Self-Publishing my Book - Comments welcome...
Discussion
Hello all.
I've been writing a book and am now around 80% complete, expecting to finish a first draft by the end of September. I shall be self-publishing and am pretty happy about what this means in terms of marketing and distribution. Looks like priniting will cost around £3 per book for a professionally-produced product.
So I would just like to ask whether anyone else on here has written a book (self-published or otherwise) and if so, do you have any "I wish I'd known this" or "I wish I'd done that" tips.
Thanks!
I've been writing a book and am now around 80% complete, expecting to finish a first draft by the end of September. I shall be self-publishing and am pretty happy about what this means in terms of marketing and distribution. Looks like priniting will cost around £3 per book for a professionally-produced product.
So I would just like to ask whether anyone else on here has written a book (self-published or otherwise) and if so, do you have any "I wish I'd known this" or "I wish I'd done that" tips.
Thanks!
Hello all.
Sorry for the late reply and thanks to all above. Will take a look later today and answer questions etc..
Cheers.
Edit to add - actually I do have time to answer questions:
Sebring - I'm intending to self-publish because I am fairly confident that I can reach my entire target audience without needing a publisher. I am more than happy doing my own marketing and I have plenty of connections in the field that the book covers (Don't want to talk about the subject material yet).
It isn't an exercise to make money (which answers one of evenflow's questions), but my gut feeling is that any profit will be higher from self-publishing (fewer sales perhaps but a far bigger margin).
Coppice - Yep, all I am concentrating on at present is finishing the book. 80% was a slightly high estimate. Currently at 40k words, aiming to be at 55k (around 240 pages). Once the first draft is finished I will spend a month on a second draft. Then I will get some 'press' copies printed (20-30) and give them to people I trust to give me honest feedback. (I should add that a few trusted people read the first 5k words and liked what they read). Your other points noted, thanks.
Evenflow - Yep, lots of editing, no rush. Motivation? Well I've written a few things in the past (short articles, very light-hearted) and just fancied giving a book a go. As you'll have seen above, people liked the first couple of chapters and I have plenty of time to write. I know a lot about the subject I'm writing about, it's all very light-hearted, quit 'laddish' and a very easy read. At worst, I wrote a book that sold zero copies but made a few people smile. I can live with that.
Dandarez - Noted about the book, much appreciated, good to read your comments, thank you.
hmg - Interesting, doubt I'll ever get on Richard and Judy, book is too 'laddish' and a bit sweary...
Alex Z - Looks good, just bught a copy.
OK then, off to the pub to carry on writing :-)
Sorry for the late reply and thanks to all above. Will take a look later today and answer questions etc..
Cheers.
Edit to add - actually I do have time to answer questions:
Sebring - I'm intending to self-publish because I am fairly confident that I can reach my entire target audience without needing a publisher. I am more than happy doing my own marketing and I have plenty of connections in the field that the book covers (Don't want to talk about the subject material yet).
It isn't an exercise to make money (which answers one of evenflow's questions), but my gut feeling is that any profit will be higher from self-publishing (fewer sales perhaps but a far bigger margin).
Coppice - Yep, all I am concentrating on at present is finishing the book. 80% was a slightly high estimate. Currently at 40k words, aiming to be at 55k (around 240 pages). Once the first draft is finished I will spend a month on a second draft. Then I will get some 'press' copies printed (20-30) and give them to people I trust to give me honest feedback. (I should add that a few trusted people read the first 5k words and liked what they read). Your other points noted, thanks.
Evenflow - Yep, lots of editing, no rush. Motivation? Well I've written a few things in the past (short articles, very light-hearted) and just fancied giving a book a go. As you'll have seen above, people liked the first couple of chapters and I have plenty of time to write. I know a lot about the subject I'm writing about, it's all very light-hearted, quit 'laddish' and a very easy read. At worst, I wrote a book that sold zero copies but made a few people smile. I can live with that.
Dandarez - Noted about the book, much appreciated, good to read your comments, thank you.
hmg - Interesting, doubt I'll ever get on Richard and Judy, book is too 'laddish' and a bit sweary...
Alex Z - Looks good, just bught a copy.
OK then, off to the pub to carry on writing :-)
Edited by Turtle Shed on Thursday 11th August 12:11
Edited by Turtle Shed on Thursday 11th August 12:12
Panamax said:
Turtle Shed said:
Looks like printing will cost around £3 per book for a professionally-produced product.
How many do you need to have in the print run to achieve that price?Where are you going to keep them after they've been printed but before they're sold?
How are you going to market/sell the books?
My suggestion is that you keep your financial exposure (and the size of your physical stock) to an absolute minimum. By the time you've shifted a few books to friends and family that's very likely going to be the end of the road.
Initial 'proper' print run would be around 1,000 books. (£2 each). Will keep them at home initially, plenty of space.
Marketing I will do myself, happy to do this. Selling is in hand too, via a website but also I have some physical premises in mind.
I'm under no illusions, worst case is I have wasted time (I have plenty to spare) and a couple of grand (which would be frustrating, but I am confident of shifting enough books to cover the print run).
Edited by Turtle Shed on Thursday 11th August 14:48
^Thanks. I have dabbled with KDP in the past but right now I am not keen to have my book in the digital domain at all. I'm of the "Once it's out there it's out there" mindset.
Going to do little print run when I've finished the thing and take it from there, as noted above.
Wrote another chapter today, takes me to 41k words, think 55k is where I want to be, so will easily be at the end of the first draft mid-September.
Honestly though, if I never sell a single copy there will be some joy in knowing I wrote a book, and it will certainly get an ISBN along with filing with the British Library (think you have to do that, not something to worry about right now) .
Going to do little print run when I've finished the thing and take it from there, as noted above.
Wrote another chapter today, takes me to 41k words, think 55k is where I want to be, so will easily be at the end of the first draft mid-September.
Honestly though, if I never sell a single copy there will be some joy in knowing I wrote a book, and it will certainly get an ISBN along with filing with the British Library (think you have to do that, not something to worry about right now) .
Edited by Turtle Shed on Thursday 11th August 18:05
Alex Z said:
A friend has self published plenty of books, and wrote one about how to do that.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0749BPCBY/
Arrived today, very good so far. I like that they like Amazon.https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0749BPCBY/
It does indeed help, great stuff, and thank you to everyone else again too.
My book is at 45k words now, last ten chapters are fleshed out and it will be coming in at 55k words or possibly slightly more. First draft done by mid-September, then edit/polish/rework until mid-October before getting a few copies out to friends/relatives for comment.
I've got plans about how/where to market it if my friends/relatives like it, but as was mentioned early in the thread the first thing to do is finish it...
Worst case is that I wrote a book that nobody liked, but I'll still be able to say I wrote a book :-)
My book is at 45k words now, last ten chapters are fleshed out and it will be coming in at 55k words or possibly slightly more. First draft done by mid-September, then edit/polish/rework until mid-October before getting a few copies out to friends/relatives for comment.
I've got plans about how/where to market it if my friends/relatives like it, but as was mentioned early in the thread the first thing to do is finish it...
Worst case is that I wrote a book that nobody liked, but I'll still be able to say I wrote a book :-)
Hello again everyone, apologies for the thread bump, but you can't add an update and not do a bump :-)
Tomorrow I will be writing the final chapter of my book, I am currently at 60,000 words, it will end up at around 62,000 words and something like a total of 230 pages at a typical paperback size. There are 34 fairly short chapters, it is 'Clarkson-esque', each chapter is a little tale of its own.
The advice quite early on said finish it, give it a week, edit it, and then edit it again. That is exactly what I shall do.
Once it has had that second edit I shall get about a dozen copies printed, give them to trusted friends and see what they think. If some like it then I shall move to the next step and try to sell a few. (I am confident in my ability to market it). If nobody buys it, well I still wrote a book...
But now to the reason I wanted to add a new post, and this is pretty much the thing that has bothered me from day one:
My book is about the people and goings-on at an entirely fictional golf club. It features 82 characters, each of whom has a short biography written about them at the start of a chapter in which they appear. Every single one of these characters is entirely fictional too.
But, and I might be over-thinking this (I am a worrier), suppose someone reads the book and says: "Hey, I'm called John Smith, I'm a golfer, I reckon that character is based on me, and I don't like what I've read. I am going to sue the author for libel".
Obviously I've written a disclaimer, but this thought bothers me. I would therefore be very interested in what others have to say about this.
Thank you :-)
Edit to add my 230 page estimate was off. I'd used a smaller font than I should have. At 11pt and 14pt line spacing we are at a very manageable 290 pages, plus the usual bits and bobs at the front and back. Editing of first draft going well :-)
Tomorrow I will be writing the final chapter of my book, I am currently at 60,000 words, it will end up at around 62,000 words and something like a total of 230 pages at a typical paperback size. There are 34 fairly short chapters, it is 'Clarkson-esque', each chapter is a little tale of its own.
The advice quite early on said finish it, give it a week, edit it, and then edit it again. That is exactly what I shall do.
Once it has had that second edit I shall get about a dozen copies printed, give them to trusted friends and see what they think. If some like it then I shall move to the next step and try to sell a few. (I am confident in my ability to market it). If nobody buys it, well I still wrote a book...
But now to the reason I wanted to add a new post, and this is pretty much the thing that has bothered me from day one:
My book is about the people and goings-on at an entirely fictional golf club. It features 82 characters, each of whom has a short biography written about them at the start of a chapter in which they appear. Every single one of these characters is entirely fictional too.
But, and I might be over-thinking this (I am a worrier), suppose someone reads the book and says: "Hey, I'm called John Smith, I'm a golfer, I reckon that character is based on me, and I don't like what I've read. I am going to sue the author for libel".
Obviously I've written a disclaimer, but this thought bothers me. I would therefore be very interested in what others have to say about this.
Thank you :-)
Edit to add my 230 page estimate was off. I'd used a smaller font than I should have. At 11pt and 14pt line spacing we are at a very manageable 290 pages, plus the usual bits and bobs at the front and back. Editing of first draft going well :-)
Edited by Turtle Shed on Tuesday 20th September 08:28
^ Thanks both, I haven't used grammarly and doubt I will. Having said that, if/when there is a hefty print run (fingers crossed, you never know) I will get a professional on board. I know someone who will do it.
With regard to editing I got a couple of copies printed, partly for me to read in a proper manner and make notes directly into, but also because I just wanted a feel of things. The major thing to note was my small font size, slightly tight line spacing which is now fixed, and that also it didn't feel like a book as the paper was too white. Not a problem of course.
Anyway, I've made all of my notes and it's taking me about 30 mins per chapter to rewrite/correct. 34 chapters so I'll spend a couple of weeks on it.
After that's done I'll be getting perhaps a dozen copies printed, to be much more 'book like' based on the above notes. They'll be given to a select few people to give me honest feedback, and they are bound to spot some silly mistakes.
Plodding along though, reckon by the start of November I'll be in a position to order my first proper print run (just 100 books or so) and do a bit of promotion to see if I can sell some :-)
With regard to editing I got a couple of copies printed, partly for me to read in a proper manner and make notes directly into, but also because I just wanted a feel of things. The major thing to note was my small font size, slightly tight line spacing which is now fixed, and that also it didn't feel like a book as the paper was too white. Not a problem of course.
Anyway, I've made all of my notes and it's taking me about 30 mins per chapter to rewrite/correct. 34 chapters so I'll spend a couple of weeks on it.
After that's done I'll be getting perhaps a dozen copies printed, to be much more 'book like' based on the above notes. They'll be given to a select few people to give me honest feedback, and they are bound to spot some silly mistakes.
Plodding along though, reckon by the start of November I'll be in a position to order my first proper print run (just 100 books or so) and do a bit of promotion to see if I can sell some :-)
Wickedbad said:
Doesn’t matter how long you spend on editing, and how good your editor is, whenever humans are involved something will slip through! You just gotta do what you can to limit them 
Don’t worry - reviewers will take great delight in giving you one star for a perceived error…
I even had someone DM me to point out I’d made a mistake and called a room on a ship where a scene takes place ‘the wardroom’ instead of ‘the war room’…. Hmmmmmm.
Best of luck…
Ah well this I can relate to. One of my other jobs is putting together a magazine for some clients in London. It gets read time and time again, and professionally proof read, but only after a £7k print run do the final little mistakes get spotted :-)Don’t worry - reviewers will take great delight in giving you one star for a perceived error…
I even had someone DM me to point out I’d made a mistake and called a room on a ship where a scene takes place ‘the wardroom’ instead of ‘the war room’…. Hmmmmmm.
Best of luck…
Thank you for the above, much appreciated.
I'm editing away, quite a slow process but I'm on schedule. To be honest I was pretty happy with what I wrote first time around. A few mistakes, some bits that didn't quite work, but hey, it's not Wuthering Heights.
I will certainly be considering Amazon, but I am very keen on trying to "go it alone" initially and I do have a plan for this.
Cheers all :-)
I'm editing away, quite a slow process but I'm on schedule. To be honest I was pretty happy with what I wrote first time around. A few mistakes, some bits that didn't quite work, but hey, it's not Wuthering Heights.
I will certainly be considering Amazon, but I am very keen on trying to "go it alone" initially and I do have a plan for this.
Cheers all :-)
Thanks for the above.
I wanted to write a book because I thought could, and I liked the idea of being able to say "I wrote a book".
I imagined I would sit in the pub with my laptop, and just write whilst enjoying a beer or two, and that's what I did.
Having written just an introduction and a couple of short chapters, those I showed it to had very positive reactions, which was probably the spark for me saying to myself "They liked 5,000 words, now write another 60,000".
With regard to grammar, mistakes and other errors, well I want to get it right, but such things are not, in my opinion, going to be a major factor on whether, from a sales perspective, it is successful. (I accept I could be wildly wrong on this).
The book is about a fictional golf club, fictional characters, and the fictional things that go on there. It is based on years of experience working and playing at various golf clubs. I know what golf clubs are like and I hope that a golfer reading it will always be thinking "Yeah, that goes on here" or "we've got a bloke just like that".
It's very silly, it's very sweary (no c-words though), it is what it is and it's very "me".
Will it sell? Honestly I doubt it, maybe a few copies but I gave it a go and I very much enjoyed writing it.
I wanted to write a book because I thought could, and I liked the idea of being able to say "I wrote a book".
I imagined I would sit in the pub with my laptop, and just write whilst enjoying a beer or two, and that's what I did.
Having written just an introduction and a couple of short chapters, those I showed it to had very positive reactions, which was probably the spark for me saying to myself "They liked 5,000 words, now write another 60,000".
With regard to grammar, mistakes and other errors, well I want to get it right, but such things are not, in my opinion, going to be a major factor on whether, from a sales perspective, it is successful. (I accept I could be wildly wrong on this).
The book is about a fictional golf club, fictional characters, and the fictional things that go on there. It is based on years of experience working and playing at various golf clubs. I know what golf clubs are like and I hope that a golfer reading it will always be thinking "Yeah, that goes on here" or "we've got a bloke just like that".
It's very silly, it's very sweary (no c-words though), it is what it is and it's very "me".
Will it sell? Honestly I doubt it, maybe a few copies but I gave it a go and I very much enjoyed writing it.
An update from me, again apologies for the unavoidable thread bump.
I finished a first draft of my book "Tales from Russet Grange" a couple of months ago and got just two copies printed. One as a birthday present for my brother and one for me to use as a source for editing and to get a feel for what it was like in print. That was a couple of months ago and I have now completed an edit and ordered 36 copies. (£4.50 each to print)
Some of those are already sold to friends and paid for, a couple of others will be gifts. Might make a small profit on those, doesn't matter if I don't.
Once I have had feedback from people who read the book I'll take things from there. If I'm confident of some sales then the next print run will be 500 books, first edition, with ISBN. That many cost £2.60 each, sale price £10.95 so I only need to sell 60 to break even.
That's all for now, will update in a few months. Thanks to everyone for the wise words and information in this thread.
Christmas Eve update to anyone interested. My initial print run sold out and I've just had a pre-order for 60 copies of the first proper edition. (It now has an ISBN).
So I made a little bit of profit, which pays for a good chunk of print run two, and we'll take things from there.
I finished a first draft of my book "Tales from Russet Grange" a couple of months ago and got just two copies printed. One as a birthday present for my brother and one for me to use as a source for editing and to get a feel for what it was like in print. That was a couple of months ago and I have now completed an edit and ordered 36 copies. (£4.50 each to print)
Some of those are already sold to friends and paid for, a couple of others will be gifts. Might make a small profit on those, doesn't matter if I don't.
Once I have had feedback from people who read the book I'll take things from there. If I'm confident of some sales then the next print run will be 500 books, first edition, with ISBN. That many cost £2.60 each, sale price £10.95 so I only need to sell 60 to break even.
That's all for now, will update in a few months. Thanks to everyone for the wise words and information in this thread.
Edited by Turtle Shed on Monday 19th December 18:16
Christmas Eve update to anyone interested. My initial print run sold out and I've just had a pre-order for 60 copies of the first proper edition. (It now has an ISBN).
So I made a little bit of profit, which pays for a good chunk of print run two, and we'll take things from there.
Edited by Turtle Shed on Saturday 24th December 17:13
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