If you've ever thought of publishing your work and even so much as whispered that dream around the presence of your phone, I'm sure you've seen the many ads and sponsored social accounts that start to appear promoting how easy it is to make money self-publishing. Don't be fooled - that's excellent marketing talking, not bankable facts you can apply to your circumstances. Writing and publishing your work has to come from a place of passion because it's highly likely you will never break-even.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it anyway.
There is a great deal of personal gratification that comes from the process of writing a story, birthing it into a book, and releasing it out into the world. Authors write stories because they have to - it's like being haunted. Sometimes the story won't let go of you until you put it on paper. Seeing even one person read that story that was so insistent to exist is a huge joy. If you know that isn't going to be enough for you, and you have visions of grandeur, the journey is very likely to be a disappointing one.
Hagalaz Publishing was born in 2022 because I had that burning fire to share stories, along with a heavy dose of stubbornness given my Aries nature. Here are some of the things I have learnt along the way that may be useful for you if you are considering starting your own labour of love in self-publishing:
1. Writing is only a third of the process. The rest is editing, book production, and marketing. A great deal goes into releasing a book. It is common knowledge in the writing world that you will spend more time editing and revising your work than the original writing of the piece. It is a rarity for anyone to write perfection on the first go. Designing a cover and laying out the work can take months depending on the length of a book and the revisions process. Marketing a book requires effort across several channels (website, search engine optimization, advertising, social media, even physical events and markets) over a meaningful period of time to gain momentum. Keeping in mind that the current statistic is that 1% of your social following will purchase your work.
2. You absolutely need to use an editor. You can find reasonably priced editors on Reedsy and it will make a huge difference to the polish of your work and your readers. We all have blindspots and if you've spent months writing a piece, you're definitely going to be blind to the mistakes hiding in the lines.
3. You can layout your own work very easily with online software like Atticus.io. Laying out a book for publishing is time consuming and very expensive depending on the length of the book. The first poetry book we outsourced for layout cost $1000USD. Software like Atticus changes a one-time fee of $150USD and you can lay out an infinite number of books forever.
4. Writing and self-publishing is about effort and consistency. If you truly want to attempt to make money from your work, you have to put in effort and consistency just like you would your full-time job. I don't think anyone can prepare you for the level of research, experimentation, and persistence that is required to do this and see some form of result. You have to have a deep well of self-motivation and determination, and a personal source of renewal to that well, to continue to forge ahead before you might see any traction on your work.
This may all sound daunting. If it does, maybe this isn't for you and it's better to know before you've spent a lot of time and money. If this doesn't scare you, then jump into the fray! I firmly believe that if we want to see more magic in the world, we have to find ways to contribute to the creation of that magic. Words conjure worlds and inspire others to find their own magic. That's a beautiful thing.