You Have To Do It All—Being a Self-Published Author

There was a time when people’s jaws actually dropped when you said, “I’m a writer.”  They were impressed.  They thought you exceptionally ambitious.  They thought you talented and maybe a bit nerdy.

But nowadays?  Say, “I’m a writer” and there’s a pretty good chance someone will reply, “Yeah, me too!”

Let’s face it.  Being an author, specifically a self-published author, isn’t terribly special.  First of all, it’s a lot of work.  As the title of this post says, you have to do it ALL.

What do I mean?

Well, as a self-published author, you have to write your books (duh).  But also, if you’re poor like me, you have to edit them yourself, or at the convenience of friends and family.  You have to format your book properly.  Make your own cover or spend money to have one done professionally.  And you need to do all of the networking and advertising.

Believe me, as a self-published author, you have to do EVERYTHING.

I certainly envy those traditionally published authors who can sigh with relief as they finish their novel, knowing that, for the most part, their job is done.  Sure, they might need to make changes at the direction of an editor.  But it just seems like an easy life.

If you’re considering writing a book, or you HAVE written a book but don’t know what to do, I always advise people to try to publish traditionally first.  Go for the money.  Go for the big time.  Go for the easy life.  Why wouldn’t you?

Not all traditionally published authors make a lot of money.  But there is a bit more security, in my opinion.  You could be like me, still in school, working a lot, living with my family, in a relationship with an amazing woman, and still trying to write my books and maintain a blog.  Is there a lot of “security” in my writing career when I am forced to become side-tracked?  Uh, no…

In my case, I decided to “try” self-publishing and got rather stuck on it.  There is certainly a thrill when you reel in readers, when you, personally, attract people to your story.  And yes, the royalties are waaaay better than being a traditional author.

Is there a point to this rant….I’m not sure.

But, as always, I’d like to know: what do you think?

---

So I recently published a book.  It’s called Elithius.  It’s a fantasy novel with an anime feel.  Sound interesting?

You can check it out here.