This week I made an announcement about my novel Synthetica – I've decided to self-publish it. My proposed publication date is 1st April, which is less than 2 months away now. I am so so excited about the prospect of self-publishing. And yet I can't help asking myself: am I completely crazy??
There's a part of me that feels like a
huge fake. What on earth do I think I'm doing? There's no way I can
organise everything in two months! I've got to do the final tiny
edits to the book, I've got to finalise the cover design, I need to
email other bloggers to see if they'd be interested in reviewing it,
if I'm having a blog tour, I need to book it in ASAP for April. Don't
get me wrong, I do love being busy, but there are moments when the
panic descends and I completely freeze.
But there's also a bigger issue.
Whenever I read about other people self-publishing their novels, I
think, that's great, good for you! And yet, the idea of me
self-publishing a novel seems absurd. Who am I to think that my novel
is good enough for the world? This time last year I didn't even have
a novel to publish – what makes me think it's even any good to be
published now?? I feel like I'm missing out on some huge secret in
self-publishing, or that I'm missing a step and I don't know what it
is. Essentially, I think this comes down to the question I seem to
ask myself everyday, no matter what I'm doing: Am I doing this
right??
It's like anything in life - you don't know until you've tried. But it would be nice to know that I'm not just stumbling my way through everything for once ;).
You'll be all right! Two months is cutting it close, but you can do it.
ReplyDeleteThere are a ton of resources at the IWSG site, plus a ton of members who have been down that path and can help. I can put you in contact with more than a dozen if you need help.
Congratulations on making the decision!
Thank you so much, Alex :)! You're not going to believe it, but the very first thing I did when I made the decision to self publish was to head over to the IWSG and bookmark a load of pages! I've been reading through all the resources every day, and they're fantastic :)! Thank you so much for your support!
DeleteLike Alex said there is a lot of help out there. The best you can do is put out the best book you can. The most important part is that you should be happy with your end result. You can do this!
ReplyDeleteThanks Murees :)! You're right - so long as I'm happy with my book, that's all that matters. And if it's not going to be ready, at least I can be flexible with my deadline if need be :)!
DeleteI think everyone feels like this to some extent. It's all on you and you worry you'll forget something, or mess something up. But you'll get it all sorted out and it will be great! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rachel :)! I always tend to over-think things haha - which is why I end up making so many lists, so I don't forget anything!
DeletePublishing is always a bit scary, but you're right, there's leeway in self-publishing and even the deadline can be moved a bit if necessary. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lexa! Exactly! I think I'm just so worried about not getting it right first time, but let's be honest, who ever DOES get things right first time ;)? All I can do is try my best :)
DeleteCongrats on deciding to self-publish! I can only imagine the stress you must be feeling. Be confident in what you've created. And it's like you said, if you find a mistake later, you can always fix it. Good luck! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristin! What a lovely pep talk :)! That's my biggest issue - confidence. But if I want to write for a living, I've got to learn to believe in myself (and my books)! Thank you :)!
DeleteBecause you are asking those questions, I believe you'll do really well with self-publishing. Insecurity in this case is a good thing, because it means you'll pay attention to the details.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Lynda :)! That's really nice to hear - I think there's still a bit of a stigma around self publishing, and this idea that self published authors don't always pay attention to the little things, but that's definitely not the case!
DeleteCongratulations on your decision to self-publish. I admire those of you who tackle that...it seems very complex to me! All of the steps necessary just to format it. People ask me how to self-publish all the time and I just tell them there are many people online qualified to answer that question!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephanie :)! Haha, I was the same! The only reason I vaguely hope I know what I'm doing is because I researched self publishing as my major project at uni! So that gave me a little insight into the process - which I'm very grateful for now! But there are tons of resources out there from self published authors, who are much much more experienced than me!
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