This article is my journey of discovering the world of self-publishing. It is not an authority on the subject—I believe that will come as I become more experienced and practised. For now, this is only a look into how one writer (me) undertakes her journey towards becoming a successful self-published author.

 

I love embarking on new journeys. The anticipation of where it will take you, what you will learn, even the problems can make discoveries enjoyable. With issues come solutions, and in finding solutions you grow. I have decided to discover everything about self-publishing books. At the moment, I have a few picture book manuscripts and working on two novels; one of these is part of my Master of Letters in Creative Writing. I plan to pursue traditional publishers to gauge what they think of my work.

 

The focus of April was to find where I could start learning about self-publishing. The first action I did was register my Imprint, Yellow Shutter Books, as a business name and, as I am in Australia, an ABN (Australian Business Number). An imprint is my publishing trademark when I publish. I aim to do everything I can to ensure that they follow the same/similar process as a traditional publisher when I publish my books. I aim to publish engaging stories, quality books and provide a professional publishing experience.

 

A few days ago, I received three letters in the mail advising me that the domain name yellowshutterbooks.com and yellowshutterbooks.com.au was available. I had forgotten about my Imprint’s domain URL. These companies will set it up for you, for a fee. I was trying to be savvy and went into my provider for this webpage., and they organised an additional domain name for a quarter of the price. Important advice, do some research, and see what is out there before clicking the purchase button. I also opted in for an email address for Yellow Shutter Books. I went with yellowshutterbooks.com as I want my books to reach a global market.

 

To start learning all about Self-Publishing I have sought out those who have had success. For me, it was Mark Dawson at the Self Publishing Forum and Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn. They both have Podcasts, and in just one month, I have learnt a great deal about what I need to do to self-publish. 

 

This month I have a more robust understanding that to self-publish, there are three parts that you must undertake to ensure success—write, edit and market your book. One piece of advice was, if marketing is not your strength, read up on it or do a course. And so, I have invested in my venture, by purchasing books to help me learn about self-publishing and marketing. These are:

• Social Media Marketing 2021: 4 Books in 1

• The First 100 Days of Your Books: Book Marketing for Self-published Authors

• Successful Self-Publishing: How to self-publish and market your Book (Joanna Penn)

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Additional advice that I have discovered and that comes up time and time again are:

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• Create an author’s website and social media accounts

• Have at least three books ready to self-publish. Once readers discover you, and like what you’ve written, they will go searching for more.

• Build your email list now and offer a free story to do this. I will be writing a 10,000 word short story, get it professionally edited, type set and offer it as a free read on my website to help generate a following of reader who like my style of storytelling. This means when I am ready to launch my books, I can send out a notification via a newsletter, to my potential readers.

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I hope this has given you some new insight into what I have discovered so far. If you are interested in my journey towards becoming a successful, self-published author, please subscribe below.

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Until next month, happy writing,

Valerie 

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