Goal: Self-publish an ebook in 1 month!

Anonymous Girl

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Hi! 👋

Twenty-something aspiring children's author from London here.

So, earlier this week I re-discovered my old teenage diaries, that explicitly document my mental breakdown in the midst of a whirlwind of personal and family issues, as well as regular teenage dramas. Reading it back again for the first time in years was cathartic, occasionally cringeworthy but above all amusing - in spite of my mania I maintained an overwhelmingly dark sense of humour about it all!

I've since resolved to self-publish the chapters of my diary spanning from when I was nineteen.

I've decided to go with Amazing KDP Select, and I've set myself a 4 week deadline! Thus, my ebook realease date will be Halloween 2017 - my favourite holiday!

The past few days I've been binge reading/watching all the self-publishing articles/blog posts/forum threads/YouTube videos I can find.

My plan as it stands, is to hire a professional book cover designer and an interior designer/formatter, edit myself (changing all names etc), create an author website/blog and start marketing my ebook and building my author platform on social media - I'll be using a pseudonym, which is a shame since I already have a small following on my current Twitter/Instagram/blog, but I don't want to reveal my identity right away...

I know I'm completely bonkers (d'uH!), but any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,

Anonymous Girl 👤
 

Polenth

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My biggest piece of advice is not to publish it in one month. Edits could take you that long or longer, and then the people you hire for other things are going to need time to do the work. It's not about how hard you work. It's about needing space to schedule everything. It also helps with self-editing to take breaks.
 

Marissa D

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I agree with what's been said. Self-publishing takes time to do properly...so why rush and put out a slipshod piece of work? Because that's what you'll have if you rush this. Expecting a book cover artist and formatters to work within that time frame is unreasonable--they have other clients, too. And I'm pretty much of the opinion that someone who works as their own editor has a fool for a client. And building a website and any kind of social media presence takes time--there's really no getting around that.

This may seem like a lark for now...but after the adrenaline rush is over, I think you'll be left disappointed.
 

Old Hack

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I agree that you'd be very unwise to rush to meet that deadline.

A month isn't long enough to do all the things you have to do. Not if you want to do it well. And why wouldn't you?
 

Cekrit

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It will take much longer than a month to self-edit your work to the degree of professionalism you will need or desire. However, it is possible if you treat this as a full-time job. I would suggest taking more time or perhaps a solid year to edit and polish this rather than getting caught in the hype of the idea of things. Many of us have been through it. I had throught mine was perfect and polished ( edited myself) but once it was published and I got the hard copy in my hand I realized I was rushed in my exitement. Its now completely fixed but still it was embarrasing to find errors in a for sale piece of work. Especially something I worked so hard on.

Don't make the same mistake.

I'd suggest taking a full year and publishing on Halloween of next year, this will give you time to read it, polish it, present it properly, put it down for a couple months, pick it up, and read it again.

Also, more constructively, I suggest using 99designs.com for your book designs, I had a total of 87 different designs presented to me in a weeks time on this site and all were amazing quality. I finally got to choose a couple artist to work with more closely, then one- and we alone polished it to perfection.
 
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Daffyjkl

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I agree with the other comments. One month is too short. A year gives you time to polish the manuscript, get a great cover and start writing on the next project. That said, well done for self-publishing. This is a great forum for tips, help and support.
 

Victor Douglas

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I you all don't mind my asking, what are the steps she should follow to self-publish her work, and how long should they take? I ask as someone who is seriously considering self-publishing as well.
 

Old Hack

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It usually takes trade publishers between a year and eighteen months to get a book from signing to publication. That's not because trade publishers are slow: it's because they do a lot of stuff to make their books the best they can be.

Editing. Copy editing. Proof reading. Can take months, especially when you have multiple passes from your editor. But it's worth it to get the book right.

Design: this includes jacket design and the design of the interior of the book, including typesetting. Proof reading can't be done until interior design is complete, as you don't have proofs until then, so while the jacket design can be done towards the end of copy editing the full on design work can't get finished until much of the editing is complete, in case things in the book change.

And then the big thing, that most people don't schedule time for when they self publish: marketing and publicity. If you want to get reviews you have to send copies of your book out well in advance of publication. I've sent out ARCS six months before publication date to ensure this happens, but three months is more common. Your reviewers need time to read, digest and review the books, so you can't rush them along too much.

You also have to schedule things like author interviews, distribution, and so on. I assume most self publishers won't be having a big offset run but for those who do, you have to schedule this with the printer and if the printing is done overseas (which it often is) wait for the books to be shipped back to where you are.

It's impossible to do a good job in a month without throwing a lot of money at the book.
 

PorterStarrByrd

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You would be better off selecting an editor and designing your cover yourself. Especially early in our writing we miss so many things in a self edit. At least get to fifty posts, using them to discuss the process, and get some SWY (share your work) and/or beta reading before you publish. Writing a good book in four weeks can be done but probably not by a novice. On the other hand you might be so gifted you can do it. Use your best judgment after reading what we have sent your way. e-publish is easy to do, but your book may get lost in the quagmire of half baked eff forts where finding the good ones is an ominous task.
 

Cekrit

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1) Take the raw journal/diary entries and re-write them for concision, depth, and a mature voice. (1-2 months)
2) Organize those thoughts into a timeline that makes sense for the reader. (Can take a couple days to a week)
3) Edit for spelling, repetitiveness, run ons...etc (1-2 months)
4) Share with Beta readers (1-2 months)
5) Start working with book cover designers. With 99designs I had a quality book cover in 2 weeks. so (2 weeks-1 month)
6) Edit/change based off beta readers feedback (1-2 months)
7) Put it down for a month.
8) Pick it up, print it, read it as a hard copy and edit the last bits that stand out (1 week-1 month)
9) Reach out to free promotion sites and couple their promos with your release date, decide if you are running a free promo for the first 5 days through KDP-select and time them with your promotion sites for maximum downloads. (2 days)
10) Format to Amazon and create KDP account, sumbit (1 day)

total time about 9-10 months and thats being speedy and cutting corners. Also thats like giving this most of your free time outside of work.
 

Victor Douglas

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Hey, thanks guys! Although I'm not the OP, I appreciate your input. I am myself at step 4 in Cekrit's list, and intend to self-publish electronically.
 

ASeiple

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Ah...

Don't spend a ton of money on it. In fact, you can do most things with it free, and probably should. Social media's cheap enough, but I wouldn't spend any other money on advertising. You never know quite how well your first book's gonna sell.

And let's be honest, from what I've seen, memoirs either do great or flop.

What I WOULD do, if you've got some acquaintances who have time and aren't afraid of offending you, is ask them to be beta readers. Send them the rough draft, ask them to let you know what they think of it.

Or, if you want to save time, edit the draft first and send it their way. If you send'em the rough, some of them will comment on the errors and worry less about the quality of the work. If you send them the edited version, less errors means they'll focus more on the story itself.

You could get it out there by Halloween, if you skip beta readers and do everything yourself, but I wouldn't recommend it. But hey, it's your diary, it's your life, and it sounds like you have other goals than profit in mind, here. By all means, if you simply want the learning experience and the accomplishment gained by having a book out, go for it. Just don't expect miracles, neh? Nice when they happen, but bad to bank on.
 

TrinaM

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So...Anonymous Girl...what did you decide to do?

How are you doing?

Working with a memoir like that can be a real emotional roller coaster. If you didn't hear what you were hoping for here, at least know that you heard good advice from people who wanted to see you succeed!

And I'd like to know what you decided to do!
 

Al X.

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Ah...

Don't spend a ton of money on it. In fact, you can do most things with it free, and probably should. Social media's cheap enough, but I wouldn't spend any other money on advertising. You never know quite how well your first book's gonna sell.

And let's be honest, from what I've seen, memoirs either do great or flop.

What I WOULD do, if you've got some acquaintances who have time and aren't afraid of offending you, is ask them to be beta readers. Send them the rough draft, ask them to let you know what they think of it.

Or, if you want to save time, edit the draft first and send it their way. If you send'em the rough, some of them will comment on the errors and worry less about the quality of the work. If you send them the edited version, less errors means they'll focus more on the story itself.

You could get it out there by Halloween, if you skip beta readers and do everything yourself, but I wouldn't recommend it. But hey, it's your diary, it's your life, and it sounds like you have other goals than profit in mind, here. By all means, if you simply want the learning experience and the accomplishment gained by having a book out, go for it. Just don't expect miracles, neh? Nice when they happen, but bad to bank on.

Although I think all of the advice given is solid, I would agree with this the most. Memoirs generally don't sell unless the author has some degree of fame. If it were me, personally, I would try to spin it as anything BUT a memoir, and possibly even creative fiction.

I approach self publishing as a serious hobby - in other words, I'm not willing to commit more time and money in to in than I'm willing to lose. And it's a tough market out there and only getting tougher. Last year I did pretty well, 1Q of this year I did great, then, the bottom fell out. The most recent novel I've produced is either going to be successfully published with a traditional publisher, or it will be my last.
 

TrinaM

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Al,

This business is a roller coaster, but then so is any business. I've run a couple in my day, and gone up and down. Self-publishing is definitely a more emotional ride, because it is our creativity that we are selling. It all seems so personal. But it is a business. You did something right to have an awesome 1Q. That tells me you have talent. I urge you to think about what you might have done to generate that success. I know you say it is a hobby...but what if it were a business, and an impersonal one at that? What would you have learned from that year of doing pretty well?

I'm always sad to see someone walk away, especially when this business can take several years to start showing success!

Just my 2 cents.
 

Al X.

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Al,

This business is a roller coaster, but then so is any business. I've run a couple in my day, and gone up and down. Self-publishing is definitely a more emotional ride, because it is our creativity that we are selling. It all seems so personal. But it is a business. You did something right to have an awesome 1Q. That tells me you have talent. I urge you to think about what you might have done to generate that success. I know you say it is a hobby...but what if it were a business, and an impersonal one at that? What would you have learned from that year of doing pretty well?

I'm always sad to see someone walk away, especially when this business can take several years to start showing success!

Just my 2 cents.

I've been at it for about two and a half years so far, and after two and a half years and eight books, I've learned a lot. I didn't really hit it off until my third book, and people that like my stuff tell me that my newest works are my best. I was doing great this year up until the antics at Amazon started, and myself and quite a few other successful authors have been caught up in their KU scammer witch hunt. My books had a strong appeal to Select readers and were easy to promote to those crowds, leading to secondary sales. Amazon has basically told us that they won't pay us for KU reads anymore, and given that, there is no point in being in Select. Without the page reads and promotions, secondary sales have significantly dropped off, and releasing a new novel doesn't have the same impact it used to.

But a very strong reason for this is that let's face it - there is a flood of ebooks out there, and it's only getting worse. I've sold few here and there through ad promotions in an attempt to jump start sales but none have been cost effective.
 

TrinaM

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Al,

None of my business, but a curiosity point: how have you handled creating a list of your fans? Just reading your post, it sounds like you were primarily through Amazon, but I'm wondering if you also had a website and an email list and what your result has been through that venue. Disclosure: I occasionally lecture on this stuff. This is not intended as a sales pitch, but actual data gathering from a current experience point of view, if that makes sense? I see a lot of advice where people are told to put all of their eggs in Amazon's basket. I don't encourage that, but I know it is sort of common wisdom. I've been told I'm a control freak for wanting to manage my list. (grin)

Amazon's frequent permutations of their algorithm - while probably a great thing for their business model and a logical thing to expect - make me nervous as a writer giving them too much control over access to my fan base.

And I totally understand if you don't want to comment on this. I really am curious when I see people experiencing this if it over-rode their own efforts or if they had perhaps focused on Amazon because that was where the money was flowing from.
 

Al X.

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Al,

None of my business, but a curiosity point: how have you handled creating a list of your fans? Just reading your post, it sounds like you were primarily through Amazon, but I'm wondering if you also had a website and an email list and what your result has been through that venue. Disclosure: I occasionally lecture on this stuff. This is not intended as a sales pitch, but actual data gathering from a current experience point of view, if that makes sense? I see a lot of advice where people are told to put all of their eggs in Amazon's basket. I don't encourage that, but I know it is sort of common wisdom. I've been told I'm a control freak for wanting to manage my list. (grin)

Amazon's frequent permutations of their algorithm - while probably a great thing for their business model and a logical thing to expect - make me nervous as a writer giving them too much control over access to my fan base.

And I totally understand if you don't want to comment on this. I really am curious when I see people experiencing this if it over-rode their own efforts or if they had perhaps focused on Amazon because that was where the money was flowing from.

I'm not sure I understand exactly what you mean by a list of fans - Amazon does not share purchase data (nor do the other outlets, unless I am mistaken) so my only access to the purchasing public is through reviews. I was exclusive with Amazon until August of this year.

I'm an action adventure writer, and fiction appeals to Kindle Select readers. If you publish through Amazon, the decision you have to make is whether the marginal sales you might make through other outlets will outweigh the KU page read revenue, and enrolling in Select requires exclusivity. Currently, however, I would advise ANY author to treat Amazon Select like it carries the plague. Or Amazon KDP itself, for that matter. I haven't pulled my titles from Amazon, but I don't think I can bring myself to list another title with them going forward.
 

TrinaM

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My question was if you have been building your email list for fans on your own website or if you were relying on Amazon to give you a connection to them.

I 100% agree that giving Amazon that much control is not good. You've had some success...so during that time, did you create your own list?

No, you can't get the info from Amazon. Absolutely not. But when people read a book they like, they often search on the author's name and go to the author's website. (Not intending to talk down to you, please don't take this that way! I'm merely explaining what I meant...) I've met authors who do corner those emails and I've met authors who don't.

I've met authors -- many of whom use Kindle Select -- who have neglected their websites and not set up any form to collect reader information.

My curiosity was if you could use whatever list you've built to mitigate the damage Amazon is causing...

Even if you sign with a trade publisher in future, they'll list you on Amazon. We have to dance with that particular devil...but we don't have to give him control over our access to readers.

I'm one of those old fashioned authors who has avoided Kindle Select on principle. I've had people tell me that I'm missing out ... and I probably have! But the whole setup has rung alarm bells for me from the start. I also publish through as many other distributors as possible. I know Smashwords is the silly little kid on the block...but I think they have more love for their authors than Amazon ever will. But that's just my 2 cents. Sometimes I can be an optimist. I keep hoping they'll gain enough traction to actually compete. Not yet, that's for sure!

Anyway, I know my question was a bit too personal...but it was intended to perhaps spark some ideas that might help you turn this around. Because you say that you've had success for a bit of time. That means you have fans. So there may be something there you can use.
 

Al X.

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My question was if you have been building your email list for fans on your own website or if you were relying on Amazon to give you a connection to them.

I 100% agree that giving Amazon that much control is not good. You've had some success...so during that time, did you create your own list?

No, you can't get the info from Amazon. Absolutely not. But when people read a book they like, they often search on the author's name and go to the author's website. (Not intending to talk down to you, please don't take this that way! I'm merely explaining what I meant...) I've met authors who do corner those emails and I've met authors who don't.

I've met authors -- many of whom use Kindle Select -- who have neglected their websites and not set up any form to collect reader information.

My curiosity was if you could use whatever list you've built to mitigate the damage Amazon is causing...

Even if you sign with a trade publisher in future, they'll list you on Amazon. We have to dance with that particular devil...but we don't have to give him control over our access to readers.

I'm one of those old fashioned authors who has avoided Kindle Select on principle. I've had people tell me that I'm missing out ... and I probably have! But the whole setup has rung alarm bells for me from the start. I also publish through as many other distributors as possible. I know Smashwords is the silly little kid on the block...but I think they have more love for their authors than Amazon ever will. But that's just my 2 cents. Sometimes I can be an optimist. I keep hoping they'll gain enough traction to actually compete. Not yet, that's for sure!

Anyway, I know my question was a bit too personal...but it was intended to perhaps spark some ideas that might help you turn this around. Because you say that you've had success for a bit of time. That means you have fans. So there may be something there you can use.

No worries, I take no offense nor do I claim to be an expert in the subject. The short answer to your question is no, I do not have a personal website, just a Facebook author page and links to my author contact information in my books. I don't get emails from readers, but if I did, I would gladly collect them.
 

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That's rough, because they've basically cut your communication lines. Sorry to hear that. I hope things do turn around with your next book.

Wishing you much success!
 

Al X.

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That's rough, because they've basically cut your communication lines. Sorry to hear that. I hope things do turn around with your next book.

Wishing you much success!

I appreciate that. It won't be through Amazon. A part of me wants to go ahead and tell them how I really feel and let them terminate my account, but I'm not quite there yet. Close, but not quite.