Welcome to this post, guys! Today I have a super, super inspiring guest post for you all by one of my amazing online friends -- Anna Elisabeth. She runs Lethologica, and is the author of the Continuing Forever Trilogy. AMAZING, right?? Today I'm honored to be a part of her blog tour for her upcoming book Cessation. Anna has self-published all of her books, so today I thought we'd talk a little bit about "is self-publishing for me"? We've all heard about it, but is it right for us?
Take it away, Anna!
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Take it away, Anna!
Hello! My name is Anna. I blog at Lethologica (currently under construction), and I’m the author of the Continuing Forever Trilogy. I’m so happy to be here on Autumn’s lovely blog today, sharing a guest post as part of the release tour leading up to my third book.
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Hey, should I self-publish a book? Could that work for me? Do I have what it takes?”
I’ve self-published two novels, and am currently self-publishing the third… so while I’m no genius, I do have a bit of experience under my belt. Using said experience, I’m going to run through a few questions you should ask yourself before deciding “yes” or “no” on that self-publishing question.
/ 1. am i happy with this book?
This one is pretty straightforward. Before you decide to publish your own book, make sure you are absolutely, 100-percent thrilled with the masterpiece you’re about to share with the world. If you aren’t, no worries- you WILL get there! But waiting and working a bit more won’t hurt you.
/ 2. do i feel ready to do this?
I don’t mean “do I feel like I know exactly what I’m doing”...because let’s face it: we hardly ever feel that way. However, if you feel like you can look into things, deal with some trial/error, and learn from your mistakes, you’re probably ready to handle this self-publishing thing!
/ 3. am i driven?
Are you driven? Are you willing to keep going, hit walls and fall back and get right back up again? Self-publishing isn’t easy and it isn’t a straightforward path. You’ll hear “no” and see “not working” a lot...and you’ll have to overcome that. You’ll have to try over and over and over again, learning from mistakes and figuring a lot out as you go. But if you feel motivated enough and are willing to put in the time and effort- yes! You’re driven, and that drive will get you far in the self-publishing world (and in the rest of the world, too).
If you answered with a big enthusiastic “YES” to one or more of these questions… what are you waiting for? Go for it! Self-publishing is fulfilling, but it’s also hard and often frustrating. However, it’s nothing you can’t handle...if you decide you’re ready, you’re ready. You’ve got this. I believe in you (and I can’t wait to be reading your book one day ;) ).
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So much wisdom in this post, Anna. I agree with each and every single one of these points, and I'm so proud of you and every one who decides to self-publish. It's a risky, but brave journey!
A huge thank you to Anna for letting me be a part of your blog tour!
Don't forget be on the lookout for Cessation on August 3rd, and in the meantime, you can read the other two books in the Continuing Forever Trilogy by checking out the website!
Have you ever self-published? DO YOU WANT TO TRY SOMEDAY?!!?
xx
autumn
This is awesome. Hearing about self- publishing has me inspired to try to publish something. I love it.
ReplyDeleteI would love to self-publish someday! That's one of my goals for the end of 2018 :) I love the advice Anna gave, because it brings dreamers like myself back down to earth. One has to be very driven, especially when sharing their project with the world. But I think that's what makes the process so worth it in the end.
ReplyDeleteSelf publishing a book one day would be sooo cool!
ReplyDelete-Brooklyne