What not to do number 3
You must not decide, in a cantankerous mood, that self publishing means paying nobody for nothin'.
Yes, vanity publishing was once a thing but now the whole climate is in flux and there are many ways to go forward. Publishing houses that writers pay to put out books but are fully staffed with editors, cover designers and marketing experts. Digital publishers that enhance the quality of your ebook and offer marketing help too.
But having decided to go with Amazon's kindle direct publishing , you still have to be clear about what's needed. An editor as I said before. I had to take Clarissa down and repair several times and there are still one or two errors. Or three or four I don't want to do another fix now, for example, because then it would be down at the very moment when I'm launching a website and new Facebook page and I'd miss all those new ( a girl can dream) clicks.
I didn't pay for an editor and suffered.
I didn't request beta readers to help me notice mistakes or clunky bits and suffered.
I delayed paying someone to make the front cover (you really need someone with artistic and graphic know-how. We have all seen those crime novel cover where the author gets his wife to dress up in a trench coat to indicate a female detective then adds the clumsiest title over the top of the out of focus shot). It doesn't cost a lot and you can audition artists on Fiverr (there are loads of talented graphic artists on Fiverr - and if you pay for extras on your gig you can get super quality) or Upwork where artists apply for a job you post at the price you post it.
This is what five dollars as a cover for the short story Francine. Pretty darn good. As soon as it makes me some money, I'll give him a better wage. The sheer swiftness of the return of this job lets me know it took this whizz-kid a very little time.
Paying people for help in launching a book that probably took you hundreds of hours isn't vanity, just professional.
Yes, vanity publishing was once a thing but now the whole climate is in flux and there are many ways to go forward. Publishing houses that writers pay to put out books but are fully staffed with editors, cover designers and marketing experts. Digital publishers that enhance the quality of your ebook and offer marketing help too.
But having decided to go with Amazon's kindle direct publishing , you still have to be clear about what's needed. An editor as I said before. I had to take Clarissa down and repair several times and there are still one or two errors. Or three or four I don't want to do another fix now, for example, because then it would be down at the very moment when I'm launching a website and new Facebook page and I'd miss all those new ( a girl can dream) clicks.
I didn't pay for an editor and suffered.
I didn't request beta readers to help me notice mistakes or clunky bits and suffered.
I delayed paying someone to make the front cover (you really need someone with artistic and graphic know-how. We have all seen those crime novel cover where the author gets his wife to dress up in a trench coat to indicate a female detective then adds the clumsiest title over the top of the out of focus shot). It doesn't cost a lot and you can audition artists on Fiverr (there are loads of talented graphic artists on Fiverr - and if you pay for extras on your gig you can get super quality) or Upwork where artists apply for a job you post at the price you post it.
This is what five dollars as a cover for the short story Francine. Pretty darn good. As soon as it makes me some money, I'll give him a better wage. The sheer swiftness of the return of this job lets me know it took this whizz-kid a very little time.
Paying people for help in launching a book that probably took you hundreds of hours isn't vanity, just professional.
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