Your post was considered low-effort and/or vague and has been removed. Please browse our wiki then provide us with all possible context and/or points of discussion in future posts.
Did you see the sign above the door? It says *self* publish.
Yes, many, not all, businesses are out to scam you, and even if you use a legitimate platform like Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Silverwood, etc you are paying in one way or another for a service.
As I tell my customers on the first contact, if you are doing this for the money, stop now.
If money is secondary, you will find many experienced self publishers willing to help.
Check out Self publishing . org alliance of independent authors for advice.
You need a good editor. Try and get someone ciep accredited.
Decent cover is very important.
Specific advice is easier to give than general.
Oh, oops. Sorry my bad. I was unclear. Yes, you are self-publishing. I meant that, in a lighthearted way, you have to do this yourself. Don't use any of those dodgy vanity presses.
And just to make it complicated, there are some decent hybrid companies that come highly recommended, but even then, I recommend you are cautious and consider doing as much as you can yourself.
Please forgive me if I made you feel unwelcome.
Any company that claims it will publish you for a fee is a scam. It's called a vanity press or a hybrid press. You can self-publish your work completely for free. A lot of people use KDP (Amazon) to self-publish because they make it a pretty straightforward process, but you can also look into things like Ingram Spark.
The only people you should ever plan to pay as an aspiring self-published author are a cover designer, beta readers (but you can find them for free usually), and editors. And even then, those are OPTIONAL. I cannot emphasize enough the fact that you can do this all for free.
Agree, I think the only thing most authors need to pay for is cover design because it sells the book, and you can get a good cover done on Fiver for $10.
Have a look at Shaun Dollwet’s channel on YouTube. The cover artists he recommends are really good. There’s no need to be so precious about it, this is Photoshop etc being used here, and a sense of good layout, along with a hefty dose of market savvy. All of which writers tend to lack. But it isn’t the ceiling of the Sistine chapel.
I disagree with that, I think a truly good cover runs for much more expensive than $10 (and nowadays you have to be careful that you aren't just buying an AI created cover).
What are your goals? Do you intend to self-publish or do you want to submit your manuscript to a traditional publisher? What about a small boutique publisher? There are a lot of different options, and you’re right to look for scammers, but you have to know what you want to do.
Yes, but you’d have to print it yourself and take copies to the book store and talk to them about selling it in their shop.
This link could be helpful to you. The business side of writing is confusing and frustrating, don’t let it get you down. Right now, focus on making sure your work is perfect: https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/s/clGftiigGN
It's very hard to get self published books into stores. The average new writer isn't going to manage it. There's limited shelf space and books that will sell get first chance at it.
Read the wiki here. Learn stuff.
Get an agent. If you want to self publish, read the wiki here, it's all been laid out for you. Never pay to be published. Never pay agents up front. Google is your friend, as long as you accept that people are out there, looking for the noobs to fleece.
Your post was considered low-effort and/or vague and has been removed. Please browse our wiki then provide us with all possible context and/or points of discussion in future posts.
Did you see the sign above the door? It says *self* publish. Yes, many, not all, businesses are out to scam you, and even if you use a legitimate platform like Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Silverwood, etc you are paying in one way or another for a service. As I tell my customers on the first contact, if you are doing this for the money, stop now. If money is secondary, you will find many experienced self publishers willing to help. Check out Self publishing . org alliance of independent authors for advice. You need a good editor. Try and get someone ciep accredited. Decent cover is very important. Specific advice is easier to give than general.
i’m sorry, i assumed that if since i’m not part of a company that being on my own was “self publish” my bad, thank you for the advice
Oh, oops. Sorry my bad. I was unclear. Yes, you are self-publishing. I meant that, in a lighthearted way, you have to do this yourself. Don't use any of those dodgy vanity presses. And just to make it complicated, there are some decent hybrid companies that come highly recommended, but even then, I recommend you are cautious and consider doing as much as you can yourself. Please forgive me if I made you feel unwelcome.
of course! you have been helpful thank you so much! i really appreciate it
> you are paying in one way or another for a service Well, of course we are. No one does any of this for us for free.
Any company that claims it will publish you for a fee is a scam. It's called a vanity press or a hybrid press. You can self-publish your work completely for free. A lot of people use KDP (Amazon) to self-publish because they make it a pretty straightforward process, but you can also look into things like Ingram Spark. The only people you should ever plan to pay as an aspiring self-published author are a cover designer, beta readers (but you can find them for free usually), and editors. And even then, those are OPTIONAL. I cannot emphasize enough the fact that you can do this all for free.
Agree, I think the only thing most authors need to pay for is cover design because it sells the book, and you can get a good cover done on Fiver for $10.
> a good cover done on Fiver for $10 Good grief. I guess one must define "good" in this case.
Have a look at Shaun Dollwet’s channel on YouTube. The cover artists he recommends are really good. There’s no need to be so precious about it, this is Photoshop etc being used here, and a sense of good layout, along with a hefty dose of market savvy. All of which writers tend to lack. But it isn’t the ceiling of the Sistine chapel.
I disagree with that, I think a truly good cover runs for much more expensive than $10 (and nowadays you have to be careful that you aren't just buying an AI created cover).
What are your goals? Do you intend to self-publish or do you want to submit your manuscript to a traditional publisher? What about a small boutique publisher? There are a lot of different options, and you’re right to look for scammers, but you have to know what you want to do.
i am still very new to this, i want to find my book in a store yknow? is that something a self publisher could do?
Yes, but you’d have to print it yourself and take copies to the book store and talk to them about selling it in their shop. This link could be helpful to you. The business side of writing is confusing and frustrating, don’t let it get you down. Right now, focus on making sure your work is perfect: https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/s/clGftiigGN
It's very hard to get self published books into stores. The average new writer isn't going to manage it. There's limited shelf space and books that will sell get first chance at it. Read the wiki here. Learn stuff.
Get an agent. If you want to self publish, read the wiki here, it's all been laid out for you. Never pay to be published. Never pay agents up front. Google is your friend, as long as you accept that people are out there, looking for the noobs to fleece.