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Joined: 1/22/2013
Posts: 17
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I'm publishing ebooks using Book Country's publishing site and wondering where other Book Country ebook publishers go to share experiences, tips, elation, frustration. If a discussion board already exists, please tell me and I'll delete this discussion. If there are no discussions by people like me, actively publishing through Book Country's publishing site, let's start one.
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Joined: 8/13/2011
Posts: 272
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I'm not publishing through here yet, but it's on the cards (once I get to a position where I think I'm publishable). The only useful thing I've learnt about using the epublishing tools is to read all the buttons. All the tools you need are there, you just need to look for them.
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Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
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The ePublishing forum a good place to start this kind of discussion, Dennis. You're in the right place!
The Member News and Announcements forum under Book Country a place where you can make announcements and discuss your published work. (http://bookcountry.com/Industry/Article.aspx?articleId=139379)
Cheers,
Nevena
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I've not used Book Country, but I have epublished.
Some things to keep in mind:
1. There is an implied contract between you and the reader: what you supply is worth the money, and not a story that they could have written themself.
By that I mean that they expect a professional level of skill, equivelant to what they could buy in the local bookstore. And since, if you could interest a publisher you wouldn't be self publishing, we know you're not yet a pro. But are you close? Have you educated yourself in the craft of the fiction writer, or are you simply telling your story and recording the words you would use? It matters, because all the promotion you may do won't change an indifferently written story to gold.
2. No one is cruising Amazon, etc., looking for self published work. And every day there are hundreds of new titles available, plus millions already released, all in competition with your work.
And all of those writers are sincere, and trying hard to drive people to their page. How will you convince those people that yours is where they should go?
There are success stories, but in reality, most self published work, if you subtract friends and relatives from the count, sell less than a hundred copies.
I wish I had better news, but I republished, Samantha and the Bear, myself, and I'm giving it away, because the idea of working day and night to promote it, and posting in all the various forums, just to entice people to buy a copy didn't seem like fun. And even free, the number of downloads isn't all that great. And bear in mind that though I'm obviously not a great writer, I have been published more than once or twice, so the product is readable, and I've gotten some good feedback on B&N. But that doesn't translate into success.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Dennis,
Many of us are interested in hearing about your progress, your problems, and your lessons learned. Please, please keep us informed.
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Joined: 6/18/2012
Posts: 228
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Hi Dennis. Thanks for starting this thread.
Tim, I hope you find Book Country's publish side easy-to-use. Let me know if you need anything or have any questions when the time comes.
Jay, I think you need two things in order to sell many copies as a self-published author. You need a good story that captivates people. Then you need to work your tail off to get it out there. To succeed commercially, you need an entrepreneur's mindset and drive to market and publicize the book. And, as you mention, it's a lot of work.
That said, I think people self-publish for many different reasons. It's too much of a generalization to say that people only self-publish because they're amateurs and their book isn't good enough to be picked up by a NY house. It's simply not true. Yes, there are people who finish a draft and decide that the world needs their work and self-publish it; however, there are many dedicated entrepreneurs who choose self-publishing over traditional houses because they like the freedom/flexibility/revenue options. Some people self-publish and aren't concerned with their Amazon ranking or how many copies they sell; they've achieved success by having a book on the market that their family and friends can read. There are also people who have published traditionally and then decide to self-publish their backlist. Some do it with the help of their agent. (The term for these folks is "hybrid author" and the topic is a big one in the publishing trades.)
Everyone's path is different. I think each author considering publishing in any capacity would benefit by examining her goals, understanding why she wants them, determining what success looks like for her, and then creating a plan to capture it.
Brandi
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Hello Dennis -
I can sympathize with some people's complaints about self-publishing not meeting their ideal needs, but the reality is, any kind of writing and publishing is NOT a cakewalk, and taking a resentful defeatist attitude never won any prizes in any profession. So I say, go for whatever looks feasible for you. Start there.
I'm working on a book that I hope to publish in the traditional way, but also have some essays and poetry I'd like to publish (read: share) and e-publishing does put it out there so it can be seen by someone. Maybe someone will show it to someone, who will show it to someone who knows an agent, who might be interested. And if not, there is value in reading and and being read by the writers on this website, and obviously a great opportunity to get some feedback that is more accurate and studied than, for example, the rave reviews I get from my niece. Generally, I think getting published is probably better than not getting published.
I've just joined and I'm going to try to self-publish here too. My hardest hurdles so far are technical ones - I can't seem to get the BookCountry app's wizard to upload my cover, no matter how hard I try. What I'd really like to see here is a "Nuts and Bolts forum" where I can holler: "Help! The instructions don't work! Can anybody tell me what this dang thing wants me to do?" That sort of thing. --edited by Victoria-13 on 3/30/2014, 3:44 AM--
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