A year ago, when I was working up the courage to send my first query letter for Heart of Clay off to an agent, I had no idea that I would today be sitting here with three novels and a short story self-published digitally.
At that time, I didn’t even know that was an option.
I thought to write, to be a published author, you had to follow traditional routes to getting your work published. Now, I know there are other options available.
Is self-publishing digitally for everyone? Probably not.
Is it something I will do again? Absolutely.
Will I ever go the traditional print-publishing route? Maybe.
But for now, I’m pretty happy getting my feet wet in the digital pool of self-publishers. I have so much to learn, but it really is fantastic!
Here are the top 10 things I liked about self-publishing digitally:
1. There is no middle man collecting fees.
2. I maintained control of my books – content, word count, plot, characters, pretty much everything.
3. I designed the covers.
4. I could add whatever extras I wanted to the book (including recipes from our Women of Tenacity).
5. The time frame was short from hitting upload to actually seeing my books listed on websites like Amazon and Smashwords. (Which is awesome for someone who has challenges with patience.)
6. The expense of publishing was minimal.
7. I decided on the price of my books.
8. I have direct access to reports that are updated as soon as anyone clicks buy or downloads a sample.
9. I maintain all rights to my books.
10. If I want to change or add anything to my books, it is as easy as hitting “upload” and its done.
For someone who is computer-challenged, has never participated in social media of any sort and is wary of websites, this would probably not be the best choice. For those who are computer savvy, in-tune to today’s online media outlets and understand basic computer lingo, go for it!
