Interested in Self-Publishing? It’s E-Press Not Vanity Press

June 8, 2010

With my Editor, Ken Segall, and the Book of the Year Finalist at BookExpo in NY

Last week the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled: ‘Vanity’ Press Goes Digital, and I thought it represented such a landmark for self-publishing that it was worth deviating off of my favorite topic of discovering the career you were born for—at least for a few days!

I can assure you that an article like this simply did not exist when I first published Professional Destiny last summer. If it had, I would have bookmarked it and highlighted the whole thing! The book self-publishing industry is growing and changing so fast that the options are expanding every day. As I wrote in an early blog post, Five Reasons Why I Chose to Self-Publish My Book, I was inspired by rapid changes in the self-publishing industry then—and that was even before iPad…

So now that I’m a self-published “veteran,” I can share with you the top three things I’ve learned:

•  You need a great editor and cover designer.
  

  Michael Rylander's 'other' work

  Coming from the advertising industry, I was blessed with the best: Ken Segall (aka legendary creative director/copywriter for the Apple Think Different campaign) and Michael Rylander (aka award-winning designer extraordinaire). The WSJ article points out that a common downfall for self-published books according to big publishers is, that “most disappear, in part because they may be poorly edited [and designed] and are almost never reviewed.” Yet, many online self-publishing companies like CreateSpace are now offering full publishing services, or you can hire a great freelance editor and designer for yourself.

• It’s all about building communities and getting the word out. Once you have a great book, you can build a dialog with your readers through blogging and social media (FaceBook, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube). It’s such an amazing and rewarding change from just a few years ago. Traditional media (radio talk shows, television and print) and public appearances/talks are still key as well and the more you get out there, the better. If you’re not comfortable with marketing, you can hire your own publicist and online marketing specialist—and in my opinion, this is one of the most important places to invest.
• The distribution channel challenge is rapidly changing. Getting your book stocked in bookstores across the country can be an enormous and discouraging feat if you’re representing yourself. But Amazon, other online bookstores and the rapidly-growing e-book options are quickly leveling the distribution channel playing field—I wouldn’t be surprised to see more changes here in the very near future. 

Overall, the book publishing ground is shifting as we speak and it’s an exciting time to be an author. If you have a great idea and story to tell (that is… if it’s your Professional Destiny!) now more than ever, you are incredibly empowered to share it with others.

Filed under: Book Self Publishing

Tags: Book Self Publishing, ken segall, michael rylander, Professional Destiny