Indie Tuesday—Are You Ready to Self-Publish?
by Jessica Keller
@AuthorKeller
Frantic heart palpitations. Occasional bouts of hyperventilation. Random sweating coupled with a coffee IV. Jolting awake in the middle of the night. Moments of confidence intermingled with countless instances of hiding under your desk. Are you ready to self-publish?
Sounds like fun, right? Well, that’s a normal day for an Indie author.
Don’t get me wrong, all publishing is difficult. I’m a hybrid author—meaning I have books and contracts with traditional publishers and then I also have books that I indie publish.
Indie publishing has often been referred to as the ‘easy way.’ But I’m here to tell you that self-publishing your book is a million times more gut-wrenching than trade publishing. It’s not for the faint of heart and because of that, it’s not a good route for everyone.
In the trade industry there’s a vetting system before a book is published. First you need to get an agent to believe that your writing is worth taking a risk on. Then both of you work to convince an editor at a publishing house to choose your manuscript as the one out of the thousands that they see every single year. Once they offer a contract, the story will go through multiple rounds of edits (for me it’s usually 2-3) with two different editors before it makes it to the printing press.
Sure, the thoughts of “will anyone like my book?” and “what if no one buys it?” flitted through my mind when my debut was about to hit stores. But that was followed by a much stronger reassurance. An agent, a publishing board, and multiple editors all thought this was a good story and had all worked to improve it for more than a year before it hit store shelves.
Indie authors have none of those encouragements. As an Indie, you decide when you believe your book is ready for readers. You choose how many edits it receives. And when you press “publish” there are no human assurances backing you up. When all goes live there is a chance that no one—absolutely no one—besides your mother will buy that book. Ever.
Why even take that risk?
Because I’m called to write and I’ll keep choosing to be faithful to that calling. It’s as simple as that. There are stories and characters that God has placed in my heart that don’t fit into the niche I write for in trade publishing, so I’ll put those books into the world through the vehicle of indie publishing.
Each time one of my indie books release I won’t have the comfortable security that I feel when one of my trade books comes out. But, last time I checked, not one person in the Bible with a God given calling had an easy time of it. Uphill battles, struggles, and set-backs are all road signs on the path to following your calling (no matter what that may be).
If you’ve been through a rough patch on your journey lately, don’t lose heart. If writing is a talent God has given you and story is a passion He has placed in your heart—then pursue that dream with everything you have.
Seek out the best information about both the trade industry and the self-publishing world, because you never know where your writing career will take you.
Where do you see your writing path taking you right now? Have you ever considered Indie Publishing? What fears do you have concerning the writing path you're on right now?
TWEETABLES
How do you know when you're ready to self-publish? #publishing #indie via @AuthorKeller (Click to Tweet)
Self Publishing: Why it should no longer be called the "easy way" to publish a book. #indie #publishing -via @authorkeller (Click to Tweet)
Jessica Keller holds degrees in both Communications and Biblical Studies. She is multi-published in both Young Adult Fiction and Romance and has 100+ magazine and newspaper articles to her name. Her latest release is a Young Adult Fantasy -
Saving Yesterday
. You can find her at www.JessicaKellerBooks.com, on Twitter @AuthorKeller, on Tumblr, or on her Facebook Author Page. She lives in the Chicagoland suburbs with her amazing husband, beautiful daughter, and two annoyingly outgoing cats that happen to be named after superheroes.
Frantic heart palpitations. Occasional bouts of hyperventilation. Random sweating coupled with a coffee IV. Jolting awake in the middle of the night. Moments of confidence intermingled with countless instances of hiding under your desk. Are you ready to self-publish?Sounds like fun, right? Well, that’s a normal day for an Indie author.
Don’t get me wrong, all publishing is difficult. I’m a hybrid author—meaning I have books and contracts with traditional publishers and then I also have books that I indie publish.
Indie publishing has often been referred to as the ‘easy way.’ But I’m here to tell you that self-publishing your book is a million times more gut-wrenching than trade publishing. It’s not for the faint of heart and because of that, it’s not a good route for everyone.
In the trade industry there’s a vetting system before a book is published. First you need to get an agent to believe that your writing is worth taking a risk on. Then both of you work to convince an editor at a publishing house to choose your manuscript as the one out of the thousands that they see every single year. Once they offer a contract, the story will go through multiple rounds of edits (for me it’s usually 2-3) with two different editors before it makes it to the printing press.
Sure, the thoughts of “will anyone like my book?” and “what if no one buys it?” flitted through my mind when my debut was about to hit stores. But that was followed by a much stronger reassurance. An agent, a publishing board, and multiple editors all thought this was a good story and had all worked to improve it for more than a year before it hit store shelves. Indie authors have none of those encouragements. As an Indie, you decide when you believe your book is ready for readers. You choose how many edits it receives. And when you press “publish” there are no human assurances backing you up. When all goes live there is a chance that no one—absolutely no one—besides your mother will buy that book. Ever.
Why even take that risk?
Because I’m called to write and I’ll keep choosing to be faithful to that calling. It’s as simple as that. There are stories and characters that God has placed in my heart that don’t fit into the niche I write for in trade publishing, so I’ll put those books into the world through the vehicle of indie publishing.
Each time one of my indie books release I won’t have the comfortable security that I feel when one of my trade books comes out. But, last time I checked, not one person in the Bible with a God given calling had an easy time of it. Uphill battles, struggles, and set-backs are all road signs on the path to following your calling (no matter what that may be).
If you’ve been through a rough patch on your journey lately, don’t lose heart. If writing is a talent God has given you and story is a passion He has placed in your heart—then pursue that dream with everything you have.
Seek out the best information about both the trade industry and the self-publishing world, because you never know where your writing career will take you.
Where do you see your writing path taking you right now? Have you ever considered Indie Publishing? What fears do you have concerning the writing path you're on right now?
TWEETABLES
How do you know when you're ready to self-publish? #publishing #indie via @AuthorKeller (Click to Tweet)
Self Publishing: Why it should no longer be called the "easy way" to publish a book. #indie #publishing -via @authorkeller (Click to Tweet)
Jessica Keller holds degrees in both Communications and Biblical Studies. She is multi-published in both Young Adult Fiction and Romance and has 100+ magazine and newspaper articles to her name. Her latest release is a Young Adult Fantasy -
Saving Yesterday
. You can find her at www.JessicaKellerBooks.com, on Twitter @AuthorKeller, on Tumblr, or on her Facebook Author Page. She lives in the Chicagoland suburbs with her amazing husband, beautiful daughter, and two annoyingly outgoing cats that happen to be named after superheroes.
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