Publishing Challenges
- Thread starter Busha777
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1. Finishing a book
2. Polishing a book
3. Listening to feedback about the book
3.a. Not stabbing yourself with a rusty fork and giving up
3.b. Not stabbing your betas/critique partners with a rusty fork and then giving up
4. Incorporating the feedback about the book
4.a. (see 3.a.)
5. Finding an agent to help you traditionally publish
5.a. (see 3.a.)
6. Learning all you need to know to self-publish well (anybody can self-publish poorly)
6.a. (see 3.a.)
7. Finding people to buy your book
7.a. (see 3.a.)
8. Repeating until the end of time.
2. Polishing a book
3. Listening to feedback about the book
3.a. Not stabbing yourself with a rusty fork and giving up
3.b. Not stabbing your betas/critique partners with a rusty fork and then giving up
4. Incorporating the feedback about the book
4.a. (see 3.a.)
5. Finding an agent to help you traditionally publish
5.a. (see 3.a.)
6. Learning all you need to know to self-publish well (anybody can self-publish poorly)
6.a. (see 3.a.)
7. Finding people to buy your book
7.a. (see 3.a.)
8. Repeating until the end of time.
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This is a big question. The short answer is: The workload of being the publisher too is the biggest challenge.
You have to write and edit your story, just like any writer does, but then you also have to typeset it, manage files and file formats, come up with cover art and title font (while respecting other people's copyrights), optimize that art and font for display on various screens, get the files up and looking decent on a variety of different publishing sites, then market the book in a saturated, often-hostile-to-self-published-books environment.
You have to do everything a writer does, then everything a publisher does. It's a lot of work.
It can be extremely satisfying to be in control of everything, for people with the temperament and energy levels to do that, especially if you see it pay off in the form of sales. For other people, however, it steals too much time away from the writing part of the process.
You have to write and edit your story, just like any writer does, but then you also have to typeset it, manage files and file formats, come up with cover art and title font (while respecting other people's copyrights), optimize that art and font for display on various screens, get the files up and looking decent on a variety of different publishing sites, then market the book in a saturated, often-hostile-to-self-published-books environment.
You have to do everything a writer does, then everything a publisher does. It's a lot of work.
It can be extremely satisfying to be in control of everything, for people with the temperament and energy levels to do that, especially if you see it pay off in the form of sales. For other people, however, it steals too much time away from the writing part of the process.
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Was going to say this isn't a challenge, but luck also comes in the bad form, so: yeah.
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Besides quality?
Visibility.
The self-pub forums here are tremendous. And self- or trade-pubbed, this thread is perennially useful.
Well, let's assume that you've written a great book, and know how to edit, and to edit some more, and then format the book. And are into e-books, 'cause print is expensive to print and expensive to ship.
Who do you imagine will buy your book, and how do you think you will reach them? Why would they choose your book out of all the others out there, and how do you think they will even find it?
It's not a matter of 'build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door'. It's more 'if a tree falls in the forest, and no-body hears it, did it make a noise?'
And shun vanity presses and services like the plague.
There is a self-publishing forum here that would be of interest to you.
Who do you imagine will buy your book, and how do you think you will reach them? Why would they choose your book out of all the others out there, and how do you think they will even find it?
It's not a matter of 'build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door'. It's more 'if a tree falls in the forest, and no-body hears it, did it make a noise?'
And shun vanity presses and services like the plague.
There is a self-publishing forum here that would be of interest to you.
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On the shelf, or at Amazon, or at any other place books are distributed, your self-published book should be indistinguishable from the traditionally published books. Set your bar that high. Hire help for the parts you know you're weak at, whether that's editing, proofing, cover design, or interior layout.
As Lizmonster said, anyone can self-publish poorly.
I'd say visibility and that's no matter how you publish. It doesn't matter how good your book is or how well you write if it isn't seen. These days there is more and more time and money spent on marketing and trying to get visibility than anything. It can be especially difficult for those on tight budgets who don't have advertising dollars but there are creative free ways to promote as well. As more and more people enter the self-publishing pool, visibility will get harder and harder to obtain.
Visibility makes the difference. There is proof. There are many badly written books that are selling like hotcakes right now due to the authors knowing how to get visibility. On Amazon, it's pay-to play-now. The ones who spend the most money on getting seen are the ones winning the battle. Those who can't afford to spend money or find other ways to get visibility (if they are in a hot genre) are struggling. Also, Amazon is almost forcing authors to use their ads because organic visibility has almost disappeared on Amazon.
(I mention Amazon because it's the biggest seller and most authors are exclusive there.) I'm wide so I sell everywhere and visibility is even harder on other sites outside Amazon.
In a perfect world, great writing and a professional-looking product would matter most in terms of sales. This isn't a perfect world and a lot of sludge rises to the top and can sell.
So, yes, I would say visibility is the biggest challenge IMO. Your book can be the best in the world but it won't matter if no one finds it.
Visibility makes the difference. There is proof. There are many badly written books that are selling like hotcakes right now due to the authors knowing how to get visibility. On Amazon, it's pay-to play-now. The ones who spend the most money on getting seen are the ones winning the battle. Those who can't afford to spend money or find other ways to get visibility (if they are in a hot genre) are struggling. Also, Amazon is almost forcing authors to use their ads because organic visibility has almost disappeared on Amazon.
(I mention Amazon because it's the biggest seller and most authors are exclusive there.) I'm wide so I sell everywhere and visibility is even harder on other sites outside Amazon.
In a perfect world, great writing and a professional-looking product would matter most in terms of sales. This isn't a perfect world and a lot of sludge rises to the top and can sell.
So, yes, I would say visibility is the biggest challenge IMO. Your book can be the best in the world but it won't matter if no one finds it.
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Yeah I'm kind of morbidly curious to see how that's gonna work for self publishing in five years time. I am guessing another form of quality gate keeping will take over
My theory, I wouldn't be shocked if authors have to pay a small fee to publish on retailers one day. I've been thinking how that could be a possibility. Now, that could ensure better quality because if you're just throwing stuff up on stores for quick bucks, I doubt you'll pay to do it. So it might deter a lot of those "get rich quick" hacks, plagiarists and content mills because the more serious authors will be willing to pay to sell on sites. I would not be surprised if this becomes the next step. Not sure how authors would feel about it though.
But when it comes to quality control, I won't hold my breath with Amazon. They prove over and over they don't care with all the junk and fake books on their site.
I'm hoping more and more new retailers come along to give more options to authors too. This would help authors gain visibility in more places. I'm excited about the new Kobo/Walmart thing that's coming soon. Also, Microsoft has a bookstore on Windows 10 now. Not sure if they are as accepting to self-publishers though. Haven't heard much about that but they do have a link for authors to email them if they are interested in putting their books on the store.
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