It is harder than ever in publishing, as it is in music, to get The Industry behind you. Finding a publisher with a promotional machine ain’t what it used to be, unless yours is a real niche book or you have 1M followers on Instagram. So you may think: DIY. Why ever not? 

I’ll give you the facts. My background: I educated myself at a Writer’s Digest Conference, I lived the entire process, and promise not to candy-coat it here for Dear Reader.

Self Publishing Is A Retiree’s Game – Unless You Have Wads of Cash

Two reasons: time and money. There is so much to learn, so much to do, to get your book published and into readers’ hands, that it will eat all of your time, or you’ll pay someone else to do it (or have free, techy grandkids). Even if you do a ton of work yourself, it will cost you plenty. You’ll need an editor, proofreader, cover designer, website, blog, business email address, email services provider (e.g., MailChimp), time and money to drive to bookstores and libraries for sales and readings. You’ll build an email list. And 27 other things. But first, you write.

Writing Can Be Isolating

When I wrote my book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wrote and edited before and after work, all weekend, and at 3 am.  It was easy! As they say, you have your whole life to write your first book. I’d penned reams of notes.  But: I saw no one, I did nothing. I was a rock, I was an island (nod to S&G). Really, I don’t mind being alone, to a degree. But I was forever scrambling to meet deadlines, alone. Which brings us to publishing and promoting.

The Publishing Part

Writing is just the beginning. You can publish a slim volume at your local printer. Printing a larger book this way is prohibitively expensive for most. The cheapest way is to do Print On Demand (POD) via giants Amazon and/or Ingram Spark (the latter libraries and bookstores use to order books). But hey, Amazon sells 85% of all books. Your book is in an Amazonian virtual bookstore! This is all beyond complicated. Which leads us to help me.

Get A Publishing Service Company

An entire industry sprang from the heinous process of getting your book uploaded to Amazon and Ingram properly, and promoting your book without getting fleeced, so you don’t put your head through a wall in frustration. Few people have time to learn to do this on their own. Publishing services companies can be terrific or horrid. They cost $8-12,000 dollars. On to the selling.

Getting Your Book Out There

Distribution and Marketing and are massive topics. I gave a one-hour summit talk on it, speaking New York-fast, with zero time for Q&A. For sure, you’ll want to sell on Amazon, although some independent bookstores will thereby refuse to carry you. They detest the Amazon, understandably. Marketing your book requires learning several forms of social media, which keep changing, and a whole lot more. Even with a publisher, these days you need to promote.

Oh, and If you hate doing your taxes, wait till you write a book. 

But If You’re Willing, It Will Change Your Life

When you get your first printed copy, you’ll cry.

You’ll learn Social, or more than you already know.

You’ll meet independent bookstore owners, librarians and book lovers, who rock.

People including yourself will think of you as an author, because you are.

Complete strangers will read and praise your humble tome.

Your book could get re-Tweeted (re-X’d?) by a celebrity and your ship comes in.

Do I have another book in me? Only if I have a publisher or magically become retired or rich. Other writers persist and publish entire sets, and do well! These are typically genre writers (bodice-rippers, fantasy, sci-fi) and they love their lives. So there’s that. Bon aventure.