Recently a fellow writer told me he was considering self-publishing his next book because he was “tired of all the crap that goes along with writing that’s not writing.” Specifically, he told me he just wanted to wear his “writing hat” for a while.
I had bad news for my friend. Self-publishing requires wearing a lot more hats than just your “writing” one.
The minute you’re done with your writer’s hat you’ll be putting on your editing hat. Editing your own writing (I mean really editing it) is hard — too hard for most people, in fact. Oh, fixing spelling and grammar mistakes is the easy stuff. It’s those big edits that make it hard (gut wrenching at times). I’m not talking about removing paragraphs, I’m talking about removing entire chapters. Or characters. As a writer your job is to create stories; as an editor, your job is to tear them apart and rebuild them. If it seems as if the two hats have conflicting agendas, many times they do. I’ve read that an author’s job is to write as many words as needed and an editor’s job is to cut as many words as possible. It’s a difficult thing to do, especially to your own babies.
In this day and age you’ll need a technical support hat. Chances are you already know your way around a word processor, and that’s great, but that’s just the beginning. Even before I finished writing my latest book (Gastric Steps) I had registered the GastricSteps.com domain and set up a related Facebook Group and Twitter Account. I set up WordPress on the website and linked it to the social media accounts so they all share information.
To sell Commodork and Invading Spaces as eBooks I had to convert the original source files to PDF, set up PayPal merchant links, and automatic downloads. I’m in the process of recording and releasing all of my books as audio books, which requires a whole new set of skills. None of this stuff was impossible to figure out, but if any of this sounds like techno-jumble you should consider finding the biggest computer nerd you know and purchasing them a cake, or some cookies, or a gift certificate to Thinkgeek.com.
I also find myself wearing my artistic hat from time to time. I designed the front and back covers to both of my books. At a minimum, you’ll need to know how to layout any photos if your book contains any. If your book requires drawings or illustrations, you may find yourself creating those, too. The artistic guy works a lot with the technical guy when designing website logos, banners, and advertisements.
The hat I like wearing the least is the one that’s most important when it comes to selling your work: your public relations hat. You know those friends of yours on Facebook and Twitter who won’t stop posting about their latest Kickstarter, or those co-workers who are constantly trying to get you to buy something to support their kid’s fundraiser? Congratulations; you’re about to become one (if you plan on selling anything, that is).
Everybody who self-publishes can sell 50 or so copies of their book to family members and co-workers who will gladly fork over a few bucks to own a copy of your vampire-themed romance novel simply because it has your name on the cover. When those sales dry up, the real work begins. A recent article on TechCrunch.com noted that Amazon currently has 3.4 million books for sale and is adding a new one every five minutes. That’s a lot of books. To not get lost in the crowd you’ll need to use those social media accounts your tech guy set up for you. (That was you with a different hat on, by the way.)
When I released Commodork I purchased table space at multiple video game conventions where I sold and signed books and stood around talking about old computers with strangers until I was hoarse and my feet hurt. I set up interviews with magazines, pestered website owners, launched a related podcast, and purchased advertisements. Two years later when I released Invading Spaces I did it all over again. I gave speeches at Defcon and Notacon about self-publishing, and one at the Oklahoma Electronic Gaming Expo where I talked about collecting arcade games. I wrote press releases about my books and sent them to the local newspaper. My wife printed up business cards for me and I handed them out. If you hate talking about yourself and your books, you’ll hate wearing this hat.
As much as I dislike it, occasionally I write articles about self-publishing and add links to my books Commodork and Invading Spaces (grumble).
When those sales start rolling in you’ll need to put on your shipping hat. When you put this hat on it’s time to roll up your sleeves.
I order my books 50 copies at a time through Lulu.com. When they arrive I unbox them and place them in stacks in my garage. As people order them I autograph them, place them inside priority mail flat rate envelopes ($5.75), and drop them off at the post office. Because my local post office is only open when I am at work, I spend a lot of time at the self-service machine. It takes me roughly three minutes per package to swipe all the required screens and punch in the address (required, even though I have it hand-written on the package as well). When my books were first released and sales were higher, multiple sales each week meant multiple trips to the post office each week. I understand you can print postage from your home now. I really should look into that.
Finally, while not limited to self-publishers, you’ll want to keep your accounting hat close by. I sell my books electronically through Amazon; in turn, at the end of each year, they send me tax forms. They also direct deposit my monthly earnings into my bank account and sometimes things get confusing. I didn’t keep good records of how many books I actually sold throughout the years, something I regret now.
It goes without saying that some or all of these hats can be outsourced. Outsourcing typically equates to money, so if you’re looking to hire an editor, a tech-support guy, or a publicist, shop around and make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. So far I’ve worn all of these hats myself, but I can tell you there are times when I wish I hadn’t.
In the end I suppose that’s why they call it self-publishing and not self-writing.
As a bald guy, I’m used to wearing (and switching) hats pretty frequently, especially at this time of the year.
Fortunately I actually like doing a lot of the “side” jobs (to me, it’s all one big job). And you’re right, introverts like me aren’t always comfortable with the self-promotion-in-person side of things, but sometimes I do the public speaking thing precisely because it scares the piss out of me. Because sometimes that’s a perfectly healthy thing to do.
I misread “artistic” as autistic, and pictured you withdrawing from social interaction for a bit. Perfectly reasonable, but not you, at least not for long! LOL Artistic on the other hand, you are very good at. And all of the above are the reason, although I’m one of those who is sure I have a book in me, is the reason I will never be “self-published”! LOL