A quick checklist on self-publishing for beginners. I get asked quite a lot of questions by people who want to self-publish but have no idea where to begin. Here is a list of some points to consider: 1. Educate yourself. No, don’t google “self-publishing” because you’ll come up with a…
People are constantly surprised to hear that Amazon doesn’t take up the lion’s share of my sales. They often ask how to get sales on those other platforms. Of course I do not have the definitive answers, but here are some thoughts about selling on other platforms. It’s a big…
I’ve reached the goal of having a decent stable of books. Having series with good presentation (cover, blurb, sample) is important. Few people start selling out the gate with just one book, so I wrote some series. This is still ongoing. It was my aim this year to spend more…
I’ve been selling books at conventions as bookseller on and off for many years. In the pre-ebook age, this meant lugging heavy books around, sending them via mail to a distant convention, and even finagling them, like 100kg worth, onto commercial flights without paying for freight. I’ve flown internationally with…
I started self-publishing in 2011 by putting up some short stories from trade pub where the rights had reverted back to me. For at least the first year and a half, I published a lot of what we shall call “random crap”, most of which is still online in one…
Having a career in self-publishing requires a certain mindset. Here are six things ways you could be wasting your time: 1. Print books Sure, it’s awesome to see your books in print. So you offer them for sale via CreateSpace, Lightning Source, Lulu or whatever. Yes, do order a couple…
I’ve made two posts with the title Should I self-publish? before, a few years ago. The focus of the first post was shooting yourself in the foot with the publishing industry which, once upon a time declared you persona-non-grata if you self-published a single thing. Remember that time? Ridiculous! The…
“Why don’t my books sell?” I get asked this question a bit, so I’m making a post about it, so that I can easily refer to it. Remember that I don’t have all the answers either, and there are people who sell a lot more than I do. How to…
The question of ISBNs in self-publishing comes up a bit. Traditionalists are adamant that an ISBN is “essential” and that it make you look “professional”. I have to admit to being a bit allergic to that latter word: “professional”. It’s a word that’s making a beeline for my list of…
Yesterday I had the pleasure to be invited by the New South Wales Writers’ Centre as a panelist for the DIY Digital weekend. In the audience were people who were interested in self-publishing and who were taking part in this event to learn the ropes. It was a good time,…
