Image Credit: AbridgeClub.com

I was inspired to write this post from James Harrington’s Blog of Geek and Writing.

Here’s the link to his original post:

• What To Pay For When Publishing …

As someone who has several novels / stories in the works (A never-ending cycle, it seems), I’ve gotten more and more curious about self-publishing in the last year or so. I have nothing ready to self-publish as of yet, but I like to plan ahead!

Jim offers this advice, as a self-published author on Amazon. You should be prepared to pay for the following:

1. ISBN Numbers
2. Copyright registration
3. Cover
4. Editing and Reviewing
5. Advertising

He brings up some excellent points. Before reading his post, I knew that having someone else design the cover, as well as hiring someone else to edit and review your work, would definitely be worth the money. However, I didn’t think about ISBN numbers, copyright registration, and advertising.

Jim says that if you do decide to self-publish, you should be prepared to spend at least $400 at an absolute bare minimum. However, it’s also wise to spend a little more if you want your work to reach more people! (Don’t we all?)

Jim’s post made me research a little bit deeper. Keep in mind – Everyone has their own opinion, and the Internet is chock-full of advice about self-publishing.

There are so many avenues available now – It made my head spin! There’s CreateSpace and IngramSpark, and then a massive number of independent publishers. A Google search for “self-publishing” is almost overwhelming and panic-inducing.

Here’s a few links:

• The real costs of self-publishing (Amazon Author Insights)
• Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know (cnet)
• Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book (Jane Friedman)
• How To Self-Publish A Print Book (The Creative Penn)

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A lot of these articles tend to agree on several items:

1. Purchase your own ISBN (International Standard Book Number).
2. Hiring “book doctors” and getting it copy edited by a professional.
3. Don’t just choose one medium – Consider publishing in print and e-book formats, and even audio books.
4. Marketing is key.
5. A good cover design is immensely helpful.
6. Do your pricing research, and be mindful of the different percentages of the price that each company takes (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible, etc.) when a copy of your book is sold.

The bottom line – The publishing and self-publishing worlds seem to be constantly evolving. It’s hard to keep up with!

But, I’m glad that I have bloggers like James, among others, who are willing to write posts, offer advice, and answer questions!

Have you self-published anything? If so, what was your experience like? Can you offer any advice?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂