Even though I didn’t know much when I published my first book, I am glad I took the leap. Without that first, there would not be a fourteenth. My first book was:
- Self-Published through Lulu
- Had a generic cover
- Was not professionally edited
- Was not professionally formatted
From the Depths of a Woman’s Heart was a poetry book I published in 2010. It was the first book I ever sold, a collection of poems I had written going back to High School and coming up to the present. Although I had missed the mark in many areas, people still bought it.
I am not saying to publish an unedited book and slap on a generic cover. That would go against everything I’ve ever written in this series. Ya’ll know I don’t play that. I have since retired that book and a few other books and even republished some books because when you know better, you do better.
I am saying that you just have to write the book at some point, even if you don’t know all the answers. From the Depths laid the foundation for me to get used to the Self-Publishing process, analyze what I did wrong, and improve the next time. My first several books were kind of like a practice run for me to learn and grow.
Nine times out of ten, aspiring authors who express interest in Self-Publishing have not written a book yet. And sadly, many of them spend a lot of time figuring out if Self-Publishing is for them. While there is nothing wrong with this, it can get in the way of writing a book to publish.
After having written the book, you might even decide that Self-Publishing is not for you, and that’s okay.
It’s easy to get sucked up in the never-ending sinkhole that is Self-Publishing advice. Everyone has an opinion about how it should be done, and everybody and they mama is an expert.
No wonder writers are confused and overwhelmed with the process.
Let me simplify it for you:
Start by writing the book.
Before you pull your hair out over how to get your story into the hands of readers, make sure you actually have a story for them to read.
Once you have a completed manuscript, you will better understand the information you need. You can ignore what does not apply and focus on what does.
Having something written helps you be selective in who you listen to and intentional about the direction you want to go.
Don’t be so busy researching how to start that you forget that the biggest lessons come from action.
How do you get started with Self-Publishing?
First, write the book.
The PBS Blog 
A very sensible post. And I totally agree.
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Sometimes you just gotta do it. Get on out there.
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Thank you for this article. It came at a time I really needed to hear it too because I was getting caught up in the research spinning wheel.
Sometimes there is no educational experience to prepare you for all that a life in writing entails. I still wish my college degrees did more to prepare us for the business side of what we do. That is why I end up writing about it too now because so many hard lessons could be avoided with better preparation.
Still…in the end…it all comes back to writing. If that isn’t your priority, you become a really good networking agent before you ever become a published author.
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Exactly. Well said 👍🏾
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