Self-publishing Tips From Experts

If you’re looking to self-publish your work for the first time, it can be a bit overwhelming. From cover art and editing services to virtual bookstores and retailers, to pre and post-launch marketing strategies, there’s a lot to think about — a thousand questions just steeping in your mind. And that’s great. Getting a good idea of your starting point and the various steps ahead of you is crucial to successfully completing any journey. But here’s the thing: let them steep for too long, and Self-Doubt is likely to waddle in with a suitcase full of excuses, persuading you to abandon all hope and just try something else.

Luckily, there are twice as many answers out there as there are questions. Seasoned experts have shared their knowledge and experiences with the whole world through blogs, podcasts, and myriad other outlets. We can access this information and use it to kick Self-Doubt right out the door — one question at a time. To get started, take a look at this fantastic article by Betty Kelly Sargent on Publisher’s Weekly called Advice for New Indie Authors from Self-Publishing Veterans. Kelly Sargent is the founder and CEO of BookWorks, a prominent online self-publishing community and a great resource for anyone interested in self-publishing. In this post, Kelly and the BookWorks team reached out to leaders in the self-publishing world and asked them to give a single piece of advice to those thinking about self-publishing a book for the first time. Though originally published back in 2014, these words of wisdom from experts like Jane Friedman, Hugh Howey, Cindy Ratzlaff, and many others are no less relevant today.