My new book is finally published!
What I learnt through my first attempt at self-publishing.
Happy New Year!
My newsletter from September 2024 was about my attempt at self-publishing, in the true sense of the term, and creating a passive income stream. It got the most engagement I have received in a while. So I’m happy to tell you that my book of poems, Inner World - Poems for those who are on the fence about reading poetry, is finally out.
It has taken me longer than I thought it would to get it published and that’s because I went into this completely new to the process. The only thing I had decided early in the 2024 was that I wanted to self-publish this book because I wanted a sense of control and transparency.
Here are my thoughts on what I learnt.
Broadly, there are four sub-processes to the self-publishing process:
Getting the book ready for publishing - this starts with writing the book and ends with the formatted book ready for publication, in all the formats you plan to publish. My advice here would be go for both the ebook and the paperback.
Publishing the book - this starts with deciding where to publish online and ends with the book being published and out there on at least one site. Most people begin with Amazon for obvious reasons, but there are other choices out there to be explored with pros and cons for each.
Promoting and marketing the book - this begins with letting everyone know that the book is out, making sure that the book reaches the buyer, and getting paid.
Tracking financials - this begins with sub-process 1 and is an ongoing exercise. If a book is a going to be a passive income stream, it needs to bring in income. If not, at the very least, you should break even. Along the journey, there are decisions to be made on how much to invest in the book and what to invest in.
As you can see, I’m at sub-process 3 and have begun sub-process 4.
Some other insights based on my journey so far:
Research on how to do things should not become procrastination out of fear or self-doubt.
Understand that this is a long game because it’s new and it needs patience and regular effort.
Aim for consistency in action. If you can give only 15-30 minutes a day to it, make sure you do that, otherwise nothing moves forward.
Not everything can be planned out to perfection. Trust your gut and take a step.
Some things may not work out, but understand that you are doing something you’ve never attempted before. It’s better to try, fail and change course, than to be stuck in I-can’t-decide mode.
My book Inner World is available in India here and internationally here. It is also on Kindle Unlimited.
If you buy the book, it would really help me with my sales if you leave a review (sub-process 3, the marketing journey). It’s quite simple:
Log into your Amazon account
Go to Your Orders, find the Inner World order and click on ‘Write a product review’
Go to ‘Edit public name’ if you want to change how your name shows in the review
Give a star rating (most important and easy)
Add a written review. It really helps a potential buyer make a decision. Just a couple of lines, or more if you feel like it, or else you can leave it blank.
Click Submit and you’re done!
If there is one phrase that has been added to my self-talk vocabulary through this journey so far, it is this - Be bold. It comes from this quote below.
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Wishing you the kwan too and a very prosperous 2025.
Michelle
Michelle, thanks for these details. I will share this with first-time book authors in my circle.