Chapter 30
Self-Publishing Your Novel
“My biggest word of advice to any new future writers thinking about diving into self-publishing: Edit.”
—Amanda Hocking
Self-published authors are their own publishers. All of the publishing tasks taken on and paid for by a traditional publishing house—editing, formatting, cover design, distribution, marketing, order fulfillment, and so on—fall to self-published authors or the freelancers they hire.
Self-publishing is fast and gives the author complete control over the finished product. Though self-published e-books tend to be priced lower than traditionally published books, the author takes a higher percentage of the revenue. Rates vary, but in a typical scenario the author’s royalty rate for an e-book published with a traditional publisher might be 25 percent; if self-published, that same e-book might return 65 percent to the author.
Here’s what mystery author Libby Fischer Hellmann, a “hybrid author” who self-publishes some of her novels and publishes others with a traditional press, has to say about being an indie author:
I am running a small business now, and I am very much aware of the bottom line. Most of my profit goes back into the business with additional marketing and promotion. That, in itself, is an overwhelming task, and it has taken valuable time away from my writing. I hire editors, copyeditors, and cover designers. I have a webmistress, a social media manager, and a street team. I also have four foreign translations that require a different type of promotion. Running a business also means figuring out what project should be indie published versus traditionally published.
This chapter provides an overview of self-publishing—a snapshot that comes with this caveat: The publishing business is changing rapidly. For authors who choose to pursue this route, I recommend that you research the options and services available when you are ready to go to press. Resources include Jane Friedman’s informative blog (janefriedman.com), which offers the latest information for self-published authors. Also refer to the online forum and author advice center hosted by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors (selfpublishingadvice.org). Writer Beware (www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware), hosted by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, devotes an entire section to self-publishing.
SELF-PUBLISHING: CONTROLLING IT ALL
A self-published author makes a host of key decisions about the published book. These include the format (print, digital) it will take, compatibility with which e-readers, the distribution channels, the sale price, and the type and breadth of marketing.
Some of the tasks a self-published author will need to perform (or hire out) include:
- editing and proofreading
- converting and formatting the text
- designing the book layout and cover
- promoting
This can seem overwhelming. Tools to support indie authors are evolving, and an entire cottage industry of services has sprung up to help authors who want to off-load some of the work.
Editing
Professional editing is the single most valuable investment indie authors can make in their self-published books. Hire a freelance editor when you have made the manuscript as literate and compelling and clean as you can get it.
Here are the levels of editing offered by professionals:
- Content editing: This type of editing looks at the big picture, critiquing the overall effectiveness of the storytelling, characterization, pacing, and narrative voice.
- Copyediting: This service edits sentences and paragraphs for clarity and flow, and corrects grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
- Proofreading: This is the final edit, the essential nitpicking to check the formatted manuscript for typos and spacing glitches.
One of the best ways to find a good freelance editor is through word of mouth. Ask indie authors whose work you admire, and browse KBoards (Kindle discussion boards) at kboards.com, for recommendations.
Converting and Formatting Text for E-books
To generate a clean, professional-looking book, most publishing services (like Smashwords, CreateSpace, or Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing) require that you unformat your Word file first. Follow the guidelines provided by whatever service you are using. After that, the book will need to be formatted and styled.
These are the most typical e-book formats:
- EPUB: The standard format for e-books, this works on most devices.
- MOBI: This is Amazon Kindle’s proprietary format.
- PDF: This format is fine for displaying on a computer but problematic on some e-readers.
Designing the Book Cover
Your book’s cover is the only thing many potential readers will ever see, and the version they will most likely encounter is no larger than a thumbnail. It needs to be eye-catching, and the title should be readable even at this small size. At a glance, it should look like a mystery novel (not a romance or a textbook).
Entire books are written about book cover design, and if you want to design your own I encourage you to read one. You don’t want your book cover to look cheesy or amateurish. Remember: Your cover is your book’s first, and possibly only, visual handshake with potential readers.
Now You Try: Assess Book Covers
- Go to Amazon and browse through the Kindle Store for high-ranking and best-selling mystery novels. Copy the thumbnails of the covers that catch your eye, and paste them into a file. Copy the thumbnails of the covers you like least, and paste them into a separate file. You now have a gallery of the best and the worst. Notice what the best ones have in common, particularly in contrast to the worst. Look at:
- color
- text size and font for the title
- text size, font, and placement for the author’s name
- blurb placement (or the absence of blurbs)
- image
- overall look and feel
- Browse Amazon’s romance and fantasy novels in the Kindle Store. Notice how these covers convey romance or fantasy instead of mystery.
DISTRIBUTING YOUR BOOK
It’s up to you whether to distribute your book through a single channel or through multiple ones. For instance, if you want it to sell exclusively on Amazon to Kindle readers, use Kindle Direct Publishing. If you want your book to be available to folks who read on Kindles, Nooks, iPads, and Kobos, go with a distributor like Smashwords, BookBaby, or Draft2Digital. If you want to sell a print version, you can hire a print-on-demand (POD) service like CreateSpace, Lulu, or Lightning Source.
If cost is not an issue, you can hire a company to take care of everything—converting, formatting, POD, distribution, and marketing your manuscript—for a fee. For instance, Lulu offers full-service publishing packages. Shop around and be sure to read each company’s customer reviews.
Do your research and compare costs and services of the different providers. Think about which aspects of the publishing process you want to do yourself. Learn all that you can about your audience so you know which e-readers are right for them. And make room in your day for promoting and marketing your newly published mystery novel while you’re writing the next one.