When to Hire a Professional

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When to Hire a Professional

by L. Diane Wolfe, @SpunkonaStick

Self-publishing has become a very attractive venture for writers these days. It’s now much easier to send a book out into the world without the help of a publisher.

When you self-publish a book, you take on a whole new role – business owner. All of the duties and responsibilities of a publishing house now fall on your shoulders. Some of these things an author can do with the proper skills and training. Often time is a big factor, and when you are a one person band, there’s only so much you can do.

It’s important to know when to hire a professional. It can make the difference between a shoddy book and a great book. Because it doesn’t matter how great you are as a writer – if everything else is second rate, no one will buy your book.

There are a few areas where you need to weigh the pros and cons – do you do it yourself or hire a professional:

1 – Editing

The one area where self-published authors need to seek outside assistance is editing. No matter how good a writer, you are too close to your work to properly edit it. Critique partners can find most of the major mistakes, especially when it comes to the storyline, pacing, and continuity. But a professional editor is a must if you want your work polished and shined. There are several levels of editing, from basic line edits to full revisions, and each writer will need to decide the extent of the edit needed.

2 – Formatting

This one comes down to time, money, and the willingness to learn. Basic ebook formatting for sites such as Amazon is not difficult to learn, especially with so many tutorials online. Smashwords also has a great style guide for their site, although it’s easy to mess up their strict formatting requirements. With ebooks, you have to decide if you have the time to learn to do it right or if it would be simpler to hire someone to format for you so you can focus on writing and promotions.

Formatting for print is trickier, and it’s easy for a self-published author to just do it in Word. But if you want to add a lot of flair to your book, including images, and you want the text properly justified, etc., you’ll need a program like InDesign. Again, there is a sharp learning curve, and the program isn’t cheap. If you’re looking for more than just a basic style print book, you may want to hire a formatter.

3 – Cover Art & Design

Most writers realize that while they are great writers, they are not great graphic designers. If you have training in this area and are really good with Photoshop, you can design your own cover art. What you have to remember is that your cover will be competing with millions of covers – it has to look professional and catch reader’s eyes. And if you want print books, will you be able to create the entire wrap-around design? Professional illustrators and book cover designers aren’t cheap, but they can create a cover that will sell books and compete with the big publishers.

4 – Book Trailers

There are some great tutorials online. Making a book trailer can be very low cost. It can also look low budget if you cut too many corners. As with the book cover, if you are comfortable using the program and are willing to put some effort into it and purchase the images and music from reputable places, then it’s definitely something you can do on your own. But if you couldn’t splice together two scenes to save your life, you might want to hire out. A cheap trailer is not better than none at all.

5 – Promotional Materials

This includes bookmarks, flyers, postcards, brochures, etc. All authors should have bookmarks, even if their book is ebook only. And the nicer the bookmark, the more likely people will be to save it. If you can properly lay one out in PhotoShop, front and back, and with all the information, then do it. Otherwise, find a graphics designer. That bookmark represents you and your book. And it’s even more important that a business card looks professional. You want to make a good impression.

6 – Book Tours

Book tours can be set up through a tour company or you can set up your own. If you are connected online and willing to search even farther to find the best sites, then setting up your own makes sense. Online, it always works best if you have a relationship with someone. If you aren’t connected and are pressed for time, you may want to hire someone to set up a tour for you.

Always ask for references or to see samples of someone’s work before hiring. Make sure you understand the terms, the cost, the timeframe, and that you are both on the same page.

And if you’re doing it yourself, make sure you have the time and tools to do it right!

L. Diane Wolfe

Professional Speaker & Author

Known as “Spunk On A Stick,” Wolfe is a member of the National Speakers Association. She conducts seminars on book publishing, promoting, leadership, and goal-setting. Print and ebook formatting, along with author consultation, are services she offers on her website. She is the author of seven books, including How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now and a NA/YA series, The Circle of Friends. Wolfe travels extensively for media interviews and speaking engagements, maintains numerous websites & blogs, and contributes to several other sites and newsletters.

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