INDIE PUBLISHING TIPS & IDEAS

December 06, 2019

INDIE PUBLISHING TIPS & IDEAS

Being an author is a lonely occupation. More so if you are an Indie author.

There's no beta reader to say they liked the book. No editor to help guide you through the process of re-writes. And no proof reader to scrutinise the final version of your book for mistakes. All this is down to you.

Design

That all important book cover. It's the first thing your reader sees, so the design needs to be catchy. It's got to grab the interest of your book buyer.

You can, often at some considerable cost, use a graphic designer. Or you can buy an 'off the shelf design'.

There are dozens of sites offering a range of cover design services with wide ranging costs.

I personally use CANVA - I have the Pro package, which is awesome.

But if you are on a tight budget, and let's face it, most aspiring authors are, you can start with the basic package - which is totally free.

Some of the designs have a cost attached, but as I said, you don't need to pay if you don't want to. I have used Canva for my Indie books, and I'm really happy with the result. Importantly for me, the software is easy to drive. Also, unlike some other 'free' design sites you don't have to agree to a long list of terms and conditions.

Canva also has a large stock of photo and illustrations, but if you can't find what you are looking for, then there's PIXABAY . The site has literally thousands of royalty free pictures that don't need an acknowledgement.

What I like about Canva is it also has a wide range of different marketing templates. Using a combination of Pixabay and Canva you can (at no cost) create a good looking book cover, and a whole bunch of marketing material to go with it, like Facebook ads, logo's, and presentations.

I have created all the covers for my books using a combination of Canva and Pixabay.

Here are two examples of my latest advertising designs, created by using Canva Pro. I love how I can create an animated advert, and add a GIF to the design.

The Warlocks Woman

Blood of Vampires

This Canva tutorial on YouTube is so easy to follow and will help you get the best out of Canva to get you started on your own book cover/promotional designs.

I recently got back from my original publishing house, the publishing rights to my first two books. I've decided to republish them as an Indie author. Why?

Control was my reason for going Indie. I wanted complete control over the publishing process from start to finish. How I present my novels. Where I sell them. And of course, the percentage of royalties I receive per sale is far greater than I would get from a traditional publisher, and I know exactly how much money I can expect to earn every quarter. Now all my books are Indie published. And the covers created using Canva.

Murder by Natural Causes

The Rawlings Hall Spa for Ladies

It Something It

Beta reading

When you send a manuscript to a publisher they often have a beta reader, read your book. Beta readers are not editors. They evaluate a manuscript, from the standpoint of someone who likes to read that particular genre.

It makes sense to find a 'reading partner'. They read your work with an objective eye, and you do the same for them.

Facebook has countless number of groups for writers to interface with other writers - and there is always someone willing to read for you if you read for them.

Editing

Editing is different. A good editor will not be cheap, and if you don't have the money for a professional editor - then you have to do it for yourself. Sure, maybe you can do the same with another writer as with a beta reader. Edit for edit. Personally, I am not sure I would recommend this.

It is possible to edit your own work, provided you are prepared to accept that all manuscripts need a certain amount of rewrites.

I learnt this lesson the hard way. I published a book way before it was ready. Tail between my legs, with a very embarrassed ego, I had to withdraw the book and do some serious cutting and reworking.

If you write books - you read books. And if you read a lot of books, you know what is readable prose and what isn't.

I know it can be difficult to cut sections out of a manuscript, especially when you have convinced yourself what you have written is good. If you can overcome this - then you can edit your own work - if you can't, then find a helpful friend who can edit or pay a professional editor. A book well edited can make the difference between a book that sells and a book that never makes it.

Proof Reading

The final stage - and equally as important as editing, is diligent proof reading. This was my second mistake - thinking I had proof read the book properly. It is amazing how many mistakes you can miss.

The best way to proof read is with a hard copy, even if you plan to published your work only as an eBook- get a hard copy. With a hard copy you can underscore errors, make margin notes, and give the manuscript that all important final edit. Louise Harnby's blog has a useful free book you can download.

Louise Harnby - How-do-i-proofread-my-own-book-help-for-beginner-indie-authors

Having done all this you then have to find an outlet where you can sell your book.

Your bookstore

The obvious starting place is Amazon. If this is your first foray into Indie publishing, Amazon has some useful free tools to help you make your book look professional.

The down side to Amazon, approximately 18 new books are put on the site every 60 seconds. Huge odds.

If you are an American citizen you can sell your book with Barnes & Noble, using Publit

If you live outside the USA, then you have to sell your book either through Smashwords or BookBaby who will act as an agent.

is another on-line bookstore that let's you create and sell your titles through them. The creation service is free, and when you sell through them, they pay you royalties.

Lulu is also a distributor selling books for Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Ingram.

Then there's

Marketing is such a huge subject that it really deserves to have an article all to itself. For the purposes of this short guide I'll cover the basics of what constitutes a good marketing plan.

Firstly decide how much you can afford to spend on marketing your book. I know of an author who spent $3,000 on marketing his book and made $30 in sales.

It's pointless spending a lot of money if you are not going to get it back in sales revenue, because you haven't put together a strategic marketing plan.

And it is very important to understand and know your author brand. Whatever the genre you choose to write, whether it's Crime, Romance, Adventure, knowing what grabs your target audience is vital.

Do at least one thing everyday to market your work.

I wrote this article on the 7 times marketing principle sometime back - The Seven Times Rule to Marketing

Social Media

You are reading this article, I don't really need to go on about the benefits of using social media as an advertising board.

Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, MeWe, Instagram, Google+ - All very useful to a lesser and greater degree at giving you a platform in which to sell yourself.

I recently joined MeWe - still not sure about it - and it's definitely not going to take over from Facebook - If you haven't heard about MeWe - here's the link MeWe. If nothing else it's worth a look.

Website/Blog

When I published my first book, I set up a website. I used 1&1 Website Builder.

To be honest for all the effort of building the site, and the costs involved, I didn't see a significant increase in books sales.

This blog however, has reached a much wider audience than the website ever did, and has definitely helped with book sales.

Also on the plus side, there's no monthly cost attached, other than a one off yearly fee of £10 for my domain name.

Your blog, and the articles you write, can go a long way in publicising yourself. Don't be shy. Get yourself out there.

The great thing about being an Independent Author - you can please yourself how you go about letting the world know you exist.

My last word - writing a best seller is fraught with disappointment. Hope is often dashed on the rocks of overwhelming odds. This doesn't mean you are not a talented author, it simply means you are yet to be recognised.

It takes not only talent to succeed as a writer, but a lot of determination - and a very large slice of luck.

Good luck with your Indie writing. Have a great weekend and an excellent week ahead.