SELF-PUB: Introduction to Self-Publishing

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There was a time, not so long ago, when self-publishing was a dirty word. It was nick-named ‘Vanity’ publishing, so called because it required an enormous amount of gumption to pay out for your musings to be printed and bound into a luscious tome. Recently however, thanks to the ebook revolution, everyone can afford to publish their own writing, and many do.

Self-publishing was not always frowned upon. Many successful classic authors had to publish their own work, including Lord Byron, Virginia Woolf and Mark Twain, simply because there was no other option. It was only later that big publishing houses became the norm, and those who chose to peddle their own wares were seen as strange.

Amazon changed all that with the popularity of their Kindle ereader, and the ease of which you can upload and publish an ebook, seemingly in seconds. Other ereaders followed suit, and soon there was an explosion of people reading the obscure titles and great finds available over the web. Writers have been further spurred on by the success of authors such as Amanda Hocking  and Nick Spalding. It’s not all tea and biscuits though – if you’re sending your book out there into the cybersphere, then you’re now just one voice in a digital cacophony of noise. There are so many methods to push and promote your work that you could easily spend most of your working life doing just that, instead of knuckling down and writing the next book – which should be your priority, right?

Amid the noise of writers shouting to be heard, a few voices can stand out and rise to the top, which is why people take the risk of going it alone. At StoryWorld, we’ll be posting tips and methods on how to assemble your work, get it out there and get folks to buy it. Check back for more posts.