3 Tips for Self-Publishing Success — Guest: Julie Musil
It’s no secret in the industry that many authors are considering self-publishing on some level. Some authors are starting off as indie publishers, some are switching from traditional publishing to self-publishing, and others are releasing books under both methods and becoming hybrid authors.
So I was happy to host my friend Julie Musil earlier this year, when she shared her “Newbie’s Guide to Self-Publishing.” Now Julie’s back today to discuss some pitfalls of self-publishing and provide tips for avoiding those issues.
Honestly though, I think her advice is applicable to every author, no matter our publishing path. I’ll share my thoughts on that below, but first, please welcome Julie Musil! *smile*
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3 Pitfalls of Indie Publishing
(and How to Avoid Them)
I’ve become a huge fan of indie publishing. When I first decided to publish my debut YA novel, The Boy Who Loved Fire, I was nervous. I studied and analyzed everything I could about the process, and the more I read, the more I liked. As I prepared to publish my second novel, The Summer of Crossing Lines, I’ve had even more fun than the first time around.
But indie publishing is not all sunshine and daffodils. There are some gaping pitfalls that remain, and it’s up to professional, career-minded authors to avoid them.
Pitfall #1—Poor Quality
Indie publishing has come a long way since the early days of cheesy covers and wonky formatting. Still, we should strive to create a quality product—one that can compete with, and even surpass, that of traditional publishers. Indie authors have raised the bar and are now creating work that is difficult to distinguish as self-published.
Avoid the Poor Quality Pitfall by…
- Hire a professional editor. Bethany from A Little Red, Inc. edited both of my books. More resources can be found at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog. For tips on hiring a professional editor, click here. Make sure your manuscript has been through the ringer before you pay someone for edits, otherwise it’s a waste of time and money.
- Hire a cover designer. Covers are the first impression a reader has of your work. Don’t waste that first impression on a poor cover. I’ve worked with Jeff Fielder on both of my covers. Whoever you work with, make sure your cover is a simple, clean design that captures attention in a thumbnail. Click here for more information about working with a cover designer.
- Format ebooks and print versions properly. I formatted both of my books myself, and if I can learn how to do it, anyone can. Seriously. It was a steep learning curve, but I’m glad I took the time to do it. Now it’s easy for me to make changes to the book and upload new versions. Other authors hire formatters and swear by them. Susan Kaye Quinn has a comprehensive list of freelancers on her blog.
Pitfall #2—One Egg in a Basket
Authors who have only written one book are likely driving themselves crazy. They’ll doggedly check emails as they’re waiting to hear from agents or editors. The same can be said about indies with only one book out. Perhaps they’ll watch their sales graph all day long and obsessively check their rank. Why add that much stress to our lives?
Avoid the One Egg in a Basket Pitfall by…
Working on the next book. As I mentioned in my guest post at Fiction University, Marketing Strategy: The Next Book, it’s important for authors to move on to the next project. Nothing helps an obsessive writer more than obsessing about the next project. Indies must steadily work to create their own back lists.
Pitfall #3—Giving Up
Too many indie authors rush to put out a book and then obsess over sales. They then throw their hands in the air and think, “Why bother? I tried and failed.” Their high expectations were not met.
Avoid the Giving Up Pitfall by…
Having realistic expectations. You’re a small business now, so treat it as such. Make goals, work hard, and put out quality products you can be proud of. Connect with people on a personal level. Know before you leap into indie publishing that this will take time. Think of yourself as a wannabe Steve Jobs, tinkering in the garage, working on big ideas that you’ll passionately share with others.
Indie publishing has a lot to offer authors, mainly control. If we avoid the pitfalls, we can remain nimble, enjoy the now, and look forward to what’s next.
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Julie Musil writes from her rural home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband and three sons. She’s an obsessive reader who loves stories that grab the heart and won’t let go. Her Young Adult novels, The Summer of Crossing Lines and The Boy Who Loved Fire, are available now. For more information, or to stop by an say Hi, please visit Julie on her blog, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
The Summer of Crossing Lines
When her protective older brother disappears, sixteen-year-old Melody infiltrates a theft ring, gathers clues about his secret life, and falls for a handsome pickpocket. At what point does truth justify the crime?
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Thank you, Julie! And as I mentioned at the top, I think every one of those pitfalls and tips can apply to any author, regardless of our publishing path.
Why Every Author Should Watch Out for These Pitfalls
#1: Poor Quality
If we take the traditional publishing path, we still need to ensure that our work is as good as we can make it before we start querying. But even beyond the query stage, we can use these same tips for judging a potential publisher.
Purchase a couple of their stories (if you know the name of the editor you’d work with, target stories they worked on) and check:
- Is the editing good quality?
- Are the covers attractive?
- Are the books free of wonky formatting?
If the answer to any of those questions is “no,” we can ask ourselves what value the publisher adds to justify their royalty cut. We might be better off rejecting a contract than getting involved with an unprofessional publisher.
#2: One Egg in a Basket
Obviously, traditionally published authors should work on their next book too, but they can also think about diversifying their baskets. Maybe they’d start another series with a second publisher, maybe they’d write in a new genre, or maybe they’d become a hybrid author. The point is that no one will ever care about our success as much as we will, so we should never make ourselves too dependent on one publisher or company.
#3: Giving Up
Going along with Pitfall #2, success will take time with traditionally published authors too. We don’t want to give up—or be forced out by canceled contracts, etc.—and feel helpless. There’s almost always another thing we can do or try. As Dory says in Nemo, “Just keep swimming.”
The fact that these same pitfalls can apply to self-published and traditionally published authors alike reinforces the idea that there’s no “perfect” approach. There are pros and cons to either path.
The important point is to recognize which path will work best for us (and that might be different from story to story). No matter how we decide, we can educate ourselves on how to avoid any pitfalls we might encounter. *smile*
Julie wants to know, have you indie published? Can you think of any pitfalls she missed? Do you agree that these pitfalls and tips can apply to authors regardless of their publishing path? How else might they apply? Do you have any advice to add, or questions for Julie to answer?
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Thanks, Jami! You’re so right…these pitfalls remain for both indie and trad. published authors. Same with marketing. A lot of authors choose to go the trad. route because the publishers will offer marketing, but the lion’s share of marketing still falls in the author’s lap.
No matter what path authors choose, I just appreciate that we’re in such a time of change, when authors DO have a choices. It’s liberating!
Hi Julie,
Agreed! It’s wonderful to have options. 🙂
One thing I heard at RWA14 was that the abundance of choices now is making things better for all authors. Since publishers know authors have the legitimate choice of walking away from a bad contract (and being successful anyway), authors now automatically have more power in negotiations than they’ve ever had before. Some mega-authors have always had contract negotiation power, but these choices have raised the base amount of power for all authors.
I think that’s pretty cool. 🙂 Thanks so much for the great post!
Hi Jami & Julie!
I’m not Indie published, but I have an agent and she’s in the process of putting my novel out there…but it’s not been picked up yet and the process is slow. I love her and believe in her and my own writing, but I dream of being published and I’m thinking about becoming a hybrid. I want to publish traditionally, but I also want to begin making some money sooner than later. The hybrid route might take me there quicker (I hope)
The points you made here are valuable!
Thank you, both of you for the info and wisdom!
Tamara
Tamara, I know exactly how you feel. That’s the position I was in. My agent is so amazing and she worked hard to find a home for my first release. It just wasn’t meant to be. Isn’t it funny how life works? I now feel as if I was meant to indie publish. However, I will never say never to traditional. I’ll take my publishing journey one step at a time.
Taking the leap into indie publishing is a huge decision, and not one to be taken lightly. But it sure is fun. For many indies, money was their deciding factor. 70% is much better for the bank than other percentages. But hopefully royalties aren’t the only deciding factor for authors.
For me it was all about forward movement and control. I love the fact that I’m always moving forward now. Now that SUMMER has been released, I’m already jumping in to edits on the next book.
If you have further questions about the agented to indie process, feel free to shoot me an email at julie@juliemusil.com
Hi Tamara,
If you have any questions, there are now plenty of people you could ask and pick their brains. 🙂 Good luck with your decision and thanks for the comment!
Some great tips here, and as an author/publisher I concur. I’ve heard too many good TP authors IP authors say it’s not worth all the effort to finally get published only to see your book ignored by readers. I know that pain. But I say, if you wanted to earn the big bucks, especially in the short term, you shouldn’t have become a writer. Our average earnings suck! Lol. It’s a steady climb rather than a flat sprint if you’re in for the long haul. I’ve decided to concentrate on improving my craft (I’ve found ghostwriting has improved my ability to plot and to write quick first drafts, for example. Plus those projects pay for my editors and cover design) rather than increasing sales and ranking. 🙂
Where there’s a will…
shahwharton.com
Shah, “steady climb” is an excellent way to describe it. One thing that’s great about indie is that you don’t have to rush sales into your first week or two to avoid the book being pulled off the shelves and returned to the publisher. You have time to build relationships and for word to slowly trickle out there. Some indies have rolled in the dough, but its after years of writing quality books and steadily putting them out there. Or they’re former TP and they’ve gotten their rights back to their backlists and put those out there, too. It’s a mixed bag out there, and we all have our own path.
Hi Shah,
Yes, as some of my posts recently pointed out, success is very much tied to longevity and backlist. One book alone won’t make us successful.
Very cool how ghostwriting has worked for you! 🙂 Thanks for sharing and for the comment!
Great tips, Julie! And, Jami, I’m with you–every author should apply them. I also think it’s important to connect with other writers to get a realistic view of the publishing world. Expectations are easier to check when we have more information!
Jill, such a great point about realistic expectations–in both worlds. I remember reading a blog post a couple of years back from TP author who was struggling. She’d hit the jackpot of publishing–a deal with one of the biggies, but she was feeling let down. Same with indie. If the expectations are too high–like you’ll be the next Hugh Howey within a month–you’ll likely be disappointed. Your head has to be in the right place. You have to know it’ll take a lot of work to create a quality product. You have to know you’ll be doing all the promo yourself. And you have to know it’ll take a long time to build this business you’ve created. If you know all that, and you want to share your stories with others, it’s such a fun option. Thanks for stopping by, my friend <3
Hi Julie,
I had to laugh at your Hugh Howey example. He’s thinking of diving into romance (he and Liliana Hart chatted quite a bit at RWA14–I even took a picture because it was so cool to see two indie bigwigs connecting–LOL!), and he’s nervous about it. He just turned his draft over to Liliana, and he feels like a newbie all over again.
So I think that illustrates that if we’re always learning and pushing ourselves, that we’ll always feel a bit of that “haven’t yet arrived” worry. He’s huge and yet he’s still nervous. 😀 Thanks so much for sharing your insights with us!
Oooh, Hugh Howey takes on romance! He actually did a great job of it in his WOOL series. Book one featured a man missing his late wife. Book 2 featured an older couple reconnecting after many years. And the rest of the series had a little bit of romance for his kick-butt heroine. He’s actually good at it, and it’s nice to know he’s focusing on that more with a co-author. And it’s nice to know even he feels insecure with each new thing he tries.
Hi Julie,
I think Liliana’s just beta reading for him, not co-authoring. 🙂 But yes, it’s good to know that we’re all in the same self-doubt boat. LOL!
Hi Jill,
Great point! The more information we have from those in the trenches, the better. 🙂 I’ve learned the vast majority of my information from reading blog posts from fellow writers. If we’re open to learning, we’ll be exposed to all the information we need to know by connecting with other writers. Thanks for sharing that great insight!
Of these three pitfalls, I worry about the first one the most. When I first started, I submitted a manuscript a couple times–got good feedback, but it was ultimately rejected. I know now that I submitted too soon–my book wasn’t ready, and neither was I.
I think it’s especially tough for indie authors because you don’t have that gatekeeper there to give you the stamp of approval. Instead, you have to rely on your own instincts or the opinions of your critique partners or beta readers to know when a story is ready. And making that decision can be tricky.
You raise a good point about checking out the quality of a publisher’s books before signing a contract with them. We want to know that our books will get good editorial guidance, formatting, and cover design.
Hi Denise,
So true! For me, that internal “good enough” stage is near-impossible to reach. In my mind, that’s why trusting your editor is huge. I think most of us have submitted things we thought were ready, and it’s only now, after time and progress that we realize how wrong we were. That’s makes it difficult to ever trust our own instincts.
I’ve known some authors who hate the cover their publisher gave them, and then when I ask which of their publisher’s covers they did like, they say “None of them.” *head slap* And they assumed they’d get a cover better than any of the others why? *sigh*
There are publishers I’ve decided against submitting to because their covers suck, and it’s be ridiculous to think they’d suddenly “get it right” with mine. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
It’s true that without a gatekeeper, it’s up to the indie author to decide when the manuscript is “ready.” Sometimes I feel as if the work will never, ever be ready. But Jami’s right–an editor helps the indie author know they’re ready. I’m a slow writer, so I revise then wait for a while before going back to the same manuscript. Each time I recognize issues that need to be addressed. Once I’ve read through it and like it as a reader, and once I’ve cleaned up the junk, then I know I’m ready to pay the freelance editor.
Even TP authors look back on their early work and wish they could changes some things. I think that’s the artist in us…never satisfied with what we’ve created. It can always be better. But the nice thing is we can take what we’ve learned and use it in the next piece.
Hi Julie,
Good point! Yes, our work can always be better, and if we’re always learning (as we should be doing), there’s no end to the ways we could make it better. But we have to call it done some time–and sometimes that’s hard. 🙂 As you said though, we can apply that new knowledge to the next story.
Both of you provide great food for thought, ladies. I know the indie route has it’s fun side, but every time I turn around I realize there is one more thing to learn. Good article! Thank you!
Hi Joanna,
Yes, the learning never stops, no matter which way we go. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
That said, all learning without being able to take action (especially if it requires money) leads to this-
http://www.tubechop.com/watch/3500895
I’ve not gone this far, Jami, but there are sadly days that feel this bad!
In fact, Tahlia’s comments kind of put me there last week, which is why I waited until today to reply for fear I’d retaliate like this-
http://www.tubechop.com/watch/3500941
Hi Taurean,
I understand. And yes, we can fall into the trap of endless learning and never taking action. I’ve definitely been known to overthink things. 😉 Thanks for the comment!
Joanna, I know how you feel! There is SO much to learn, and other writers are so great about sharing what they know. I sat on the indie fence for a loooong time before I knew I was ready. There’s no rush, though. Writers should only do it when and if they’re ready.
Oh yes, please, do avoid the poor quality trap. As a reviewer for the Awesome Indies, I far too often face the consequences of self-published authors who have for some reason thought that they can produce a book without going through the process that is basic to publishing ie editing. And I mean a full edit, not just a quick copy edit. I can’t stress how important that is, because every poor quality self published book gives the industry a bad name. If you can’t avoid that trap, then it’s best you don’t avoid the other two as well ie give up and don’t write another book. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but that’s how important it is.
Hi Tahlia,
Thanks for sharing your insights! And I agree. Authors who want their work to be treated the same as traditionally published works need to put the same amount of effort into ensuring it’s a professional quality product.
I know some authors who don’t care about creating professional work–they’re just in it for the most money they can get as quickly as possible. While that may be a valid strategy as well, they should not ask to be treated as a professional. Period. Authors like that are professional salespeople, not professional authors. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Tahlie, I agree that writers are better off not putting out their books unless they can put out a quality product. Our names and reputations are on the line, and those are priceless.
Tahlia, while I get what you’re saying, you need to remember that compromise is inevitable, but that doesn’t stop me or other writers from being professional. I’m concerned you’re confusing professionalism with perfectionism and that’s dangerous to your self-worth as much as your business. Just because your professional doesn’t mean you magically attain what some businesses have. This is why I feel Jami contradicts what she says at times because I used to feel as rigid about quality as you do, but no one would ever publish ANYTHING if we let fear and overly rigid standards stop us from doing something besides stall and stagnate. There’s a BIG DIFFERENCE between can’t and won’t that you need to understand when it comes to indie publishing in particular and writers in general. (Please cast aside the “hacks” you’ve come across a moment) I don’t close my blog off to self-published/indie books because I know there will ALWAYS be good stuff despite the “bad” stuff which is subjective on some level, but you’re right that too much junk hides the good stuff, but being snobs only makes us more immature than the people you’re talking about who don’t take this seriously. But if writers are practically going to build a back-list, we can’t always put a few grand or 1/4 million dollars (much of that going to the ideal of pro freelance editors, cover design, and for those of us who write children’s books or comics, we also factor in illustrators when we… — Read More »
Hi Taurean, I understand what you’re saying, but I fear that you’ve taken something that was aimed at authors who do the minimum (believe me, I’ve seen the attitudes of some self-pub authors who literally don’t care about quality) and taken it as being aimed at authors like you (those who try to do things right and do the best they can). Those aren’t the same groups. Believe me, those aren’t the same groups. I’ve judged enough contests to know there’s a massive difference between “what the heck was this author thinking?” and “good but not great.” Many traditionally published books would fall into that “good but not great” category with readers too, so there’s nothing wrong with those books being on the shelves. We all suffer from self-doubt, and when we see something questioning whether we’re “good enough,” it’s easy to take it personally. But that’s not anything to do with what Tahlia said, or the original point. That’s all about us and our self-doubt, making us think that WE fall into the category of “bad” authors. There’s a huge difference between self-pub books that try and those that don’t. Traditionally published books aren’t perfect either, so I don’t think Tahlia’s asking for–or expecting–perfection here. Rather, this is about the quality being in the same ballpark for self-pub and traditional. I do know you care about doing the best you can, so that’s why I can say for certain that you don’t fall into the “an embarrassment for all… — Read More »
Thanks for replying, Jami. My original (more thought out) reply got lost to accidentally refreshing, so forgive the rough spots. I agree I misread some of what you said in the comments and Julie’s post above, but I do feel conflicted at what’s right for me, versus what’s general good practice when you DO CARE about quality, that’s why I said “Hacks aside” in my reply to Tahlia’s comment, and that doesn’t mean I don’t get or respect where she’s coming from. Tahlia, if you read this, I’m sorry if I sounded mad at you, I wasn’t, I just felt you were letting the people who burned you overly cloud you overall opinion of indie authors, not criticizing your site’s guidelines in general, okay? Yet I didn’t think I couldn’t shrug it off, either, because once we start getting arrogant, things get messy, to put it nicely… Even if what you, Julie, and Tahlia were saying wasn’t aimed directly at me, Jami, it doesn’t mean you were talking about something that only writers of romance or paranormal fiction face, we all face this push and pull, but I feel lots of authors preach about the importance of having a team so much that we feel like we’re more naive than we really are because we aren’t able to hire out an ideal team ourselves, which is why we still pursue traditional publishing, because we’re not able to finance everything all on our own. Besides Jami, you’ve written entire blog posts… — Read More »
Hi Taurean,
I understand, and this is why I wonder if you might be more of a perfectionist than you think. 😉
None of this is about “caring less.” However, it is about trying to match what we want with the reality of what we can do (whether that means ability, budget, platform, etc.).
For example, because we care, we’d want to get the best cover we could. But reality might say that we have a budget of only $50. For that amount, we might be able to get a cover that was good but not great.
Maybe we’d be limited to a pre-made cover that doesn’t match our story or characters as well as we’d like. Maybe the Photoshop skills of the artist would be less than stellar. Maybe we’d do the cover ourselves with a template. Maybe we’d purchase art directly from an artist on DeviantArt and have to do the typography stuff ourselves. (<--Tangent: There's fantastic stuff there, and there are no set prices, so this can be a real possibility for those authors willing to research artists and turn artwork into a cover, maybe with one of those DIY templates.) Each of those could result in a good but maybe not great cover. "Good" is not "bad." "Good" would not be an embarrassment. However, it does mean that we might not be unequivocally thrilled with the cover. Then our choices would be to either change our approach, such as waiting on the release to save up more money, or we'd just get the best cover we could within that budget. Neither of those choices mean we don't care. That's simply doing the best we can within reality. How much would a good-but-not-great cover affect sales? That's hard to say. If it's good, it likely won't discourage anyone from buying the book who was considering it. So it probably won't hurt sales among likely purchasers. However, if it's not great, it likely won't catch the eye of unlikely purchasers--i.e., the curious browsers who click on whatever catches their eye and then read the blurb. How much does that actually matter? It probably depends on way too many variables to figure out. LOL! My point is that there's a difference between the "great" that nears perfection and the "good" that's good enough to NOT turn potential readers away. We can care--deeply--and still be okay with the latter if that's what reality demands. If we're not okay with "good," then we probably are being a perfectionist. 😉 (Which I'll just say--as a perfectionist myself--isn't a bad thing either, but it can mean that we sometimes have to ignore that aspect of ourselves when it's demanding the impossible. LOL!) I hope that helps explain why "not great" doesn't equal "not caring." Yes, it can be frustrating to not be able to go for great-nearing-perfection, but reality doesn't let us have everything we want. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
I just came across a post on Janice Hardy’s blog Understand Jami, I get this is not aimed at writers like me, but while not aimed at me, it does disturb me, not for what it’s saying, but how it’s said- This is probably another one of those “Not at me” posts, right? It took all I have to not reply in RAGE, because she’s so hard-nosed about her points, she makes it sound like people who can’t do it as she describes are fooling themselves, and I can’t see it that way. I don’t think that makes me more naive than her about what it takes, but the fact is, most successful authors didn’t have a previous life being a master marketer from a previous life, the learning curve for me is far greater than authors who’ve been in other careers where these skills are par for the course, and what works in corporate doesn’t always translate EXACTLY THE SAME when you’re an author in business for yourself, and I feel we don’t express that nuance often, posts like hers just say “This is the new normal, get used to it!” and that just leaves people who don’t think this way out in the cold. That doesn’t they’re unwilling to learn, but posts like hers spade and neuter the nuance involved in this stuff, and that does all author a disservice, but especially those who don’t find these “New Basics” so basic to execute, and NOT for lack of… — Read More »
Hi Taurean, Yeah, “my way or the highway” stuff doesn’t appeal to me in business or marketing stuff any more than it does for writing processes. 🙂 So I completely agree with you that approaches along those lines lose the nuance for people. Maybe it’s because I’m so used to seeing things like that, but the style doesn’t usually bother me, personally. I read it in “add my own nuance” mode, and see if there’s anything useful I can pull out of the information regardless. That said, I know that not everyone can do that, and hard-line messages can be dangerous for those who can’t–or for those so new to the industry they don’t know enough to know nuance can even exist. So I don’t disagree with you at all. I’m just explaining why that approach doesn’t usually upset me personally. In the specific example you shared, I think the title and the tone were more hard-line than the points themselves, many of which seemed obvious to me. So I’d look at that for the points and ignore the tone, but I know not everyone can do that. As you said, if we take that hard-line approach, we risk alienating those who are new or struggling. I don’t have an answer for you other than to ensure we don’t fall into that mode ourselves and to make an effort to spread more nuanced information. There are many blog posts with good information that I don’t share in tweets because of… — Read More »
Yeah, and I’m not bad-mouthing her, I just had to let this out in a constructive way for me so I wouldn’t have said something really mean which isn’t anymore helpful, I’d just hate to see people guilt tripped to the umpteenth degree, remember, part of why people don’t more readily acknowledge failing/coming up short is because they fear they’ll never recover from it. Forgiveness is NOT just a nicety, it’s a NECESSITY for our sanity and self-worth not dying. Writers often make “First Impressions” sound so “Life and Death” just to make people get the business involved, bit it sometimes has the added effect of making them afraid to do ANYTHING. That’s why to me, tone and context is just as important in HOW something’s said, not just that it’s said. I don’t ignore tone very well in large part because my personal stuff aside, I know it can be taken the wrong way, even if you’re not as sensitive as I am, which I’m not always proud of, but also can’t help, and try to remind myself daily that are good things about having that sensitivity. Even when people make mistakes or struggle with what she’s talking about, I feel her tone denies hope being better next time, and for that reason I’m always careful to p Because we can’t avoid mistakes entirely, we just try to make sure a few little errors don’t tarnish the entireity of who we are as authors or how seriously we take… — Read More »
Hi Taurean,
Very true! We wouldn’t want people to think that just because they didn’t do everything “right” the first time that they couldn’t recover from that. I’d bet very few people do everything “right” the first time out. 🙂
I agree that a healthier message is “here’s what to aim for, and if you don’t get it right the first time, try again.” That gives the education of how to do something without the “end of the world” tone for messing it up. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
[…] Three Tips For Self-Publishing Success – Guest Julie Musil at Jami Gold’s Blog -and the advice is good for more than just self-pubbers. 🙂 […]
What a fantastic article! The opportunity to self-publish is one that is available to everyone, however I don’t think people really know how to go about it, what to look out for, or what questions to ask. There is a very helpful book out there called “Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook” by Helen Sedwick. Here website, http://www.helensedwick.com has a lot of really great info along with more about her and the book. Not only is she a business lawyer, but she is also a self-published author; it’s definitely a book worth checking out for other self-publishers
Hi Jackie,
Thanks for the information. 🙂 It looks like Helen has a blog at her website with insights about self-publishing I haven’t seen before. Interesting! Thanks for stopping by!
Jackie, thanks so much for the tip! I think I’ve heard about that author and her book before. I listen to indie publishing podcasts, and someone asked about legal issues and it was suggested that they download something like that.
You all are very welcome! Glad I could provide a helpful resource!
I agree that we should get professional quality editing and cover art, but what if we don’t have that much money to hire professionals? For editing, I’m thinking of relying on beta readers for now to help me find problems, and for the cover art, I’ll draw and use design programs for now too. These aren’t professional, of course, but at the moment I can’t think of a better plan…
Any tips for people who wish they could hire professional artists and editors, but can’t because of the huge prices? Yikes. D:
Hi Serena,
I’ve done a post before about the balance we need to find between fast, cheap, and good. All we can do is our best within the limitations of our situation. Choosing “good” and “cheap” might mean using a lot of beta readers over several rounds of revisions/editing–thereby giving up the “fast” aspect.
As far as cover artists, there are several crowdsourced design sites, like 99Designs, DesignCrowd, and CrowdSpring, that might result in several good options to choose from for about $99. I know some cover artists who offer premade covers for around $50, so if one of their premade covers worked for your book, that would be even cheaper.
I hope that helps! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Jami, I’m only going to say this and politely bow out before I say something that’s not “tactful” enough- Just as I’ve said about patience, you need to put “Fast” in perspective. Even if I’m trying to save money, that doesn’t give the person I’m hiring license to flake out on me, I’m still PAYING them, after all, especially when it comes to expenses regarding cover designers (and illustrators when we’re in kid-lit or have a comic/graphic novel that demands lots of artwork) it’s not professional of whoever we hire to play with our time because we pay them upfront, even if it’s less than what others charge. But even when we’re not paid, we still have to be responsible with who we say we’ll help, that’s why writers often say they’ll say “No” more than “Yes” regarding favors or making time to help someone out, but every “Yes” means they’re committed to make an effort, and that’s how I view it. I hope I’m not sounding tyrannical, Jami, as I know sometimes life happens to us all, but whether we pay someone or not, integrity still matters, and when I come up short, I own up to that. Yes, people put a premium on fast action and all that, but whatever the price, I’m still paying you upfront most of the time, and indie authors need to be clear with their perspective illustrator or cover designer about their turnaround time, as it’s both far easier and respectful to all… — Read More »
Hi Taurean,
Good point about how “fast” really comes down to circumstances and expectations. What might be slow when we’re paying someone is different from slow when we’re not. So as you said, it’s important to be clear about our expectations and turn-around time and communicating about issues. Thanks for bringing that up! 🙂
Serena, this is definitely a common problem, and causes many authors to wait for the traditional deal–so that the publisher handles the editing and cover costs. Jami listed some great resources for covers. I’ve also heard of authors getting pre made covers for about $50. Another option would be to connect with students at a local college. Perhaps a graphic artist would be willing to work on your project in order to gain some experience and exposure?
I’ve heard of other authors using beta readers before putting out their indie titles, and that can definitely work. I do gain a lot of insight from my beta readers, but I feel a sense of ease when I’ve hired a professional editor who gives me great, unbiased notes.
There are lots of start up editing services out there, who might offer to edit your book for a reasonable price. Editing costs run the gamut from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. If your manuscript has been through several rounds of editing–especially after using many beta readers–your final editing costs probably wouldn’t even be that much because you’ve done the clean up work ahead of time. I have not spent a fortune to put out my books.
I hope that helps!
Hi Julie,
That’s a good point too! I’ve heard of some editors charging a flexible rate based on the quality of the writing, meaning that a well-written book that has already been through several rounds might be charged less than a book with more issues. So we could look for editors that charge on that basis to try to save money as well. Thanks for bringing that up! 🙂
Thanks, Jami and Julie, for your tips! Hmm but I see that the minimum price is $299 for 99 Designs and CrowdSpring. DesignCrowd is $180 min. though they don’t encourage just the min. Maybe they increased their prices. :/
For the flexible editing rates, are they the hourly rates? ( X dollars per hour). If so, how would that work? I.e. how do you know they’re being honest reporting the number of hours they spent on it? I’m new to this, so I don’t know how it is, lol.
Hi Serena,
Hmm, I haven’t used any of those sites, so yeah, I wonder if they’ve raised their prices. 🙁 I know you used to be able to get things cheaper there.
I know of this Facebook collection of cover artists, and they offer several premade covers for cheaper. In other words, there are options. 🙂 I hope that helps!
Serena, I hadn’t used 99 Designs so I didn’t realize the minimum price was $299! I didn’t pay that much for my covers, and of course I think they’re cool. My cover designer’s name is Jeff Fielder. Here’s his web site: http://www.jallenfielder.com/design.html. Super nice guy, really talented (and patient!) and reasonable prices. I went through my old notes and found another cover designer who has inexpensive pre-made covers available for a reasonable price. It’s author Allie Brennan. Her site is http://alliebbooks.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/launched-my-book-cover-design-site-bdesign/. Here’s her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/allie.brennan.92?fref=ts. One thing to point out: pre-made covers will likely include stock photography that you may see on other covers. Heck, that even happens with big publishers, though. But it’s something to keep in mind. Also, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and Susan Kaye Quinn’s blog have cover designers and editors listed there. Before hiring anyone, I highly recommend getting referrals from their existing clients. As for the editor, be sure and have them do “sample pages” for you. That’s how I chose my editor, Bethany at A Little Red, Inc. Once I read her notes on my sample pages, I knew she was the one for me. A note about editing prices: my editor charges by the hour. Some charge by the page, I believe. But back to by the hour…if your manuscript is super clean (meaning it’s been beta read and you’ve gone through it for pesky issues like redundancy, typos, “slash and burn words” like “I knew” or “suddenly” and stuff like… — Read More »
Oh, and one more thing…about an editor’s honesty. I think that goes back to recommendations. They wouldn’t be in business for long if they had a trail of unhappy clients. My editor was referred by Crystal Collier, who’s a wonderful author. Bethany at A Little Red gave an estimate based on the size of the novel and the time she “thought” she’d spend on it. I paid a deposit..half of the estimate…and then she billed me for the balance once she finished and knew the exact amount of time spent.
There are also different types of edits you can choose. You can do developmental, copy-editing, etc. Or all of the above. It depends on you and what you want them to do. You may even ask for her to edit sample pages and ask her to guide you toward what type of editing she thinks you need. Bethany was really honest, and I know there are plenty of reputable, honest editors out there like her. That’s where recommendations come into play 🙂
Hi Julie,
Great information! I haven’t worked with a by-the-hour editor before so that’s good to know. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Ooh! Thanks, Julie and Jami, for those links and resources! 😀 Yeah, other clients’ recommendations should help us find the good editors. Hmm, I’d care most about developmental edits, since I think line editing, copyediting, and proofreading are easier to do by myself, if I’m trying to save as much money as possible, lol. Developmental edits would help with things I can’t see too easily.
Hi Serena,
Another option that I was just telling a friend about is getting what’s called a “Manuscript Critique” or a “Manuscript Analysis” instead of a full developmental edit.
Some developmental editors offer a big-picture analysis of a story’s strengths and weaknesses, and if we’re good at self-revising and self-editing, just a page or two summary of issues might be enough to help us see how to improve. These critiques are generally much cheaper than a full developmental edit because they’re less detailed.
I can’t think of editor names off the top of my head who offer these, but I know I’ve seen them. Maybe a search on “freelance editor manuscript critique” (or “analysis”) would help track some down. Good luck! 🙂
Oh I have another question that you may not be able to answer (because it’s a weird one), but I’ll ask anyway. As Jami already knows, I’m trying some writing in my second language (Chinese), to improve my Chinese, lol. Problem is, I have no idea how to say “beta reader” in Chinese, and Googling “how to say beta reader in Chinese” and similar searches didn’t get me anything relevant…So, I’m not sure how to find Chinese beta readers, haha.
I went on some Chinese online story sites (they’re like Fictionpress, Fanfiction.net), and on their discussion boards, you can ask for feedback, but they only give you OVERALL feedback. No idea where I can find actual beta readers…
Any tips on how to find beta readers for non-English language stories?
Serena, you’ve stumped me! I went on to Google Translate, but I notice that’s for text to text and not for audio. My son had the idea to search for an app on my iPhone, so we did. We saw a free app “Translate Voice.” It came in a free version, plus paid versions, but it says “instantly speak 10+ languages.” I’ve never used this, but since it’s free, it might be worth a try.
Are there Chinese writing circles you can connect with? Or even contact someone using Google + hangouts? Other than that, I’m stumped!
Haha, yeah, it’s a nasty question. ^_^”
Mmm, so far I only know of the aforementioned Chinese online story websites for Chinese writing circles. Hopefully I’ll find people willing to exchange manuscripts for beta-reading one day! I’m sure every language has its online beta readers out there…eh, fingers crossed! ^_^”
Y’know…I actually don’t know what beta-reader would translate to in Chinese. :/
However, there are a couple options, you could always post something and say that you’re trying to improve your Chinese and that you are looking for a detailed critique rather than macro level stuff. 请求评语，希望越详细越好，谢谢！<– for example, would probably do it.
For that matter, I'm fluent in Chinese and I would be happy to look over things for you.
Hi Katje,
Great! I’ll let Serena know. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks, Katje and Jami!
Ok, looks like networking is the way. ^^”
Katje, aw thanks! Well my story (series) is pretty long. It’s a 武俠小說 so the series is 900 ish pages now and still far from finished…I’ll need to edit it first before I dare show it to anyone too, lol. Would you be okay with such a long story?
Apart from my general curiosities about what my reader thinks about each of the main characters and the story, I’m looking mostly for plotholes, character inconsistencies (out of character moments), and anywhere where my sentences were confusing, so these would be annotated on the manuscript itself (to point out which specific moments these plotholes, character inconsistencies, and confusing sentences occurred.) So no need for line editing/ copy editing types of beta reading. 😀
Are you okay with this type of beta reading? (General character and story comments, plotholes, out of character moments, and confusing sentences.) I would also be more than happy to beta read for you, whether for English or Chinese stories. 🙂
Hi Serena,
I’ll email you both so you have each other’s email addresses. 🙂 Good luck!
Hi Serena,
Your best bet might be to hang out in these Chinese story sites and make friends and contacts. 🙂 Then either they might exchange work with you for a beta beta arrangement, or worst case, you could ask them if they use beta readers and if so, how/where they find them. I hope that helps! Thanks for the comment!
If you want to avoid the “poor quality” pitfall you need to understand that an investment is required. Good editors and designers aren’t cheap!
Hi Kristen,
Agreed! Just like any new business, an investment helps with our success. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!