The Writer Mom life podcast, website, and Facebook group are created with the needs of writer moms in mind who are interested in self-publishing. We realize that not everyone wants to self-publish. There is TONS to do when you self-publish a book, and as a mom, you already have less time than others to work on your business.
Did you just feel a little sick at the word “business”? Not sick in that exciting/nervous way when the hospital actually let you take home that baby you just spend thirty hours birthing, but sick like that time in college you realized fifteen shots of tequila was about thirteen too many. You reaction to the idea of owning your own business is one hint as to whether self-publishing is right for you. Because make no mistake about it, that’s what self-publishing really is: starting your own publishing business. The earlier in the process you realize this, the more enjoyable the experience will be, no matter which direction you choose.
Setting expectations is important in any new project, and if you go into self-publishing thinking all you need to do is write, then you will soon find yourself disappointed and frustrated. Yes it can be rewarding creatively and financially. But not for everyone.
In order to help you figure things out, here’s a quick checklist of the things you need consider when deciding if self-publishing is right for you:
Are you willing to learn new things every single day?
Maybe you already have some books published via traditional publishers, or you’ve written for journals, or blogs, or something else. But for a lot of people, you’re starting out from zero and you’ll need to learn everything. And that means everything. How to find and work with editors. How to pick cover designers. How KDP works. How Facebook ads work. What an autoresponder is.
It will take time. A lot of the most successful debut authors that self-published did their research for a good six months to a year before they hit publish.
Of course, you can hire people to help you! There are many great sites out there to guide you and support you. But there are costs associated with them, and it’s up to you, as a business owner, to determine what kind of services you can afford to outsource. So learning as much as you can will help you figure out what those things are.
Are you willing to reach out to a lot of different people?
In addition to the service provides you may need to hire to help with things like editing and cover design, or talking to distribution channels like libraries or bookstores, you will need to start connecting with other authors right now. Even if you don’t have a book. Even if you don’t even have the idea for a book, you need to start making those connections.
Luckily, the indie publishing community is a very helpful and welcoming place. That is, for people who are willing to share. Don’t worry if that’s only encouraging words to start. Words, as all writers know, can be powerful stuff!
So get started now and get all that good karma going so that when it’s your time to launch you’ll have a wonderful support network of people cheering for you, ready to help share the word about your book.
Are you willing to spend time marketing your book?
If all you want to do is write, then you don’t technically have to do anything else after hitting “publish.” But if you also want people to read your work, you can’t expect them to find your work and buy it without a little help. Even freelancers and bloggers are always constantly looking for new ways to pitch their work and get paid for their work.
If your goal is not to get paid at all, and simply to get your words out there, then you are free to write away all day every day and do nothing else.
However, if your goal is to make some kind of income from this, then you will need to realize that your time will be split between marketing and writing. This is another good reason to get in touch with other authors before you publish, so that you already get used to managing your time between the writing and non-writing aspects of self-publishing. Many indie authors with big income goals have been suddenly frustrated once they hit publish and discovered all of their writing time was getting taken up by marketing.
How much money do you have to invest?
Well it is possible to do things with no money from the beginning, and the start-up costs for self-publishing are much much lower than many other businesses, there is still some money that you will need to invest. The two biggest expenses that nearly every indie author concedes is worth it are editing and cover designs.
Starting a business always means investing. If there is a not a lot of money available, then things will take more time. There is unfortunately no way around this.
Your answers to the questions above will help you determine how much capital you’ll need to get going. A willingness to DIY a lot of things and take the time to learn the ins and outs of online marketing will save you money in the long run. Having good connections to other authors often leads to the bartering of services that can help keep costs low, as well.
And if you know that you don’t have the desire and/or time to do any of the heavy lifting, knowing that there are paid services out there will shape how you structure your finances in the early stages. (Your indie author friends are useful here to for getting feedback on the best quality services).
Final Thoughts
Self-publishing is not for everyone, and that’s okay. You may want to try it as a hobby for awhile, and see if you enjoy the marketing and social aspects of it. You may not have the time, money, or desire to start a business at this point in your life. All of that is totally fine. The important thing to remember is that you can’t expect business results from hobby effort.
However, as moms know all too well, things can change very quickly. You are allowed to change your mind. This is not something that is said enough. You are allowed to change your mind.
Just because you want your first book to be traditionally published, or want to write for literary journals, that doesn’t mean you can’t try self-publishing later. Or vice versa. Or at the same time! Keep in mind the 4 points above when thinking about what you want your writer mom life to look like.
If self-publishing seems like it could work for you, now or in the future, then great! Grab our self-publishing workbook created with the needs of Writer Moms in mind and get started on your indie author mom journey.
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