Thinking about self-publishing? Here are some things I’ve learned along the way:

1. It’s easy.

Self publishing is so easy, it’s almost ridiculous. You can sign up for an account at Create Space, Kindle, Smashwords, or any number of online publishing platforms, and many of these platforms are free or cost very little. Almost instantly your book can be available for sale as a print or ebook. Gone are the days when you had to pay for a bunch of books and try to sell them yourself. You can take advantage of print on demand books, so they only print what you sell.

Boom! Just like that, you’re published.

2. It’s not easy.

Chances are, you’ve had to face many demons on your way to writing a book. Is it good enough? Will anyone want to read it? Have I been wasting my time? Hitting the button and publishing your book can be exciting, but it can also be frightening. Of course, nothing ventured, nothing gained, but do you really gain anything by publishing your book?

3. Being published does not equal success.

Of course, just putting your book out there does not guarantee that anyone will pick it up and read it. You can always start with friends and family, and you may get some response, but without growth, your sales may not amount to much of anything. In fact, writing your book may not be the hardest part.

4. Writing is not your only job.

Marketing is likely going to be just as much of a challenge – if not more so – than writing your book ever was. If people don’t know the book exists, then they won’t read it. Your book has to have an attractive cover and an interesting title in order to draw people in. A great description of your book is the next step, and in this digital age, it’s important to write a description that appeals to both readers and the search engines. Hopefully, if your book is good enough, it will get good reviews and ratings, and others will discover what you’ve written, but first you have to get them there.

5. Get Help!

The good news is that you don’t have to go it alone.

Are you lost when it comes to creating cover art? Amygdala Designs does beautiful work, both premade and custom.

Want to better your writing so that you can be more confident in your book? Write to Done has a free guide you can download and plenty of blog posts to help you do just that.

Need help drawing readers in? Companies like Writer’s Resource can provide you with guidance, plans, and help, and they also provide a blog full of valuable insight.

If you’re one of those writers who is happy just to have a book out there, immortalized in the digital world, then self-publishing your book is a great way to go. If you want more than that, though, you will need to do much more than write. I would love to hear about your experiences with self-publishing. Was it fun? Exciting? Disappointing? Even if you haven’t self-published yet, what do you think?