We are on the precipice of self-publishing our first title called The Demarcation of Jack, coming out November 7th. We are so excited to have the bulk of the formatting work done. Wow, what a learning curve on all of that. I found it crazy, frustrating, and daunting that each vendor had its own formatting requirements. On the bright side, I have learned so much that the next time should be a breeze.
We found a very reasonable editor and cover artist so our financial outlay stayed pretty low. Time wise, self-publishing was a much larger investment. However, the ability to track our sales, get the bulk of royalties and be in charge of our product is priceless.
Since my publisher didn’t offer much in the way of promotion, that outlay of time has stayed the same. Well sort of. LOL! Social media seems to ramp up on its own and these days it’s hard to stay on top of it. Of course, becoming our own publisher requires more time elsewhere so I seem to be forever falling behind on my friendship request, page likes, event invites, etc. (I promise to catch up after the release date!)
We are having an online giveaway party the day of the release and we already have over 45 prizes to give away. You can join the Release Party and Big Giveaway for The Demarcation of Jack and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.
Again I must remark on all the wonderful relationships I have forge with other authors and readers as well. I have found the community to be so supportive and helpful. I can simply type a question on my Facebook wall or tweet the question and other authors will step up and offer advice. I love that we can be supportive instead of competitive like is found in other industries.
As you may have noticed, I have transferred my blog to my new website. I hope you all like it. I will still be hosting author interviews on Fridays so if you’re interested, contact me and let me know.
Warm hugs,
Blakely
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Yes, all of the different platforms can be frustrating. I’ve switched to using Scrivener for my publishing. It makes compiling for all the various types of ebooks and print, easy. There is a bit of a learning curve, but they offer a 30-day (non-consecutive) trial.
The best part is when someone finds a mistakes, it only takes a few minutes to fix and upload.
My husband has been wanting us to try Scrivener and after reading your comment, I think we definitely will.
Thanks for the advice,
Blakely
I think you’ll find it helpful.
What will I find helpful?
Good luck – and yes, it’s good to have control over what you do, even though it’s more of a hassle!
I didn’t know you were trad pubbed previously, I thought you used one of the indie publishing companies. I have to say I’ve often thought that the only advantage the latter offer is paperbacks and an ISBN number, but going from the Olympian heights of trad pub to self-pub is a very brave move! A hard decision, I imagine, but then I’ve heard from people who’ve been trad pubbed in the past that these days their publishers’ budgets are reserved mostly for those who are well-known anyway.
I’m always so interested to read this sort of thing; one writer friend has been trad pubbed, indie pubbed by a company and is now trying self-publishing for the first time, getting her own paperbacks done too, like you, so I shall be interested to see how you both fare. Not sure what she’s done for paperbacks tho.
Incidentally – the reason I don’t RT you anymore is not personal, I’ve just stopped RTing erotica for my own reasons – I’ve tweeted about this a few times but obviously not everyone will have seen that.
Thanks so much for your comment. For me, not much has changed because I had to do my own promoting anyway.
My latest project and first self-pub novel isn’t erotica. It’s contemporary romance.
No worries on the RTing.
Greatest of luck to you on your endeavors,
Blakely
I think you’ll find Scrivener to be a helpful tool.
Ahhh, my husband has gotten it. Thanks!