I have finally decided to publish Tollesbury Time Forever as an ebook on Amazon. It makes sense to me in lots of ways. Has anybody gone through that thought process of "Do I hang out for a 'yes' from a publisher/agent or shall I just do it myself?" I'd be really interested to hear what you decided and what was the thing that finally swung you in one direction or another.

Take care good people!

Stu
http://tollesburytimeforever.blogspot.com/2011/12/thats-it-im-doing-it.html

Hi Stu, I say go for it. What do you have to lose? I was seriously considering doing something similar with Delve, but I've finally got some agent interest in it so I'll wait to see how that pans out.

Dee Weaver, another Writewords Member, self-pubbed her novel, The Winter House, via Amazon. You may want to talk to her about her experiences.

Good Luck.

Lorraine

Thank you Lorraine! I will give her a shout! Thanks for your kind reply and the best of luck with Delve!!

Take care,

Stu

But have you exhausted the other possiblities yet? You've only sent it to a handful of publishers, haven't you? There are still loads to try.

Having said that, if you are absolutely sure you want to go the ebook route instead, it's not that difficult.

I'm about to start self-publishing. I've got the rights back to several of my YA/children's novels, so I'm going to re-publish those myself, along with some new ones. I'm also going to self-publish the SF/Fantasy short stories I have the rights back to, and possibly some new ones that are a bit too weird for most magazines. I'm taking my time because I want to do it properly. I went on a very good workshop to learn how to do everything myself, where the main message was let the business pay for itself. However, after much thought, I've decided there are some things I'm going to pay ahead of time for, e.g. cover art. Maybe it's because I used to be a sign-writer but I can spot a self-made book cover from a thousand paces.

If I was starting out as a new writer I would spend time and money getting my work right. I'd definitely pay a good freelance editor to work with me. If you're serious about writing, the only way you're going to succeed with self-publishing is by putting out work that is exciting, original and above all professional. This is because I believe the main way you're going to attract a readership is through word of mouth. And that will depend purely on the quality of your writing. I don't see much point in trying to copy Amanda Hocking. She is a shockingly bad writer who somehow has managed to find a profitable lowest common denominator (vampires are of course involved). Hundreds of writers are trying to do the same thing, and some will 'succeed', although to a lesser degree. But I can't honestly see the value in trying to become a rip-off of a rip-off of a rip-off. Be yourself - that's what will work in self-publishing. Which is very exciting, given that it's become virtually impossible to do that in traditional publishing.

Terry

Thank you for the fine advice Terry. I agree with all you say. It feels very exciting and, in a way, liberating!

Stu

There are other options besides Amazon. I recently got back the rights to a non-fiction book that was published a few years ago, I scanned it to PDF then got some software on the internet to turn it into a text file and after a few days of reformatting I published it via Smashwords, so now it's on numerous sites worldwide like Sony, Kobo, iTunes etc.,

I agree with Terry's comments about cover art, I don't own the rights to the paperback cover, so I got a graphic design company to make me a new one, more suited to being viewed as a postage stamp. I't really does pay to get artwork done by professionals.

Ben Yezir

Thank you Ben - good advice about the artwork. I have heard of Smashwords. Will give them a look. Can you publish on Amazon and Smashwords?

Stu

You can publish both on Smashwords and Amazon, although they have different formatting requirements. Both ways of formatting are likely to be different to how you've been formatting your manuscripts; so you'll need to learn how to replace for example tab points with what Smashwords or Amazon require instead.

As Peter says, Smashwords automatically puts your book/story on lots of other sites; but Amazon/Kindle remains separate. There is quite a lot of stuff to consider, like tax, e.g. if your book is to appear on US sites (like Smashwords, Amazon US, etc) you'll need to get an exemption letter from the US, otherwise you'll pay two lots of tax. Also, Amazon US insists on paying by cheque, so you'll need to open up a bank account that allows you to transer US dollars into a UK pounds account without charging big fees.

Terry is right and the more I looked into Amazon the more I thought it worked for US writers not those on this side of the pond. Smashwords was easier all around and the books are auto formatted for every reader including .mobi, which the Kindle can read. At the moment Smashwords and Amazon don't 'officially' talk to each other, but you can just publish on both if you want.

Ben

Hi Stu

There's a brilliant blog by Ian Hocking about his experiences with e-publishing.

This Writing Life

Hope that helps

This is the kind of thing which has changed the map so much. Very best of luck if you do decide to go for it, Stuayris - lots of good advice here.

Emma

Thank you Emma! I am full steam ahead now and have designed the cover (which is posted on my blog) - any views and comments of which would be really appreciated. Just want to make sure I'm not getting to far ahead of myself, too carried away as it were.

Still editing for the final time (if there is such a thing!)

Very excited!

Stu
http://tollesburytimeforever.blogspot.com/2011/12/cover-complete-pending-any-suggestions.html

Hi Stu,

I've published The Winter House on both Amazon Kindle and Smashwords. Both are fairly straightforward so long as you follow the steps one at a time.

You've had good advice about the cover - don't skimp on it. I had a look at yours, and I would say your name is too small. Imagine it the size of a postage stamp, and make sure it's big enough to be read.

The worst thing - and this is where I have failed dismally - is promoting it, so you might want to think about that.

I have to rush off, but I'll come back to this later.

Dee

Hi,

1. On Indie Publishing, just do it. The landscape is changing. Slower/different in Britain, but so what. New worldwide markets will already be open to you and you can write 2-4 books this year instead of the 1 book agents/trad publishers persuade you to do.

Remember how it felt not to be riding the wave of the last property boom?

2. Learn how to format/or pay someone good, get an external editor, get a cover designer if you can't do it yourself.

3. Learn how to market yourself, online, offline and any other which way.

4. Remember it's a different business model. Long-term profits with multiple product lines work best. No finite shelf life.

5. Utilize all sales platforms. Not just one. Amazon and Smashwords et al. If trad publishing offer you a good deal. Take it and either negotiate hard on retaining extra rights or make sure the advance is big enough not to care.

6. I'm putting my money where my mouth is. I've got three books to go up in the next month or so, including one trad pubbed, that I still retain the ebook rights for in the US.

Then 2-3 more books by the end of the year.

Feel sure it's about time we had an Society of Independent Authors as well.

Break a leg, everyone.