I see a lot of posts from young writers fixating on inconsequential things, and I get it. The externals of self-publishing are more fun than the actual writing. I much prefer designing my book covers and imagining the book inside than I enjoy writing that book. Don't get me wrong; I like writing or I wouldn't do it, but it's a frustrating pursuit.
There are aspects of self-publishing worth focusing on and there are others that are generally a waste of time and dollars. My advice is based on personal experience, which is actually the best kind of advice, as opposed to theoreticals. I like to research before diving into something new, but a lot of times those research results don't pan out when I apply them.
Let's start with the assumption that you've written a good book. If you haven't, just stop reading, because without a good book, everything else you do will not only be useless, but will destroy your credibility.
If you read my blog you know that I don't have a publishing budget. From time to time I find tiny amounts of money I can spend on inexpensive promo sites, but the more expensive aspects of self-publishing are beyond my reach. Thus I'm going to include both what I'll call the "kids menu" and the "mid-scale dining" menu. You may have no budget, a middling budget, or the sky's the limit. If you have limitless funds, just go for it, I guess. I have no advice to give you.
Mid-Scale Dining
An editor ~ If you can only afford one, choose a developmental editor, rather than a line editor. A developmental editor will focus on the structure, cohesiveness and flow of your manuscript; and believe me, those elements are easy to lose track of when writing. It's not surprising that a manuscript can have a narrative in Chapter Fourteen that directly conflicts with the narrative in Chapter Two. We're so focused on getting the story down that it's easy to meander off and forget what we've previously written. Developmental editing is not cheap. The pricing is all over the place, but the average cost for an 80,000-word manuscript is around $2,500.00. You can probably find someone cheaper, but if you're laying out money for this service, research carefully! You can pay for a one-chapter sample or rely on other authors' recommendations, or search out reviews of their work.
A line editor (or copy editor) edits for grammar and spelling. The cost is between two and three cents per word, according to the Editorial Freelancers Association, so this is also not cheap.
Book Cover Design ~ Aside from writing a good book, a book cover can either make or break you. The book cover is what draws a potential buyer's attention, before the blurb, before the preview. You can definitely find cheap designers, but you get what you pay for. A good designer can charge up to $1,000.00. Most authors don't pay that much. Freelancers' prices vary widely, but always examine an artist's samples, and it also helps to find a designer who concentrates on your genre.
Reviews ~ Like it or not, a book with reviews will sell better than a lonely one just sitting on the shelf, ignored. The most common way to obtain reviews is to send ARC's (advance reader copies), but how do you find takers? Excellent question. It seems that most authors use sites like Booksprout or BookFunnel to house and deliver their ARCs, and they ostensibly help build a reader list (I haven't utilized any ARC service yet.). It appears that Booksprout is the most reasonable of the two. There are others, of course, but I understand NetGalley is wildly expensive. So, you may be able to sign up readers through one of these services and have your ARCs automatically delivered. The unspoken agreement between an author and an ARC reader is that the reader will post a review. Review returns are woefully low, however, so it's best to gather as many ARC readers as you can.
Marketing ~ Marketing's purpose is more for reviews than for buyers, but if you're lucky you'll get both. Those in the know swear by Facebook ads (I've never tried them), but there are also Amazon ads, and the biggie, BookBub. BookBub allows you to spend as much or as little as you want on a campaign. There are a lot of places to spend money on promotion. You want to use those with the largest reader base.
Author Newsletter ~ Shrug. Some authors claim they're worthwhile. If you've compiled a subscriber list, give it a try. This has been my least effective means of marketing.
Author Website ~ There are too many hosting sites to list here. Most of them are drag and drop, and voila! Do your homework, read recommendations to find the best hosting site for you.
Kids Menu
An editor ~ will be you. Or a family member or friend who's willing to donate their time. Yes, you can do it yourself. I do. Developmentally, you'll need to read through your manuscript, probably multiple times. Look for inconsistencies; jot them down as you find them. Or employ a text-to-voice app. Often reading the manuscript aloud will highlight problems. (P.S. This also helps with line editing, because the voice reader will read what it sees.)
Grammar and spelling (copy editing) ~ Whichever word processing system you use (I use Word), it will underline misspellings, repeated words (like "the"), and flag for possible grammatical errors. Just bear in mind that it's not always right, but most of the time it is.
Book Cover Design ~ Do your own. A Canva Pro subscription costs $12.00 a month. There is also a free plan. Pro, naturally, includes more options, more ways to edit your design (font style, for one) and more image choices. But free definitely works. I wrote a blog post about cover design here. If you're going to make your own, do it right! Play around with it until you're satisfied.
Your can definitely hire a Fiverr artist for as little as $20.00. It won't be worth it.
Reviews ~ ARC sites are not free, but a few, like BookFunnel, are not that pricey. An entirely free option for sending ARCs is available, however ~ create and send your own. Calibre is a free program that creates epubs and PDF's, and it works seamlessly. The problem is finding ARC readers. ARC sites (at least some of them) claim to find reviewers for you. If you want to gather readers yourself, try one of Goodreads' ARC groups or a Facebook ARC group, and of course, social media (which rarely works, to be frank). Voracious Readers Only will find you twenty readers for free (but only the first time you use it), but return is low. I believe I received one review out of twenty takers. Personally, my best results came from Goodreads.
You can also utilize Kindle's free book promotion, which is good for five days (any five days you choose) during a 90-day period. If you reap a lot of downloads, reviews may be forthcoming.
Marketing ~ On the cheap, you can try BookBub first. It's the king of book promo sites, and you can spend as little as ten dollars on a campaign, but for $10.00 your results will not be ideal. And because it's the king, you will have a lot of competition. In my experience, a free book has a lot more takers than one being offered for ninety-nine cents, but the fact is, most people will eagerly scoop up a free book, but very few will read it.
I did a deep dive into less expensive promo sites, and honestly, those gave me the best results.
Author Newsletter ~ If you've compiled a subscriber list, try MailerLite's free service for sending your newsletter. My reader feedback has been negligible, to say the least.
Author Website ~ I personally believe it's important to establish an online presence. What successful author doesn't have a website? (There are a few, but they're so successful, they don't need to bother with one.) Your website showcases your books and you, and fans like a personal touch. I created my site using Blogger. Yes, you can transform a regular blog into a website with just a few modifications. And all it will cost you is your yearly domain renewal, for which I pay $10.00 through NameCheap. Attach your domain to your Blogger website and you're good to go.
Whether you have a decent-size bank account or no money at all, concentrate on the important elements, and don't waste money on things like paperback copies of your book unless you somehow have a place to sell them.
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