The Self-Publishing Debate: Should You Spend Money to Publish Your Book

I didn’t plan on posting today, but there is a debate going on about whether new authors should spend money on self-publishing their books.

In brief, publishing a book you want others to spend their money on will cost some financial investment if you care about your reader’s experience.

There’s a reason authors who sign with conventional publishing houses don’t pay money for editing and cover art. It is because the publisher has a team of experts to take care of that. In exchange, the author sells the rights to their book and receives royalty payments for sales.

As a self-publisher, you are the publisher, which means you are responsible for outsourcing everything you need to ensure a profitable product.

It doesn’t have to be an arm and a leg, but you want to, at minimum, cover editing, a decent cover design, print and digital formatting, and own your ISBN from Bowker so that you are the publisher of record.

Paying someone to publish your book is also not self-publishing.

If you paid someone to publish your book, including editing it and everything else, you have not self-published it. You have paid a vanity press to publish it for you.

I’ve heard too many horror stories from authors who say they will never self-publish again, only to discover they never actually self-published. They signed with a vanity press who uploaded the book to Ingram, and did little more than the author could have done themselves.

But this isn’t about vanity presses. This is about how too many people self-publish because they think it’s easier than all other routes: vanity, hybrid, and traditional. They have not considered if they have the time and resources to self-publish or if it’s even something they are really interested in.

The truth is that not everyone is equipped to be their own publisher, which is fine! First-time authors are not required to self-publish, but if they do, they must recognize the financial risks involved in providing a quality product worth people’s money.

You cannot throw a book together that you claim you didn’t do to make money and then sell this mediocrity to other people.

Cause technically, you can self-publish for $0, but it will look like it.

I blame the existence of this debate on the whole “art” conversation. Authors don’t think they have to invest financially because too many of us consider publishing a book a passion project instead of a business decision.

This is the first mistake.

Check out more Indie Author Basics articles here.

Preorder Your Copy of Black History Facts You Didn’t Learn in School Here!

On Fear

I don’t exist out of thin air.

I didn’t just pop up out of nowhere teaching this through Google and YouTube University.

I teach this because I’ve lived through it.

And, while much of what I discuss is well-known on the tail end of 2023, it wasn’t when I first started. Self-publishing has been around for ages, but Print-On-Demand was new, and no one was talking about it, let alone their journey.

Without that first book, there would be no I am Soul or any other book.

I self-published my first book in 2010, and it was trash.

But I was 23 and unafraid.

There is something to be learned from young people.

The content was good, but the production was poor.

I knew nothing about editing, book cover art, or proper formatting.

Every mistake that could be made by self-publishing a book, I have made it and then some over the years.

But even though the book was far from perfect, I still sold copies. And even though I didn’t know what I was doing, my youthfulness had armed me with the boldness to put it out there anyway.

“Take the risk or lose the chance.”
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I remember being at my in-laws house in Memphis. My husband had told my nephew:

“You can do anything if you believe it. You can climb that wall if you wanted to.”

Do you know what this five-year-old did?

He proceeded to climb the walls.

The fact that he could fall had never crossed his mind. And if it did, he didn’t care.

As we age and experience the brutality that is sometimes this life, we become more afraid.

This causes us to overthink until fear paralyzes us into not taking action.

And now, we are afraid to move forward because we are afraid to fail. In many ways, this also means we are afraid to learn!

“The fear will become your weakness if you don’t overcome it.” – Yecheilyah
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I cannot say if I would have taken that leap of faith, the proof of what is not seen, had I known everything there was to know about book publishing. It would not have been perfect enough for me.

The most insightful lessons you will learn is through doing the work.

Don’t let overthinking paralyze you into not taking action.

Check out more Indie Author Basics articles here.

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The Best Advice is Lived Experience

I saw an Ad on Facebook where the person was telling authors that selling their books on Amazon is a waste of time and that they should sell directly from their website.

And, if you buy the course for $89.95, he’ll teach you exactly how to do it.

Be careful with this kind of advice.

It’s not even that it’s bad, but it is unbalanced.

Questions.

How many people visit your author’s website monthly? Not your blog, your static author website?

How many author websites do YOU visit regularly?

When you think about a book you want to buy, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

For me, the answer is not from the author’s website but from Amazon, and if I am going offline, I am hitting up Barnes and Noble or my local Independent bookstore.

I have always advocated for author websites because they allow authors to track leads.

You can collect data to keep in touch with readers, like email addresses and phone numbers—something you can’t do through Amazon, which doesn’t show who bought the book. You only know if that person leaves a review.

But I wouldn’t consider Amazon a waste of time when they are the number one go-to for people looking to buy books.

This person’s perspective lacks balance. Authors can have books available through their websites and on Amazon. Also, consider everyone’s journey is different:

Some authors need help to afford or do not want to pay for a website, which requires buying a domain name, paying for e-commerce, and the percentage your cart of choice (say Stripe) takes out of every transaction. Meanwhile (at the time of this writing), setting up an Amazon Author Central page is free.

And some authors prefer to add a website outside of Amazon to track leads because they understand that a book is a product. And individuals don’t have products; businesses do. These authors see the value in their books not as the end but as the beginning of a thriving and profitable business, and businesses have websites.

What I Recommend:

The best advice is lived experiences, and I recommend that everyone do what feels right with their souls. Otherwise, we risk stifling an author’s creativity and rob them of the opportunity to learn.

To increase traffic to your static website or landing page, promote it. Let people know the option to buy directly from you is available. Offer your books as signed copies and throw in some book swag. People do buy from author websites if you let them know.

Use your blog as your website. Because they are updated often with posts, they get much better SEO and traffic than static sites. You can set it up for free right here on WordPress. You don’t have to buy a domain unless you want to. (I did because I’m extra, lol.) It is also a great way to build community.

If you opt out of a website, set up your Amazon Author Central so you can send people there to buy your books and follow you. People who follow you on Amazon will get an email the next time you publish a new book!

Experiment! Test things out. Take risks. Sometimes we don’t know what we like because we’ve never stepped outside the box. Let experience be your teacher.

Should You Put Your Book Up for Preorder? It Depends.

What is a preorder?

A pre-order is when you make a book available for purchase before its official release date—typically a week to a year in advance.

Traditionally, publishers have books available for preorder as early as six months to a year in advance. They do it because strong pre-sales tell retailers the book will be in high demand, affecting the number of books stocked at stores and allowing them to make bestseller lists.

Self-published authors can learn from this, not necessarily to make the bestsellers list but to gauge interest in their new book and give them time to market/promote it.

I believe studying the traditional publishing model can help Indie Authors become better self-publishers in some areas, but that’s a conversation for a different day.

By putting my book up for preorder, I have not only made early sales but already have a bookstore interest in stocking it. (I am also aiming for schools. We’ll see how this goes!)

Reasons for setting up preorders depend on your marketing strategy, which could be:

To gauge interest in the book based on preorder sales
To increase sales ranking
To get the proof copy of the book into the hands of early reviewers, bookstores, and organizations
To give you time to market /promote the book (on/offline)
To prepare your audience for the next book in a series
To build excitement and anticipation

Preorders that tend to do well

Authors with several books published and larger audiences tend to do better with preorders because they already have people waiting for their next book.

Even if the author has a small audience, preorders can be good if the book is in high demand. It is one of the reasons I put my black history book up for preorder so early.

I’ve built up enough hype and awareness for the book that people were already looking for it on Amazon and asking where they could buy it. Putting it up for preorder ensures I take advantage of the opportunity to catch interested readers while the book is on their minds.

Authors writing a series also do well. They might offer the first book at a discount and then have the next book on preorder. People who love the first book in the series will likely buy the next one.

Preorders that don’t do as well

First-time authors who don’t have an audience do not always do well with preorders and might benefit from just releasing the book. As stated, preorders are more useful for experienced authors because they already have an audience.

It is also not a good idea to set up preorders if you’re not able to commit to a publication date in advance.

The most important thing to remember is that you have much more flexibility and creative control as an independent author than if you were traditionally published. You can play around with different strategies and see what works.

Cover Reveals

Cover reveals are fun and all, but they serve no real purpose if people can’t buy the book or preorder it on the spot. I recommend holding off on showing the cover until you are ready or almost ready to accept orders.

Promoting Preorders

Although preorders are a beneficial marketing strategy for some authors, it is also a lot of work. Here are my top tips:

Consider running your preorders for a shorter time than the traditional model. Just because your celebrity authors release books on preorder a year in advance doesn’t mean you have to. We are Indies. We do what we want. (*wink*) Yours can be as short as two weeks to a month before release. Also for Amazon, the preorder only counts on the day of the order. This means that the longer the preorder period, the harder it is to sustain a high ranking on that book. (If your goal is to achieve a high ranking.)

Preserve most of your energy for when the book is out. Too many authors get hung up on the release date and wear themselves out. Remember that your book will sell for weeks, months, and years afterward, so pace yourself. If your preorders are through Amazon, you still receive your royalties per their regular royalty payment schedule after your book is published anyway, not before.

This is my first experience running a lengthy campaign, but I’m saving most of my energy for when the book comes out. Those of you who know me are aware that I rarely do anything without a purpose. Because I anticipated my schedule would be hectic toward the end of the year, I postponed the release until the new year. I’ll put it to the test and, of course, report back!

Check out more Indie Author Basics articles here.

Preorder Your Copy of Black History Facts You Didn’t Learn in School Here!

What Indie Authors Can Learn from Jada Pinkett-Smith’s Book Launch

As an author, I cannot help but to look at the book marketing side of celebrity book launches of this magnitude. And, because it’s such a controversial launch, I want to give a disclaimer.

Disclaimer: This post is not about dissecting the morality of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, condoning how she has gone about her launch, or suggesting authors expose their personal lives. Rather, we can use a viral book launch as an example of how we can strategize when rolling out our launches.

In today’s post, we look at a few lessons we can learn from Jada’s book launch that you don’t have to be a millionaire author to implement.

Timing

The timing of Jada’s bombshell about her and Will’s separation contributed to even more interest in the book than she already had. As the Smiths likely anticipated, the public ate it up and left no crumbs.

Indie authors might discover that releasing content (of their own discretion, not necessarily so personal) at specific times can enhance reception and reach. Authors should plan their book releases, publication dates, and marketing efforts carefully and strategically.

Establishing a Platform & Leveraging Existing Platforms

It might seem that Jada’s recent revelations are new, but between her Red Table Talk show (where she discussed personal matters openly) and her Instagram lives, Jada has long established herself as someone who has raw and open conversations as part of her personal brand.

Indie authors can learn from this by sharing content on their social media platforms that give insight not only into their books but also about them as a person. Again, at their own discretion.

Kerry Washington is an example of someone who is in the public eye, but who lives a private life. She does not show her children on social media and we also hardly ever see her husband.

Jada also used other platforms to her advantage, spilling the tea on other people’s talk and radio shows. Indie authors have the same option. Consider guest blogging or cross-promoting with other authors.

Sneak Peeks That Pique Interest

Tupac Shakur has evoked strong emotions in fans since his death in September of 1996. Jada Pinkett Smith is well aware of this, and she is well aware that any comments she makes about him or her relationship with Will are bound to go viral. Jada fed us the information she wanted us to know and controlled the narrative through a traditional media interview.

Indie authors can learn from this by strategically choosing which parts of the book to discuss publicly before release. While some authors worry about giving their books away, the right information can do more to help rather than hinder a book’s success.

While the cover is essential, its the content inside of the book that keeps us reading. The cover pulls us in, but the story makes us stay.

Whether you’ve already published your book or are writing one, educating us about your topic and even revealing minor tidbits about what’s INSIDE the book can help garner more interest.

Are there any bookish lessons you’ve observed from celebrity authors? Let’s discuss in the comments!

Check out more Indie Author Basics articles here.

Preorder Your Copy of Black History Facts You Didn’t Learn in School Here!

Self-Publishing: Understanding Copyright and Distribution

Copyright

First-time self-publishers often worry about copyright or that someone will steal their idea. This is typically the first sign of a novice self-publisher.

However, new and established authors might worry about someone stealing their books now that AI is here.

First, you should know that you own the copyright to your book at the moment of creation.

This is why it’s irrelevant for vanity presses to tell you that you keep 100% of your rights as a perk to working with them. You already have it.

But, if you want to take it a step further, you can obtain an official copyright through the US copyright office (copyright.gov) and receive a Library of Congress number, which allows librarians to catalog your book at LOC.gov.

Note: If you plan to request US Library of Congress (LOC) cataloging, be sure to assign the ISBN well in advance of publication to allow for LOC processing time.

Keep in mind that the ISBN has nothing to do with the copyright or the ownership of the work. It is also not connected to the Library of Congress cataloging. The ISBN is simply a number identifying the book and who published it.

It is important for self-publishers because we want to be listed as the publisher of record. That is why we self-published: to be in total creative control of the process and our own publishers.

Seeing the name of who published the book might not be a big deal to readers or authors who intend to stick to selling their books online, but for authors who wish to get the attention of booksellers or to sell their books in bulk to larger corporations, it is a bigger deal. Booksellers find it too inconvenient if the book is not returnable through Ingram (the book distributor, not IngramSpark the self-publishing arm). Although KDP’s extended distribution actually goes through Ingram, one of the main reasons why retailers don’t want to stock titles published by Amazon is that they are not returnable.

And Amazon is their biggest competitor.

Frankly, bookstores can care less about Amazon or that you are an Amazon bestseller.

Free ISBNs could also restrict your distribution options.

Distribution

Like traditional publishing, self-publishers want their books available through multiple channels. They want to control the distribution of their book.

In its simplest form, distribution rights is the right to make your book available to the customer.

When you are signed with a publisher, you must go through them to get copies of your book.

When you are your own publisher, you can order as many author copies of the book as you want and decide where your book shows up.

For print books, for example, it means going from your printer to a retailer or directly to your reader.

In the case of ebooks, this can entail sticking to Amazon exclusively or using an aggregator like Draft2Digital to make your work available at a variety of stores, including Barnes and Noble, Apple iBooks, and Books-A-Million.

For distribution to bookstores,* small publishers and self-publishers do not typically have the manpower to use a full-service distributor like traditional publishers who can warehouse and distribute large book print runs. Thus, we usually opt for a wholesale distributor such as Ingram because it is best suited to print-on-demand (POD) printing.

*Having your book on Ingram Spark does not necessarily mean bookstores will order copies of your self-published book from Ingram.

The best practice is to self-publish through Amazon’s KDP for Amazon and then publish separately through Ingram and other platforms.

In other words, you don’t have to be concerned about someone stealing your book concept. Every book has already been written. Your perspective is the key ingredient. The way you write it is what makes it unique. Nobody else can write like you. Additionally, your book was already protected by copyright when it was written. For more security or peace of mind, you can also purchase a copyright through copyright.gov.

Check out more Indie Author Basics articles here.

Preorder Your Copy of Black History Facts You Didn’t Learn in School Here!

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews – In Search of a Salve: Memoir of a Sex Addict by KE Garland

Title: In Search of a Salve: Memoir of a Sex Addict

Author: KE Garland

Publisher: ‎ New Reads Publications

Published: September 26, 2023

Pages: 326

“I was nine years old when I figured out that if I squeezed my legs together hard enough, it would create the most electrifying pulsation, in the general area my mother, her mother, and her mother called our “killa cricket.”

-KE Garland

In Search of a Salve snatches us into the author’s world with the rawness of a Sister Souljah book. Like Winter Santiaga, KE Garland has no sugarcoated, watered-down stories to tell you.

Unlike Winter, Kathy’s story is no fairytale.

The author takes us through the series of tragic incidents that led to her preoccupation with sex, including child-on-child molestation, car accidents, and the death of her adoptive mother. Garland expertly reveals how she utilized sex as a salve for a wound she wasn’t completely aware even existed, leading her down a path of multiple sex partners and abortions.

However, don’t assume this book is about the author’s naughty antics. This memoir stands out because it doesn’t only list regrettable events and bad decisions. What’s important is the linkages between how trauma impacts the body, permeates the mind, and results in addiction.

“I didn’t cheat because I had a vanilla sex life. I cheated to escape the discomfort of trauma.”

-KE Garland

We learn how cognitive therapy helped the author to pay more attention to her thinking and the meaning of key terms like exhibitionism or the urge to show yourself to others in public. These explanations helped me better understand the author’s actions beyond the physical, such as the disconnect that exists when the mother-child bond is broken early in life, resulting in a dysregulated nervous system.

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“No oxytocin. No emotional bonding. No maternal attachment. Emotionally dysregulated….I began life, like most babies, listening for the sound of my mother’s voice and never found it, and I’d never stop longing for her.”

-KE Garland

This book prompted me to have more compassion for the lived experiences of people who struggle with addictions that society has deemed as nothing more than an immoral decision, but that is much more layered. As Garland searched for a salve, I, too, discovered insight into questions about my own trauma, belonging, and motherhood.

“I was motherless and it hurt whenever I didn’t have one to show up for me.”

-KE Garland

KE Garland courageously uses her story as a catalyst for further instruction about not only sex addiction but addiction in general.

In Search of a Salve will break your heart, pierce your soul, and then soothe you with knowledge about sex, trauma, despair, and the root of these behaviors beyond poor life decisions.

Ratings:

Strong Introduction: 5/5
Authenticity / Believable: 5/5
Organization: 5/5
Thought Provoking: 5/5
Solid Conclusion: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

It’s Release Day!!

Grab Your Copy of In Search for a Salve Here

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews is a reputable review service that features writers from all over the world, both traditionally and independently published. We are listed on Kindlepreneur as a top-tier book review blog and Reedsy as one of their vetted active book blogs that provide insightful, excellent book reviews.

*Books are read in the order they are received.

*The Review registry for 2023 is closed.

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