How to Self-Publish Your Book

In a recent blog post, How to Write a Novel in Ten Steps, I explained how I went from waking up one day with a dream of writing a book to actually finishing the manuscript. In today’s post, I’ll explain how I self-published my work and marketed my novel. I’ll also tell you how I ended up finding a publisher.

When I first started writing Rachel’s Folly, I didn’t think about what I was going to do with it after it was done. I wrote it mainly as a personal goal, something to check off the bucket list. But, when I finally finished the manuscript, I changed my mind. I had worked so hard and so long on the story, finally getting it to a point where I felt proud of it, I suddenly found myself really wanting others to read it.

So, this is what I did, and what you should do, too …

1. Create Your Book

To be honest, I never considered approaching a traditional publisher. I was intimidated and it seemed rather daunting, so I went directly to CreateSpace, which is owned by Amazon. I formatted and uploaded the text myself. It wasn’t hard, it just takes practice. I also took the picture used for the book cover (with my iPhone) and had a good friend, who happens to be a graphic artist, design and format it for me.

It’s critical that your book cover looks professional. If you don’t happen to be a graphic artist or know one personally, there are tons of cover designers you can hire online. Createspace even has designers you can hire, as well.

CreateSpace lets you produce paperbacks and eBooks for Kindle. But, the most astonishing thing about using CreateSpace is they automatically allow you to send your book straight to their sales channels!

But here’s the thing, no one will know your book is there if you don’t market it. And, even if you get people to check it out on Amazon, if you have zero (or even just a few) reviews, no one’s likely going to buy it.

Which is why you need to …

2.  Get Reviews

The first thing I did when I decided to market Rachel’s Folly, was to get legitimate reviews. I looked for book critics who were specifically interested in my genre and were open to reading independently published work.

I searched for reviewers on The IndieView, looked for books similar to mine on Amazon and reached out to those who left good reviews. I reached out to about 140 reviewers and received 12 reviews in return. I know, it’s not great, but it’s not too bad for an unknown author in a market saturated with debut novels.

Then, it was time to have a party …

3. Hold a Book Launch

Once I had some reviews under my belt, I planned and promoted my book launch through Facebook. I created an event and invited my friends and family. We ended up with a packed house (over 70 people came out) and we sold out of books before the night was over.

In addition to trying to build awareness and a fan base through Facebook, I attended local and surrounding book festivals. I spoke at Book Clubs and I held a giveaway on Goodreads, which led to over 400 readers adding Rachel’s Folly to their “to be read” lists. I was also able to get into my local independent bookstore.

But, the most important thing you can do to market your book is to …

4. Build a Social Media Presence

In retrospect, this is something I should have been doing when I first started writing my manuscript. Four years would have been an awesome amount of time to build relationships with people who could have helped me promote it when it was finally published.

I realize now, the reason I had a packed house for my book launch, was because the people there were people I had real relationships with. They genuinely were interested in supporting me. Some of them were people I had known all my life, while others were friends I made along the way. But, in most cases, they were all people I was connected to via Facebook.

So, if you want to reach more people, you need to build more meaningful relationships. And the way we do this in today’s world is through social media. Whether you like social media or not, that’s where your potential readers are. They are on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, Tumbler, etc.  I’m not saying you should be using all these platforms (you shouldn’t). But, you should pick a couple (ones you actually like) and go out there and build relationships.

Even if you want to go through a traditional publisher … more than likely, they will want to know if you already have a social media following.

Keep in mind, these are the things I did to self-publish and market my book over a year ago. The publishing industry continues to change and evolve at rocket speed. So, I suggest you do more research before deciding on your action plan. I’m sure there are more things available now than when I was starting out.

When I felt like I had taken my novel as far as I could, I began to look for traditional publishers. I went through Writer’s Market and looked for agents and publishers that were interested in my genre and submitted queries to them. I reached out to about fifty agents. I only heard back from three, and all were dead ends.

But then, I came across a hybrid publisher, Booktrope, and they were open for submissions. So, I applied and was accepted.

A hybrid publisher is somewhere in-between a traditional publisher and self-publishing. You give up part of your royalties (like you do with traditional publishing) but, you remain very integrated in the process of producing and ultimately marketing your work.

One of the best things about Booktrope is that you’re able to build your own team. You get to interview your book manager, editor, cover designer and proofreader and decide who will work with you on your project.

Another advantage with publishing with Booktrope is you get to network with other Booktrope authors, book managers and designers. You’re part of a community that supports each other. It was a perfect fit for me, because I enjoy being on social media and meeting new people, plus working with a team is so much more fun than working alone in a silo.

I was also recently accepted into International Thriller Writers and I’ll be attending the ThrillerFest X in NYC this Summer. Trust me, this wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t had a publisher.

I’ve only been with Booktrope for a few months, but they have already done more for me in this short period of time than I was able to do for myself in over a year.

One of the first things they did was to change my book cover. Even though they said there was nothing technically wrong with my original cover, they felt like it was geared more for a horror genre. We decided on a cover that was more suspenseful and did a better job of inviting the reader to engage.

I love both covers, but I agree that the new one is more reflective of the book’s genre.

Rachel’s Folly was just re-released in April. The book launch is underway and we’ll be conducting more promotions in the upcoming months. Only time will tell how far it will go, but, I have no regrets. With all the cutbacks and closures taking place with traditional publishers, I’m very grateful to be working with Booktrope while I get to plug away on my next novel.

How about you? Do you have any tips on self-publishing, promoting your book or finding a publisher? I’d love to hear from you.

Here are more resources for self-publishing and self promotion:

How to Self-Publish Your Book Through Amazon

50 Things to Know to Self-Publish a Book on Amazon: Helpful Tips on Self-Publishing and Self-Promotion

How to Get Reviews for Your Book

What to Consider When Deciding How to Publish