8. How To Self-Publish 1

These are exciting times for self-publishers which has really come in from the cold.

People have always self-published, Beatrix Potter and the Bronte sisters did versions of it
In the digital world you can create demand and fulfill it entirely online.
Print on demand (POD) explained.
Ebooks, still dominated by Amazon and Kindle, are devoured by readers, especially romance and crime genres.
Now is the time for self publishing to have its moment. The advantages for readers as well as author.
The democratisation of the publishing process. Publishers and bookshops are a closed world to the non-traditionally published. They are the gatekeepers, but self publishing changes all that.
Example: Lisa Genova’s Still Alice was originally self published.
Not wanting to bash bookshops though, we both love them.
Print on demand, Ingram via Lightning Source and Ingram Spark can get self published books into shops too.
You need to create demand for your self published book. The technology is there to self publish but you still need to create the demand.
As an example David Goggin’s memoirs Can’t Hurt Me and Never Finished are self published and available in bookshops as there is such great demand for them.
Different ways of creating demand and the need to promote their own books.
Authors do need to self promote, whether self publishing or traditionally published.
Authors might start off being traditionally published and then get rights back and self publish those books.
Self publishing can be one part of an author’s life whether or not they have traditional book deals.
These days, many self published books are going on to be traditionally published. The demand is created online through Booktok and then supplied online.
Audiobooks are also doing well and the barriers to creating them are getting lower, another way to self publish.
Popular genres are romance and crime, the human story. You need to leave your value judgements about what is good literature behind and value what people enjoy.
Kindle Unlimited rewards authors by paying for pages read. It’s an attention economy.
Checking out Amazon best seller lists is an education – you see what is actually selling well.
Self publishers create demand by writing series, making the first one or two free and then keeping prices low.
The Keeparton books by TL Swan started as self publishing but now going into print, distributed by Simon and Shuster. She has created a huge amount of buzz and demand online.
Using the tropes to hook the reader in and keep them.
David Goggins website: https://davidgoggins.com/