Guest Post: “I Never Knew Giving Birth to a Book Was So Hard” by Nikolas Baron
As with all writers (and let’s face it, everyone writes), the dream is to pen down all your thoughts into this incredibly massive book and have it impact the world so greatly that random strangers will come up to you, shake your hand, and let you know what a difference your book made in their lives. That is the dream. I cannot deny that this sneaky idea hasn’t found its way into the crevices of my head every now and then. However, when I think about it, every other person has a book published these days, including my neighbour, my high school friend from way back, my colleague, and even Grandma.
I’m currently working at Grammarly, an online proofreading program, and part of my job involves interacting with various writers to find out what tools, if any, they use to aid their writing. At some point somehow, the conversation usually steers toward self-publishing. I do tons of freelance writing on the side, and I completely share the same sentiments with many of these writers, and that is self-publishing trumps traditional publishing due to a myriad of factors that have to do with lag time, the freedom to decide on various aspects of the book, and royalties. Thus began my journey into the vast unknown of self-publishing, and these are some pointers I picked up along the way.
Read, read, read. If everything is just one big looming fog, and assuming you don’t have jack-of-all-trades family and friends, chances are that your best bet of finding out more about self-publishing is through professionals who have taken the time to write down the different ways you can approach the unfamiliar. Two incredible authors I recommend are Steve Weber and Guy Kawasaki. If you’re really a novice at this, start with Guy Kawasaki; but if you’re looking for better resources, Steve Weber provides some reliable references for marketing and self-publishing. Both books are equally comprehensive and should give you a solid idea of how and where to begin.
Marketing. As I’ve mentioned earlier, every other person has written a book these days. While publishing has started to lax, so has the exponential penetration of books into the market. The question then is in knowing how to make your book known to your target audience. Start using social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and LinkedIn. Tell people about your book while you’re writing it, and build a fanbase for yourself. One thing you have to note, though, is your constant involvement in social media. Many people jump on the bandwagon because it’s free. The efforts invested in social housekeeping, however, might not translate into the coveted results many authors hope for. Social media, at its core, was made as a platform to build relationships, share stories, and connect with people – that is exactly what authors should be aiming to do.
You need a proofreader. If you can’t spend the money on a professional editor, a very economical way to proofread your work is with a natural linguistics program such as Grammarly. Grammarly has the ability to grammar-check your manuscript to pristine conditions. Sentence structures, grammar, spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, negative suggestion, you name it.
I thought I’d never have to feel the pains of child labour, but honestly, I think publishing a book comes pretty close. You know what they say, “If it’s not hard, it’s not worth doing.” What are your views? I’m looking forward to hearing some of your experiences in regard to writing and publishing.
