Self-publishing: Should I Do It? How?

I know a number of you have thought of this at some point in your life:

“I should write a book.”

Some actually come through with it. They wrote stories, a corpora of works, or a novel, and they published it. A publishing company might have picked up the production, or the writer might’ve self-published his or her work.

Wait? Self-publish? What does that mean? Is that possible?

Self-publishing is defined as the publication of any book, album or other media by its author without the involvement of an established publisher. That means the author can control everything from production to distribution.

Earlier this year and last year, I managed to self-publish 2 books, Meraki and a comic compilation called ‘Happily Un-married’, and recently, I published a chapbook with the help of my writing group NAGMAC (Nagkahiusang Magsusulat Sam Cagayan de Oro / United Writers of Cagayan de Oro). During the whole process, I have learned a lot of things about myself, about writing, and about getting your book out there.

My first self-published chapbook! Meraki!

My second self-published zine, Just happily unmarried!

My latest work: Do Not Fall in Love with a Poet!

In this post, I’m going to tell you more about what happens in self-publishing and Indie publishing so you can have an idea about the amount of work that goes into it, and the process (in case you want to publish on your own!).

How do you do it?

I. Write. Write. And Write. Create.

The process ultimately begins with writing. The book or chapbook can either be a new work, or a collection. Usually collections have themes or are thematic in nature.

If you’re compiling an art book, it can also be thematic or collected.

Some people play with their works’ similarities and differences to their advantage. The key is to find a way to make them sync!

II. Revise and edit.

You don’t publish something you just did overnight. Can you imagine selling your book and then finding out you had typos and grammatical errors afterward? You can’t go to the buyers one by one and apologise for your mistakes! Once it’s in their hands, it becomes indelible. So while you can, make sure to revise and edit.

At this point, you can also ask the help of a proofreader and editor. In my 3rd chapbook ‘Do Not Fall in Love with a Poet’, I was very lucky to have a good friend and wonderful writer Alton Dapanas help me out. He also wrote an editor’s bit in the book. This serves as an introduction to your chapbook, or an exploration of the theme.

If you’re going to enlist the help of an editor, you have to be prepared to have your work critiqued, taken a part, or have some parts of it discarded. That’s the work of an editor. Don’t worry, your editor has your best interest in mind. A good relationship between the writer and the editor is also important. It can make or break a good book or chapbook.

III. Conceptualise the content, parts and cover.

Some prefer to conceptualise first, but that really depends on how your creativity works. :) I just go along with my writing and find a commonality, others create a theme first, then work according to that theme.

Conceptualisation is important because it gives you order. You don’t want a mash of nonsense in no particular order as your chapbook. It’s equally confusing and messy. Think of what you want to include, if you want illustrations, or if you want a certain colour palette.

If you know how to layout yourself, that’s great! But if you don’t (unfortunately, like me), then it would be great to have a person who has worked with on-page layouting work with you. Like the editor, it’s also great to have a good relationship with your layout artist. The writer/ artist, editor and layout artist all work together to breathe life into the chapbook or book. So to speak.

But if you can do all of these yourself, that would be amazing! But remember, do not be afraid to ask help when you need it. (And don’t forget to compensate people properly! Remember, this is work for them.)

IV. Produce, advertise and distribute.

Producing the chapbook or book is tedious work.

After all of the steps above, you have to find a printing press to print and bind your work. This is where it gets exhausting. You sometimes have to haggle, deal with printing delays or problems when you work with printing press. Others also prefer to print the works by themselves. If you have a printer, good for you! If not, then prepare to take a tour around the city to find a suitable and reliable printing service.

Once you’re done producing, you have to release your book. There are actually several ways to distribute a book or chapbook. Some do it via pre-order or order basis, some have book launches, some just find outlets to distribute them in. In my city, we have zine launches which allow artists and writers to display their craft in an event!

Art10: and example of a collective which organises magazine or zine launches.

No matter what way you choose, it’s important to consider advertising your product. You worked so hard on it, after all! Social media advertising is all the rave now, so that’s one of the many ways to promote your book. Also consider giving complimentary copies to those who might have a leverage in terms of promotions wink wink. Set aside time and resources for advertising. Yes, we want the work to speak for itself, but sometimes in needs a little (or a big!) push.

And lastly! (Bonus tip!)

V. Dealing with feedback.

You can’t please everyone. That’s normal. That’s human nature.

I’ve had some people tell me that my book was ‘unnecessary’, or ‘uninspired’. I also had people tell me that my book was too expensive, or that I was aiming too high. Expect reactions like these.

What I do when I get disheartening feedback is that I focus on those who actually enjoy my art and writing instead. I write and make for myself, after all. You will have patrons, eventually. Just don’t give up and keep on writing and creating.

A good friend bringing all the love in from Cebu!

Write for the people who appreciate your work!

Love all the way from Siargao!

Your writing will impact people in ways you wouldn’t even think of.

Self-publishing is a taxing task. There is no shortcut for it. But if you really want to put your creations out to the world, that’s the way to go. Don’t be afraid to ask for help as you go along the way.

The best of luck and keep creating!