Self publishing a book has been on my to-do list for almost two years. I longed to be able to watch as people purchase and respond to something I’d produced. In short I wanted to create a digital product but up until recently kept on putting this off. Looking back now, I’m struggling to see why I didn’t do this sooner. I guess I put other things before it and without a strict deadline just let it drag on.
So why publish now?
I made a life altering decision a few months ago and decided to leave full time employment for something less secure but more exciting (and hopefully rewarding). I’ve not leapt into the unknown with no plan though. Instead I intended to do more writing whilst I covered my bills through contract work. So far the plan seems to be panning out. That is to say, two months on and I’m earning enough to pay the bills and am spending more time doing things I love.
Now that I’ve carved more time out from gainful employment I can dedicate more time to writing, editing and all the other stuff that comes with self publishing. In hindsight though I could have done this on the side and not had to wait until I’d made the jump. In fact having a book available on Kindle before I’d left work might have given me another source of income and mean that I wouldn’t have to rely on the contract work so much.
What’s so good about self publishing?
Being able to pick your own subject matter and delve into the stuff that you are interested in has to be the main reason for self publishing. There’s less support (unless you pay for it) but you do have the freedom to tackle the subject in a way that suits you.
Not having to work to someone else’s schedule also can be very liberating. What I found focused my mind though was setting a release date of the 31st October that I absolutely had to stick to. This really served to focus what I needed to get done in the time I had available and is a trick I suggest you play on yourself.
The downsides of self publishing
Any costs associated with the creation of your manuscript need to come straight out of your pocket. There is no publisher supplying an advance or lining up staff to do editing and cover art. Instead these need to be paid for by you. I think it is reasonable to expect that you will be out of pocket for a good £200 to make even the most straight forward book look professional. Of course you can spend more but then again if you must have Quentin Blake do your cover art work then you will need deep pockets.
With no schedule, or people to let down, you may find that it is very easy to forgive yourself if your do not get things done in time. As mentioned earlier, I did a lot of this on previous attempts at writing a book and gave up a few decent ideas in the end. I might resurrect these in the future – you never know…
Why you should give it a go?
It’s unlikely you are going to get rich from self publishing but it is entirely reasonable to assume that you will make money if you have a decent book. I doubt that a blog which takes the same amount of effort is likely to return a similar income in the same time frame. Sure, it’s a bit harder but when people starting buying, it is incredibly satisfying.
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