#tellyourstory2018 Archives - Page 2 of 2

February 10, 2018September 6, 2018

Perspectives From a Fellow Self-Publisher: Kiran Prasad

In this interview, I sat down and chatted with Kiran Prasad, author of A Mindful Move: Feel at home again, to pick her brain on what she loved and would recommend to anyone thinking about self-publishing.

Why did you decide to self-publish your book?

I tried to go the traditional publishing route and got nowhere with it. I spent a lot of time researching how to do it and sent off book proposals only to receive one rejection after another. I was lucky to get any response at all. Felt a bit like applying for jobs in a tough economy!

It seems that these days it is not enough to write a good book, you need a social media following of thousands before you can get noticed by traditional publishers.

Publishing is essentially a business and they need to be sure your book will sell well.

In the end, I was glad I self-published because I got to have autonomy over the entire process.

What aspects of the publishing process did you do yourself and what did you hire out?

Being an English Literature major and teacher, I value quality writing, therefore, I paid for professional editing. I also paid for a cover design because I know how important a polished look is to selling a book.

I set up my own website and social media following on my own after attending a writing workshop, reading books, and watching video tutorials.

I found it tough to justify spending much money upfront on my book not knowing if I would get a return on my investment.

Since we’re talking about investment, how much did your book cost to produce?

Most of my cost was for professional editing. But the total cost for editing, proofreading and cover design was around $3,000 dollars.

We all know that royalties won’t pay the bills but what types of things have happened after you published your book that surprised you?

At a webinar that I attended, we were advised to think of our book as a glorified business card. Really, I haven’t done much marketing of the book since it’s publication but I’ve still had a lot of people, like you, contacting me about it.

I’ve been on a few podcasts, blog interviews, and a New York Times journalist contacted me to write a column about mindfulness and moving. I’ve also been contacted by a women of color empowerment workgroup to give a 60-minute workshop and potentially give a talk at a university too.

None of those things would’ve happened if I hadn’t published my book.

What surprised you about the self-publishing process?

I was surprised how long the cover design ended up taking me and how the cost of professional editing could be variable as I went through the different stages of editing.

A pleasant surprise was how quickly my book went live on Amazon Kindle! It was the most incredible feeling to see my book up there for the world to purchase!

What advice would you give someone thinking about self-publishing?

Research the process before jumping in so you know what you’re getting into. It can become overwhelming to learn and do at the same time.

Build a following before you publish so that you’re not tackling the marketing aspect at the end.

I recommend reading Michael Hyatt’s book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, for marketing ideas.

Research who the leaders are in your subject area and reach out to them for connections. I sent a free copy of my book to Naomi Hattaway, the community leader of I am a Triangle, and she’s been a great help.

I also recommend joining the Alliance of Independent Authors. You can join before you are self-published and put the member badge on your website that lets your readers know that you’re a professional.

I suggest following Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn. She has a ton of great advice, podcasts, tutorials, and e-books that really helped me while I was researching everything.

You need to set a deadline and hold yourself to it. Make it public if you need to. I posted to my Facebook page that I would release my book on my birthday and I hadn’t even started the process.

Without a deadline and someone holding you accountable, it’s easy to just keep on writing and writing.

What’s next for you, Kiran?

I’m going to keep moving forward and publicly announce that my next book will be released on my birthday in 2019. I have so much to say about my plant-based diet and how it has truly changed my life but more on that to come soon!

I really want the books I write to make a difference in people’s lives.

Bio

Kiran Prasad is a teacher, speaker, and author of A Mindful Move: Feel at home again.

She is a New York Times featured author and her work can be found at http://www.jaskiranprasad.com

Connect with Kiran on Facebook to follow her future work.

Click here to keep reading more perspectives from fellow self-publishers.

February 6, 2018January 16, 2019

5 Reasons Why Every Author Should Know How to Self-Publish

Just as race car drivers don’t need to be engineers or mechanics, they all have a basic understanding of how their cars work. Why? Because it’s professional to be knowledgeable of all of the moving pieces that affect your career.

Every writer needs to understand the publishing process whether they self-publish or not.

Here are 5 reasons why it’s crucial for writers to know how to self-publish:

1. Understanding the bigger picture improves the quality of the end result

The publishing process is step-wise and methodical. There is a series of activities that must be addressed in sequence in order for an e-book or paperback book to come together.

However, if you don’t think about who is going to be reading your book until the end when it’s time for marketing, you’re going to climb a steep hill and struggle to connect with readers.

By thinking of the marketing at the onset of the book development and publishing process, the end product will be better for the reader.

There are a lot of questions that an indie publisher must answer while publishing a book and they all affect the reader’s experience.

What font to use, what cover design to select, how many chapters, etc., All of these factors are pieces of the puzzle. Understanding how they all fit together is important if a writer is going to create a book that is a pleasure to read.

Take away point #1: Think about the readers and the reading experience from the beginning to provide high-value content that resonates deeply with the reader that results in a loyal following.

2. You’ll know when you’re being ripped off

“What I didn’t know was what NOT to pay someone for their services. I had no idea if I was getting a good deal or not.” – Clara Wiggins, The Expat Partner Survival Guide

When a writer understands all of the moving parts of the publishing process, they get a feel for the market rates for editing, graphic design, and typesetting services.

Knowing what aspects a writer can DIY themselves because the on-screen instructions are easy to follow can save someone a lot of money.

Many companies will charge a pretty penny for merely pressing a button and a lot of writers will pay for that “service” because they don’t know what they don’t know.

Take away point #2: You control the costs when you understand how to recognize valuable work and services.

3. Greater independence and control

Without understanding the e-book and print publication processes, many writers are reliant on other third-party publications to review, evaluate, and approve their work before publication.

Knowing how to create your own e-book and paperback and how to sell them on Amazon means that a writer has 100% independence and control of their final word.

It also means that they can move at whatever speed they want. You, as the writer and self-publisher, become the rate-limiting step—not factors beyond your control.

Many traditionally published authors are going indie because they were tired of feeling like their careers were in other people’s hands.

Self-publishing means that the person who cares the most about your book is in charge.

Take away point #3: Once you discover how great it feels to call the shots for every aspect of your book, you’ll never want to give up that joyous freedom.

4. You can do the easy fixes

Even if you’re not tech savvy, you can do some really easy fixes, believe me.

You just need to know when something is an easy fix.

Want to update your Amazon sales page? That’s a 30-second update. All it requires is logging into your Amazon seller account, modifying the text, and pressing save.

However, some writers need to submit changes to someone else who gets to it when it fits within their workflow, which could take days or even weeks to fix. A 30-second fix shouldn’t take days to make.

With the author in control, these quick changes are done in a snap.

Investing in the learning process now saves you a lot of time later on.

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, took hours figuring out an easy bug fix that was brought to his attention after running Facebook for a few years. Had he had basic skills in web development, he would’ve saved a lot of time.

Take away point #4: You’ll learn that not everything requires expertise. Some basic knowledge goes a long way.

5. You’ll spot new trends

The self-publishing world is changing so quickly, and new technology is emerging every few months that make a writer’s life much easier than even a few years ago.

Did you know that there is a free software program that will do your e-book formatting for you?

Whaaaat? I know! I tested it out, and the pros and cons are available to my students, but believe me, and there will be more software coming in the future just like this that helps writers save time, stress, and money.

Knowing the process means that you can spot these trends easier than if you handed over your work to a black box and said, “Here. Do it for me.”

Take away point #5: You’ll see solutions everywhere once you are familiar with the problems.

What is involved in learning the publishing process?

Have I convinced you that it’s worth your time to have a working knowledge of the publishing process?

Now, I know that everyone is busy. Many writers have full-time jobs and write in the evenings, and the thought of taking on one more thing to learn is overwhelming.

That said, if you want to be an independent author—someone who makes smart and effective decisions in their authorpreneurship—then having a working knowledge (notice I did not say expertise) in the publishing process is extremely valuable in the long-term.

If you want to learn more, I’ve developed a comprehensive step-by-step guide to self-publishing.

Enrollment in this all-video course comes with lifetime access to all upgrades (remember all of that technology that is forthcoming? Yeah, I’ll be updating the course to reflect the latest and the greatest in the field), a printable PDF guide, and a closed Facebook community to provide support and answer questions.

What you get:

– independence
– increased competencies in self-publishing
– reduced wasted efforts
– money saved
– stress reduction
– accountability
– valuable networking with fellow indie authors

Sound good?

Click here to increase your smarts on self-publishing.

February 3, 2018September 6, 2018

You’re Not Going to Make Money Selling Your Self-Published Book But You Still Should Do It

The truth hurts but I’m not going to lie to you—book royalties are pennies. PENNIES.

Unless you’re a NYT bestselling author, you’re probably not going to make real money selling your self-published book.

I mentioned this briefly in the 5 Myths of Self-Publishing but really, self-published authors see book royalties as the sprinkles on top of the cake.

Reality: even NYT bestselling authors use their books to launch other things like speaking tours, interviews, and other non-book activities.

Let’s look at real-life examples

One of my friends, Imad Elabdala at Kidnovation, used Kickstarter to launch his children’s illustrated book for Syrian refugees and has since spoken on the TedX stage about vulnerability and confidence, been a guest on countless radio stations, and has won national awards for his work in community outreach for refugees.

The book highlighted his mission and all of the work he was already doing in that space and exposed more people to his work.

Another great example is self-published author, Stephanie Espy who created the book STEM Gems and has since launched a movement to get more girls interested in STEM fields.

Stephanie has been nurturing her career for the past 10 years and the successful launch of her book has led to her receiving numerous awards and multiple features in the press.

And finally, Estonian entrepreneur, Tiina Bruno, became the thought leader in creating sustainable workplace environments for families after publishing her book, Föräldramart, in Sweden.

Her company, ParentSmart Employers, is helping companies around the world make better use of parents’ skills developed during parental leave.

She was the first person to quantify the competencies and skills gained during parenthood and translate them into real value in the workplace.

All of these authors have the same thing in common—their work was further enhanced and validated after they published a book on the topic.

External validation

When you publish a book you can always say you are, “First name Last name, author of Book Title,” on your bio and in introductions at conferences and at speaking engagements.

Hello, external validation.

People who are interested in your work will take a look at your book on Amazon. They’ll browse through your reader reviews and lo and behold, your expertise and professionalism in your subject area just increased tenfold.

So, whether it be a dream of yours to see your name on a book’s spine, your desire to tell a story that is currently missing on your bookshelf, or a way to translate and preserve your experience and expertise in a book, you will reap untold benefits after you publish your book.

After you’ve published a book you’ll not only be able to raise your rates but you’ll also have more…

– Speaking opportunities and engagements

– Podcast interviews

– Newspaper coverage

– Collaborations with others in the field/genre

– New projects and activities that result from the book

Your book is the final frontier in your career but a stepping stone to countless other opportunities that can make you money, increase your professionalism, and establish your expertise on a topic and that is why you should do it.

It’s not about the book.

It’s about everything that comes after you hit “Publish.”