And now for the news!
This week in the world of self-publishing:
While a lot of the focus on self-publishing is focused on literary pursuits, this wonderful article from Publisher’s Weekly puts the spotlight on photographer Jeremy Enlow. Enlow admits that he was overwhelmed when he saw 1,500 books being unloaded into his studio, but was happily surprised that he sold them all in just ten days. With the help of some marketing professionals through both social media, television, print and web media, Enlow’s book marketing was a giant success. However, he is very direct in admitting that you have to be prepared to spend double what you spent producing the book on your marketing efforts, or else you will end up with a stock pile of books as he expected to when they were first unloaded at his studio doorstep. Heed some advice from this successful self-publisher on why you shouldn’t second guess yourself and why quality and deadlines are so important by reading the original article above.
This week I wanted to go down another avenue of self-publishing that we often don’t talk about; self-publishing for business owners. In this article by Business News Daily, a compelling argument is made for why business owners should consider self-publishing as a means of ‘building their brand.’ There is some fantastic advice for business owners thinking of going down this path such as: surveying your potential audience and keeping them involved in the process and figuring out your message and ‘believing in it.’
The strategy of looking at writing a book as a business pursuit is something that can be helpful for authors in general, “Because writing a book is work and a contributing factor to your income, it should be treated as such.” This can mean taking measures as far as setting strict hours for yourself to work on your book like you would at an actual job and holding yourself accountable to upholding those hours. Think about making your publishing efforts public via social media so that you have people interested and invested in your progress. Find more advice on marketing and securing a return on your investment in your book by clicking the link above.
For the last article in this week’s roundup, I chose Charlotte Ahlin’s 7 quick tips for self-publishing, as it is an extremely streamlined and thoughtful list. Ahlin begins by reminding readers “that self-publishing is not a shortcut to success. It’s difficult, and rarely glamorous. But if you work hard, it can be well worth the effort.” She goes on to stress the importance of not relying on spell check to catch all of your errors, but instead insists that you should take the time and spend the money to get your manuscript professionally edited. Ahlin provides useful tips further down the list for how to potentially raise those funds, such as making a GoFundMe or Kickstarter account. Click the link above to see more of Ahlin’s poignant advice.
As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry. This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.
Self Publishing Advisor 