There are so many questions pertaining to Self Publishing.
Is Self Publishing Worth It?
Is Self Publishing Profitable?
Is Self Publishing Easy?
Is Self Publishing A Good Idea?
Is Self Publishing Bad?
Is Self Publishing Really Easy?
I have asked these questions at one time or another, and repeat them even today though I’m going on three (3) years of having self-published books. I’ve had to remind myself of my priorities and what led me to actually take the steps to self-publish.
Is it profitable? For some it has been, but not for me. So, I’m not receiving as much money as I’ve put out, but the reason I decided to try my hand at self-publishing was because of the $25,000.00 I put into my wedding and honeymoon. Yes. $25,000.00!! A wedding put things in perspective. That was a lot of money put into my wedding for just a few days. My self-publishing efforts? Not even CLOSE to that much money, and my self-publishing is ongoing. I didn’t make a cent in 2009 and 2010, but 2011 was filled with readers and $$ that can pay for a few dinners. The main point was not the money, but to find a few readers, strangers, who would say that they enjoyed the story that I wanted to share. And I am so ever pleased to hear a few voices that continue to say just that.
Is it worth it? I must say that I am quite happy every time someone finds me and buys one of my books. It makes my day. The money I’ve put into it has been well worth it for just reaching one more person with my stories.
Has it been easy? For me. No. I would suspect it wouldn’t be easy for anyone who cares for the product of their work. The story must be scrutinized so that the writer doesn’t stay ignorant that their writing is “different” and “extraordinary”. In order to know what kind of story you have, strangers must become the audience, not friends and family. It is strangers who you want to enjoy and share with your creativity. I’ve also had to learn almost a dozen knew software to operate for my website, blogsites and even for writing (i.e. yWriter, Adobe, other features in MSWord). So my technical skill took a huge S T R E T C H.
Is it expensive? It doesn’t have to be if you do most of it yourself and take the many, many months to learn the software and craft of photo editing and writing and html or epub format. It could be completely free if you just upload and create only an ebook, but you must follow the programming and specifications of the distribution company (i.e. KDP Amazon, Smaswords, PubIT).
Is it bad? No. Many authors are self-publishing. It is only bad if you don’t learn from others on what a good product is. If you don’t seek help, then the product won’t be it’s best. When your art receives positive comments, it is then that you know that you have done well, and it is then that you will have your validation. You won’t need to have that need anymore to be validated by a publishing house, because you have received it on your own. And that’s how it’s been for me.
And my path has been an fun, self-fulfilling, and an extraordinary one :).
Until Next Time.
