Jumping into a very large pond (and trying not to drown).

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
15,472
Reaction score
767
Location
Missouri
I took the plunge today. I finally put my book up on Amazon. It's not out yet. I'm still waiting on my cover art, which should be done at some point next month. It is available for pre-order, though, and I'll be publishing it on June 30th. I'm so excited and terrified that I've stayed up way past my bedtime. I keep fiddling with things on Amazon, and hopefully I'll get setup as a Goodreads author soon.

I've been surprised so far by how well the formatting has gone. I only noticed one problem in the current file I have submitted. The heading for Chapter 11 isn't centered, but that's not a huge deal. I can fix that pretty easily.

It may take a bit more effort to get the Createspace version out there. I've started that process, but it seems a bit more involved, and I can't really finalize everything there until I get my cover art done.

I also entered the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off (assuming my email didn't get lost somewhere). I don't expect to win it. The quality of books submitted was very high this last year. I don't want to sell myself short or anything, but sometimes I face that crippling self-doubt that seems to plague all writers. I'd love to win, but a dream like that is a long way off, and I'm not going to worry about it too much.

I'm glad that I've finished the entire series. That should allow me to get the next three books out pretty quickly.

Overall, I'm scared but excited. I'm not expecting to hit huge sales figures. It would be nice, but I know that a lot of self-published authors lose money on their first few books, and I'm prepared for that. I'll keep writing and getting more books out there. The more I've written, the better a chance I have of at least one of the books gaining traction (and hopefully leading to sales of other books).

I've currently got two other series in the works (and way too many in my head). Ah, the joys and frustrations of being a writer.
 

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 9, 2005
Messages
16,768
Reaction score
4,663
Location
Scotland
Good luck, Ryan. :yesway:
 

Catherine

Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
285
Reaction score
35
Location
US
Sounds like you've put a lot of work in. Here's hoping you make a profit on this first series!
 

Daffyjkl

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Messages
110
Reaction score
5
Good luck with the project. I would be interested in hearing about the Createspace version of your book. I haven't yet ventured into that space. I would like to know about any issues you have with creating the hardcopy version.
 

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
15,472
Reaction score
767
Location
Missouri
I'm officially an entrant in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off. We'll see how that works out. A few authors have done really well from it. Now let's just hope my book doesn't flop big time in the contest.
 

Anna Iguana

reading all the things
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
925
Reaction score
219
Location
US
Well wishes with publishing & the blog off!
 

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
15,472
Reaction score
767
Location
Missouri
5 people have added my book on Goodreads!

4 of them are my friends on Goodreads, but it still feels good to think that somebody might actually read it.
 

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
15,472
Reaction score
767
Location
Missouri
The anxiety is getting bad now. I'm starting to have dreams about my book sales.

At least it was a good dream. I sold over 1000 copies in the first day.
 

meaghangray

Registered
Joined
May 7, 2017
Messages
28
Reaction score
4
Congratulations! I also just started my self-publishing journey (I put my first book up in April). It's so nerve-wracking! If I can offer any advice, it would be to do your absolute best to focus on writing and advertising and try not to obsess over reviews. I have been wasting so much time visiting my Goodreads dashboard everyday instead of once in awhile. Here's the main reason why: If I did it once in awhile, then I would have discovered those two one star reviews I have mixed in with all the 3, 4, and 5 star reviews. Instead, I had a few days where I discovered positive reviews, and a few days where I discovered negative reviews. In both cases, my productivity slowed down. You'd think a good review would kick you in the pants (and maybe it will for you), but I just end up re-reading it and basking in the glory all damn day. Then, of course, the negative reviews send me for a bit of a loop.

Best of luck! See you when we're both topping the bestseller's list ;)
 

ASeiple

Livin' la vida biblia
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 7, 2015
Messages
860
Reaction score
93
Location
Dayton, OH
Usually most self-published authors who only do Amazon avoid pre-orders, because it can impact our Amazon rank on launch day. I'd recommend trying that, waiting until it's all together for book 2 and skipping preorders to see how it does.

Of course there's going to be the sequel factor, which means you won't get a clean comparison because fans of book one will be quicker to buy it, but that's fine. You're at a good point to try different things and see what works for you. Just be patient, keep expectations small, and stay in it for the long haul is the best advice I can give you.
 

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
15,472
Reaction score
767
Location
Missouri
Usually most self-published authors who only do Amazon avoid pre-orders, because it can impact our Amazon rank on launch day. I'd recommend trying that, waiting until it's all together for book 2 and skipping preorders to see how it does.

Of course there's going to be the sequel factor, which means you won't get a clean comparison because fans of book one will be quicker to buy it, but that's fine. You're at a good point to try different things and see what works for you. Just be patient, keep expectations small, and stay in it for the long haul is the best advice I can give you.

Thanks. At this point, I'm not going to obsess about Amazon rankings because I figure it's going to be abysmal at first. I'm in it for the long haul, and I hope I can build up readership over time. I'm not in a position where I'm relying on my writing for necessities or anything, so I'm not going to worry too much if I don't do so well at first. Plus, the nice thing with self-publishing is that you don't have to make a big splash immediately.

I get the impression that a strong or weak start can make or break an author in the trade publishing arena. After all, if your first book doesn't sell well, the publisher is going to have less incentive to keep you under contract for more books. Again, this is just my impression. If I'm wrong about that, I'm sure someone will come here and correct me.

Overall, I'm trying not to stress about these things in general. I'm taking the common advice of quickly building up a backlist. Since I've already written the other three books in this series, I can edit them and get them out fairly quickly. I've also written two books of another trilogy, and I'm currently writing the third book so it shouldn't be too long before I can get going with that one.
 

Catherine

Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
285
Reaction score
35
Location
US
I think the thing about having a good release is that you could become one of Amazon's Hot New Releases. This can make a huge difference in success. I have no idea of how many sales it would take to reach that status though.
 

ASeiple

Livin' la vida biblia
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 7, 2015
Messages
860
Reaction score
93
Location
Dayton, OH
Yeah, you've pretty much got it right, at least for the self-publishing side of things. A slow start won't kill us. And so long as you can stay patient, time's on your side.

Hey, do you have a mailing list set up already? The common tactic is to sign up for Mailchimp, then stick an author's note in the back of the ebook with a link to it. You'll collect interested followers as time goes on, and you can send them short fiction, email them with release notices, and even put out a newsletter if you feel up for it. It helps immensely in the long run, and it's a good thing to start early.
 

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
15,472
Reaction score
767
Location
Missouri
Yeah, you've pretty much got it right, at least for the self-publishing side of things. A slow start won't kill us. And so long as you can stay patient, time's on your side.

Hey, do you have a mailing list set up already? The common tactic is to sign up for Mailchimp, then stick an author's note in the back of the ebook with a link to it. You'll collect interested followers as time goes on, and you can send them short fiction, email them with release notices, and even put out a newsletter if you feel up for it. It helps immensely in the long run, and it's a good thing to start early.

I still have to get it set up. Is Mailchimp compatible with Wordpress? Or is there some way I can do a mailing list from my website itself? Or do you just do it through Mailchimp?
 

ASeiple

Livin' la vida biblia
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 7, 2015
Messages
860
Reaction score
93
Location
Dayton, OH
Not sure, to be honest. I don't use Wordpress.

I just direct people to the Mailchimp signup, with the link Mailchimp gives me. It wouldn't be hard to put in a blog entry "Hey, I have a mailing list now! Wanna sign up?" when you get things straightened out.
 

WriterBN

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 5, 2012
Messages
1,323
Reaction score
87
Location
Delaware
Website
www.k-doyle.com
I still have to get it set up. Is Mailchimp compatible with Wordpress? Or is there some way I can do a mailing list from my website itself? Or do you just do it through Mailchimp?

I use a Mailchimp form on a Wordpress-hosted site for one of my pen names, and it works just fine. You can also just link to the form, as ASeiple said.
 

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
15,472
Reaction score
767
Location
Missouri
I'm having some trouble with the signup form, but that might be because I just changed my domain name. Wordpress did say things might not function perfectly at first. I'll give it a few days.
 

andiwrite

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2012
Messages
1,482
Reaction score
140
Location
In constant transit
You can also just have people subscribe to your wordpress, which is similar. I don't have a mailing list other than that. It depends on whether you blog a lot and if you want your list to receive all your blogs or just the occasional newsletter or something.
 

CathleenT

I write
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
5,097
Reaction score
1,981
Location
Northern California
So glad you've taken the plunge. Don't worry--you won't drown. :)

In my case, self-publishing my collection of shorts was incredibly validating. I believed in my writing and myself enough to do this thing. I didn't have to walk around with an invisible Coward sign hung round my neck. I needed that to continue in this endeavor we all love.

May self-publishing accomplish all that you hope, in time. Congrats!

ETA: I have an article on adding Mailchimp to a WordPress.com blog here: https://cathleentownsend.com/2015/0...-newsletter-to-wordpress-com-blog-with-style/, in case it helps. :)
 
Last edited:

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
15,472
Reaction score
767
Location
Missouri
So glad you've taken the plunge. Don't worry--you won't drown. :)

In my case, self-publishing my collection of shorts was incredibly validating. I believed in my writing and myself enough to do this thing. I didn't have to walk around with an invisible Coward sign hung round my neck. I needed that to continue in this endeavor we all love.

May self-publishing accomplish all that you hope, in time. Congrats!

ETA: I have an article on adding Mailchimp to a WordPress.com blog here: https://cathleentownsend.com/2015/0...-newsletter-to-wordpress-com-blog-with-style/, in case it helps. :)

Thank you so much for that. I think I've got it working now.
 

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
15,472
Reaction score
767
Location
Missouri
Less than a month to go. Anxiously waiting on my cover art and praying that it doesn't have to go through a ton of revisions before I like it. My first draft of the cover art is scheduled for June 12th. That gives about two and a half weeks between that and my publication date. That's cutting it a bit closer than I'd like, but I had to push up my publication date so I could enter it into the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off.

In the meantime, I'm editing the second book in World in Chains and writing the third book of my Sunweaver trilogy. I'm hoping to get the second book of World in Chains and the first book of Sunweaver out before the end of the year. I'd like to get even more out, but I don't want to push myself too hard.
 

megan_d

Falling in the milk
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
801
Reaction score
123
Location
Perth, Western Australia
I was surprised by how quickly spfbo filled up. I barely made it in before the 300 entry cut off.