submitting it for review. If all goes well, you can then send your book to a publisher. If you dream of publishing a book one day, have comfort in knowing that in today’s world, nothing is impossible. As long as you’re willing to dive into it a hundred percent, you will be successful. Nothing’s stopping you from achieving this bullet on your bucket list. And if you take the self-publishing route, you will have the liberty of designing a book cover to your preference.
However, you’d be amazed at how critical some of agents and publishers can be. Because of their biased perspectives, getting your book published this way can be an uphill battle. Self-publishing eliminates the risk of being rejected by multiple clearinghouses. These days, you could even self-publish your book online without any of the hassle involved with traditional publishing. Platforms such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kindle Direct Publishing allow users to quickly and easily publish their creations with just a few clicks.
It would be best to market your work well, especially on social media, to successfully sell it. Today’s digital world makes it easy for you to reach as many people. Social platforms have billions of users you can tap, so you need to have a game plan and pick the best platform to showcase your work.
