5 Things I’ve Learnt About Self-Publishing

1. Use Smashwords to publish and distribute your books. It’s the best distributor I’ve found, and it’s easy to publish with Smashwords, even if you don’t know the first thing about publishing, formatting and/or marketing.

2. If you’re writing a series, make the first book permanently free. There are so many new authors out there now and, as great as self-publishing is for authors, it can be a nightmare for readers with all the badly written, unedited books out there and no quality control. Making your first book free allows readers to see if they enjoy your writing without spending a cent and, if they enjoy the first book, they will likely purchase the rest of the series.

3. Self-publishing is better than traditional publishing, in my opinion. You have more control over your work, and, if you’re prepared to put in the necessary time, you don’t have to wait a year or more after completion to see your book published. Indie authors (independent/self-published authors) also earn more royalties per sale, which means you can lower your prices to make it more affordable to readers and still make more money per book than if you’d gone the traditional route.

4. You need to edit your books properly and then have them professionally edited too. There’s nothing worse than spending money on a book only to discover that it’s badly written and full of typos and other mistakes. It’s bad form, and shows readers that you have no pride in your work.

5.  Don’t be fazed by bad reviews – or, better still, don’t read them. Remember that a review is just one person’s opinion and not everyone will enjoy everything you write. Don’t take it personally and don’t let it affect your writing or make you stop writing.