IT'S TIME

I'm super excited to be self-publishing the third novel in my Virginia Justice series, Killer Shoot . In fact, I may just make it a stand alone or the first in a new series of books I have in mind featuring police recruits. I've been doing a lot of research on cover art and how to use it to target your audience, distribution platforms, pricing, niche marketing, the whole gamut--and I feel ready for this next step in publishing. I'm following the progress of those who have blazed the trail before me in hopes that I avoid common pitfalls and mistakes.



One notable pitfall is the use of vanity publishers.



Simon and Schuster announced the creation of their vanity imprint, Archway Publishing, and would you know they've attached some RIDICULOUS prices to their publishing packages? Who in the world is going to pay $15,000 for the super-duper-deluxe-all-inclusive-megawatt-not-guaranteed-to-make-you-a-bestseller-but-probably-a-good-bet-you-won't-recoup-the-cost-in-royalties-publicist package? Well, the sad thing is someone will (and others have in the past) or they wouldn't be charging that asinine fee.



Freelance, people.



It's great that authors such as Theresa Ragan, have listed the professionals they use for editing, cover design, formatting and when you research the end products through reviews, you can see for yourself whether or not people noticed glaring editing errors or if they loved/hated the cover, and a few just might mention the formatting on their ereaders.



Okay, but if you're not spending $15Gs, what are you spending?



This article lists a range of typical fees indie authors will have to pay upfront and I say, based on my limited knowledge, it's pretty accurate. I'll be looking at mainly the last three out of the four areas covered:



Beta Readers: $400-$4000 (Get some friends to do it for free ;-) )

Copy Editing: $35-$100/hr (I've found prices by page count and/or word count)

Cover Art: $200-$400 for images $100-$500 for fonts and Designers vary (I've seen prices way cheaper--especially if you buy the images yourself--and I've seen great pre-made covers comparable to what's selling for as low as $60)

Formatting: $100-$200 (You can find cheaper deals)



Alright, so the greatest expense will most likely be the editing. I'm tracking I'll need to spend anywhere from $500-$1000 to produce Killer Shoot . Way cheaper than the aforementioned S&S package, and given the percentage of royalties I'm receiving now, if I earn the full 60-70% with the rest due to the distributor (Amazon, Smashwords, etc), I can recoup my expenses in a couple of months (using sales numbers from  Rafael ).



Sounds like a plan, right?



Self-publishing may sound scary and something way to complicated to take on by yourself, and believe me I felt the same way awhile back, but I see this as an opportunity to do something I've never done before--be my own boss. I enjoy researching the industry and I have a drive to be independent.



An indie author.



Instead of relying on a publisher (of whom I'm one of many authors), I'll be responsible for knowing what works and what doesn't in publishing to readers and experimenting with marketing techniques and pricing methods. Captain of my own bridge--and honestly, no one has more vested interest in the success of my books than I do so I should be at the helm.



I'm not alone in that sentiment as today you can't browse the shelves of Amazon or B&N without coming across indie titles AND big-time, Big 6 published authors who've done the exact same thing. Am I comparing myself to those authors that have "made it"? Not at all. I've found common ground with other indie authors and am fueling my entrepreneurial spirit.



More to come!