By Darren Gilbert
 
Self-publishing has allowed for writers to get their work out into the world, and has also given a few writers resounding success. Authors like Amanda Hocking (My Blood Approves series) and John Locke (Donovan Creed series) have shown that there is money to be made in self-publishing. So the question remains: have you tried self-publishing yet?

Why you should consider it

For JT Lawrence, owner of Pulp Books and author of a number of books including Why You Were Taken, Sticky Fingers and Grey Magic, self-publishing wasn’t initially on her radar. However, after breaking her heart submitting her work over and over again without success, she took a chance on it.

It has since paid off.

“When I couldn’t find a publisher for Why You Were Taken, I realised that the local traditional publishing industry was broken. They don’t take risks on new authors, and they do little to grow their authors’ careers,” she says. “Even the ‘lucky’ authors who score a contract are often left disillusioned.”

“When I realised that I could publish Why You Were Taken myself and get paid 70% royalties instead of the traditional 10%, it changed everything. Self-publishing was never part of my writing dream, until all of a sudden it was, and now I can’t imagine why I didn’t start sooner.”

Rachel Morgan, author of the bestselling Creepy Hollow series, agrees. “I can decide what I want to publish, when I want to publish it, what formats it will be available in, which countries it will end up in and exactly what the final product will look like.”

At the same time, Morgan can decide when to rule a sale, what her prices should be and what marketing methods she is going to employ.

There is help available for you

This freedom of choosing how to present your work does come with the added responsibility of marketing yourself. As an independent writer, you often have to take on the role of publisher. Fortunately, there are companies like Porcupine Press and Self-Publish SA available to help.

Clare-Rose Julius, GM of Porcupine Press explains, “Quite often, it’s very difficult for self-published authors to get their books into trade bookshops and, therefore, we act as both publisher and distributor. We also accept books from other small independent authors and publishers for distribution, as long as it adheres to the quality standards that the bookshops expect.”

“Most importantly, we offer an honest approach to book publishing and prefer that the authors are aware in advance of all the costs that they may face.”

Sally Shaw of Self-Publish SA is just as passionate about helping writers. “We offer comprehensive services, ranging from high-end editing skills, design and layout, ebook conversions and help with creating accounts at Amazon and through Smashwords,” she says. Self-Publish SA also assists in selling books through a combination of traditional publicity and e-marketing strategies.

A word of warning

Authors do, however, need to be careful when they decide to self-publish.

“Don’t be bamboozled by promises of the moon,” says Shaw. Also, don’t just trust that people will put an experienced editor on the job.

“Many outfits have ‘packages’ for clients to choose from, and anyone who knows anything about editing knows you have to cost jobs individually because some writers and some topics are more intensive editing than others,” she adds.

Julius agrees, saying, “There are many scrupulous ‘vanity’ publishers out there that offer various (often over-priced) publishing packages. My advice to any SA author would be not to publish outside of South Africa. Cost of printing is often very cheap, but to bring the books back into the country will be extremely expensive.”

From an author’s perspective, there also needs to be the realisation that self-publishing is hard work. Lawrence believes it’s more work than the average person is willing to do. However, that won’t stop her, or Morgan for that matter, from recommending it.

“For those who enjoy being in control of more than just the writing, and are willing to put in the hard work that goes along with producing and marketing books without the support of a publisher, then self-publishing could very well be right for them.”

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