by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author
The most valuable aspect of your brand as an author isn’t your quick wit or your vibrant character voices. It’s not your expansive research skills or your complex, twisty plot lines. No, the most valuable part of your author brand is your reputation.
When you say your books fit in specific categories, can your readers trust you? When you say a book is releasing on a specific date, do you follow through?
If you are planning to pursue storytelling as a hobby rather than a career, this is less important, but if you want to be a career author, you can’t overestimate the importance of your reputation among your readers. That reputation doesn’t just stop with release dates and content guidelines either; it extends to the actual quality of your books themselves.
Self-publishing Doesn’t Have to Mean Sub-standard. by @ACW_Author on @BRMCWC #Writing #Writinglife #BRMCWC Share on XTraditionally published authors don’t need to think about some of this as much as indie authors do. If you are an indie author (a.k.a. a self-published author), your reputation is the only resource you have to build a lasting relationship with your audience.
That relationship with your audience is the only way you will sell books, by the way.
If you are going the route of self-publishing, there are several elements of the process you need to carefully consider before you press the big green “Publish Me” button.
First off, understand that self-publishing is a viable business model now. The industry has shifted enormously in the last fifteen to twenty years. Shoot, it’s shifted a lot in the last five years. But twenty years ago, self-publishing was considered the loser option. It was where authors who couldn’t get published went because they had no other choice.
That is not the case any longer. Not even close.
Many close friends of mine have chosen to self-publish because they wanted control over their products, and many of them are easily making six-figure incomes now. It’s not easy. It takes a lot of work (more work than traditional publishing), a lot of research, and the ability to crank out at least four high-quality books a year. But it’s viable.
Don’t make the mistake of believing self-publishing isn’t a competitive option, because that’s simply not true. However, choosing to self publish means that you will be wearing every single hat of an author, editor, publisher, distributor, and publicist. You will have control over every single step of the process, for better or for worse.
If you are happy being a hobby writer who only sells books to friends and family (which is perfectly, totally, completely fine, by the way!), you can disregard the rest of this post. But if you want to be professional in your approach to self-publishing, here are some things you need to consider.
Not your friend who is an English teacher. Not the leader of your book club. Not your mom. Ask authors for recommendations. Connect with organizations like the ECPA or PENCON, and even then, once you find an editor, ask for a sample edit. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes. But only if you are working with an editor who understands your genre, your vision, and your style.
Don’t skimp on this, people. I used to think that book covers weren’t that important, but believe me when I tell you that readers truly judge a book by its cover. If you go cheap, they will assume the interior is cheap. If you use A.I. to generate it, they will assume you used A.I. to write the whole thing. Again, ask for recommendations. Follow book cover artists on social media.
There are so many elements to publishing a book, you may need help. It’s okay if you do, but don’t expect someone to help you for free. If you want a product that is professional, hire professional people with actual money. Don’t offer to pay them in exposure. Don’t offer to pay in goodwill. Exposure and goodwill won’t help them buy groceries.
If you want to be competitive in the book publishing industry, producing a high-quality novel will cost you some money. You must be ready to invest in this process. You can cut deals. You can make agreements and arrangements for payment plans. Or you can save up for it and pay it all in one lump sum. Whatever works for you. Just don’t assume that you can cut corners and still come out with a high quality product that will sell.
Self-publishing doesn’t have to mean a sub-standard product. You can create a professional novel as a self-published author, but it will require work, sacrifice, and faith on your part. If God has truly called you to write and publish a novel, He will empower you do to it. He will make a way for you to accomplish things you can’t do on your own. He will provide what is needed in order to do what needs to be done.
Stay in step with Him. Do all that you are doing to His glory. Wait for His perfect timing and watch Him work in ways you never imagined were possible.
A.C. Williams is a coffee-drinking, sushi-eating, story-telling nerd who loves cats, country living, and all things Japanese. Author of more than 20 books, she keeps her fiction readers laughing with wildly imaginative adventures about samurai superheroes, clumsy church secretaries, and goofy malfunctioning androids; her non-fiction readers just laugh at her and the hysterical life experiences she’s survived. If that’s your cup of tea (or coffee), join the fun at www.amycwilliams.com.
