On Writing : Change of direction by John Roane

Got a friend here in Texas who writes and self publishes on Amazon. Sure there's a learning curve, and it gets done. After he's written he has a story editor go over it looking for mistakes in the story/story structure and typos, he rewrites and then it's off to a new set of fresh eyes for a line by line edit, then tweaks it, and then runs it through Grammerly. Yes, he pays along the way. He uses AI to create the cover art. And Amazon has a great write up on how to self publish and all. So go for it!!!

Self-publishing isn't difficult. It seems a little overwhelming at first, but after you've gone through the whole process once, it's actually pretty easy and places like Amazon and Draft2Digital provide a lot of guidance. Yes, you need to put the polish on yourself, or pay someone to do line edits.

If you join some writer's groups you can find other writers who are willing to trade with you for beta reading and line edits. Of course, you have to filter them to find the ones who actually know what they're doing, and you have to be willing to do the same for them. There are tons of places where you can get covers made. Amazon now has a cover creator, too.

IMO, the hardest part of self-publishing is marketing, since you have to do it all yourself. Well, that and trying to get readers to leave reviews. It's shocking how hard it is to get people to take a minute to leave a review, which is really important for moving your books up in the rankings.

Thanks for the advice. I will jump into the deep end of the pool. KDP is a totally alien environment for me, but at least the writer has control over his work, even if it is dominated by Amazon. The cost will have to be controlled. I have colleagues who have spent a fortune on editors. My fourth novel, when submitted came back with minimal notations. The errors made were dumb ones because I was teaching and English class and got rushed. My publisher told me that not only was my final draft the cleanest I had submitted but was the cleanest among all her other submissions, so I know I can do my own editing. I will immerse myself into the Herculean task because I don't want my hard work to disappear.

Without question, marketing is the mountain to climb. Actual self-publishing should be a breeze. Cover design may have to be an outside service.

Good luck to you, John. Hope you are able to use real humans for most aspects of your publishing journey, rather than AI. It's important for us all to Support the Creatives!

Pamela Jaye Smith Well, would you be throwing Google in the Recycle Bin too?

Yes, write a list of exactly what you want then let go and see what you attract.

There are alternatives, like Duck-Duck-Go. Mainly what I mean is using real people for audio, artwork and editing. It's why the writers and actors were on strike for many months last year. And why a number of them are bringing suit against AI companies using their work for "training purposes". // As for Google's Gmail, I do keep some carrier pigeons on hand just in case all the satellites go out and we have to go back to the old-fashioned way of communications...:)

Thanks for the support. As for AI, what little experience I've had with it has been mostly disappointing. What I write comes out of my head. That's the fun of writing, coming up with something no one else has thought of. I think my fifth novel will be my best yet. I want it to take wings and fly. I will write about my experiences with self publishing. At the moment, I am lost in a wilderness of my own creation. It's going to be up to me to find my way out.

It's tough all around, and the writers always get screwed. Sadly, I'm going through a similarly terrible experience right now, having been replaced as the writer for an IP I built from the ground as a condition of investment from an outside entity. Gotta love those work for hire scenarios . . .

That's a shame, Terrence. May you soon be well-rewarded for another IP that stays solidly with you.

Hey John Roane , I totally understand the feeling of being thrown into the deep end. I recommend checking out Dave Chesson the Kindlepreneur and Self Publishing with Dale L. Roberts on YouTube to help you learn the ropes of self publishing and KDP in particular. They helped me understand this side of the business. And as far as marketing and promotion, I use an app called StoryOrigin which lets you do newsletter swaps with other authors, leveraging the power of their mailing lists while helping to build your own.

Joe: Thanks for the pep talk. I really need the motivation at this point in my stumbling career as a writer. I will check out those sources.

The nice part of self-publishing is keeping a larger share of royalties. The downside is you're doing everything on your own. Look into whether you are still able to use the master docs for the PDF and cover design or whether you'll need to get new ones made. If your work lends itself well to serialization, you might consider that route with Kindle Vella or Wattpad (less editorial work since it's all digital, don't have to worry about layout and whatnot). Depending on your genre, you find find a small publisher in that genre willing to re-publish your work. Just need to make sure they're not a vanity publisher charging you $$ for no return. Having some sales numbers to back up why they should republish you will be helpful John Roane.

I've self-published all my books. It was a steep learning curve, but it now means I have minimal outlay - usually only for images I might use for the cover etc. But the profit is all mine. I control everything, including the marketing which is by far and away the hardest part to master (I'm not rich by any means). If you have the copyright, and your books are already familiar to an audience, then I'd definitely give the self-published route a try for those existing books. There are tools, like Reedsy and Draft 2 Digital and Calibre that can help you with converting from PDF to ePub's and the like required for Amazon and other online stores. Good luck!

Thanks, David, for the info about the conversion tools. Best of luck with all your creative projects.

John, I started out with hybrid publishing, and am now self-publishing, which I found was best, as I was doing almost all the work myself anyway. Draft2Digital is the easiest for converting your pdf into book form and also for distributing your work to markets: https://www.draft2digital.com/ . As far as editing, I edit my work myself, as I have extremely strong editing skills, however, I always want other eyes to look at the work, so I hire readers to review and comment on the work: https://www.fiverr.com/ (there are other sites as well) . Marketing has been the hardest part, though sometimes I hire folks to assist with marketing. Canva: https://www.canva.com/ is my favorite. They have everything for free or nomial monthly amount. And don't forget to obtain ISBNs and copyrights for your work. Yes, it all does cost, however, I think us creatives know it is worth it to get our work to the public. Once you self publish one work, the next will be easier. https://www.ravenelldynasty.net/

John: It's true that more people make money off writers than off writing. But I"m 85, and I do all my editing for novella-size works, and under. I farm out the heavy lifting for novels to an editor at about $500 each. I do my own interior graphic design and front and back covers. I buy ISBNs ten at a time and the Copyright Office website makes it easy to do my own filing for copyright. Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing is also easy to use; they guide you through all the steps, they have help pages to refer to, and you can also seek help by searching the Internet, e.g,. "how do I size my book cover for paperbacks?" Fortunately, at my age, I still have a memory like one of those big grey animals.

Is the goal for you novelist to make a movie from your books? It seems like covers seem to be an issue. I could do both; make your movie & provide you with a book cover independently done. I don't turn them into screenplays unless you have the patience for that.

Thanks everyone for the advice and valuable information. At the moment I am in a funk suffering from PPCS (Post Publisher Collapse Syndrome). I realize I have a lot of work to do. I have decided to go back to my first novel and re-edit it. A friend came up with the comment "mine them for gold." I am a better writer now and I think I can turn them from adequate to excellent. Writing a good thriller takes at least six months, if you really buckle down and work at it, or even longer. They big names put out one a year. My big problem is I don't have the income to pay out more money. My publisher spoiled me by supplying editing and art work. So, I will have to do it all myself. I will finish number five before I start slogging away at the beginning, again. When I started #5, I decided to wing it and just write. What a mess. Now I am outlining and building my chapters. I can see where I went wrong.

Hi there, John. Wishing you much success with all your works. Please do keep us posted.