My Take on Self-Publishing

[Brad_7373]

Pick a sub-genre and stick to it. I didn't really start seeing high sales until i had around 10 books published under one pen name.
Research best selling authors and find out what makes them sell.
I started off in non-fiction and have around 15 books published under one pen name. Then i moved to fiction and currently have 25 titles out spread over three pen names.

Hey mate, firstly congratulations on the success. I was just wondering on the length of your fiction books in terms of the number of words per book? Do you stick to say 30,000 words per book in each series, or is it all different lengths like GiroudJD?
Cheers mate appreciate it!

 

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[Rawr]

Can someone tell me if I can write off hiring people without forming any type of business entity?

Also, for those who have hired romance writers, what have you paid for QUALITY work and what was the word count? Thank you.

 

[COSenior]

I'm not a tax consultant, but I play one on TV. No, wait, er.

I would think that if you can hire your children and write off their wages on a Schedule C (you can), then you could hire freelancers and do the same. Also, there's some discussion of employees with regard to the type of retirement plan you set up for yourself. Bottom line, I would think so, but you really ought to consult a tax professional.

 

[GiroudJD]

Can someone tell me if I can write off hiring people without forming any type of business entity?

Also, for those who have hired romance writers, what have you paid for QUALITY work and what was the word count? Thank you.

Find a good accountant. If you plan on making this your majority business, it's gonna save you so much time and hassle and money to just find someone who can do it right from the very beginning.

You don't even have to form an LLC or anything. Just file DBA paperwork, pay like $50 and let your accountant take care of the rest.

I learned the hard way.

 

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[Rawr]

Find a good accountant. If you plan on making this your majority business, it's gonna save you so much time and hassle and money to just find someone who can do it right from the very beginning.

You don't even have to form an LLC or anything. Just file DBA paperwork, pay like $50 and let your accountant take care of the rest.

I learned the hard way.

Anything in particular to look for in an accountant? What questions to ask, what background to look for? I heard its better to find one who has experience with creative arts and I wonder if this is hard to find at the typical H&R block...

my offer on getting a drink in either Miami or Fort Lauderdale is still on btw..

 

[GiroudJD]

Anything in particular to look for in an accountant? What questions to ask, what background to look for? I heard its better to find one who has experience with creative arts and I wonder if this is hard to find at the typical H&R block...

my offer on getting a drink in either Miami or Fort Lauderdale is still on btw..

I'd look for one who has experience with single-owner entities, small businesses, or people working as a DBA. There are a lot of write-offs related to business expenses that will affect your personal taxes too, if you go with a DBA (which I did), so having someone knowledgeable with that particular business entity is best.

Totally forgot about that offer too! We just moved to Downtown - I can see the AAA from my place. So anywhere Downtown or Brickell, I'm game!

 

[Veloce Grey]

Really appreciate this thread as I've liked the idea of publishing however the actual writing process I find draining and would prefer to outsource to someone who enjoys it more and who can actually touch type. I think I'm better with the ideas and editing parts so nice to see someone layout how they are producing books rather than writing books.

 

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[Rawr]

I'd look for one who has experience with single-owner entities, small businesses, or people working as a DBA. There are a lot of write-offs related to business expenses that will affect your personal taxes too, if you go with a DBA (which I did), so having someone knowledgeable with that particular business entity is best.

Totally forgot about that offer too! We just moved to Downtown - I can see the AAA from my place. So anywhere Downtown or Brickell, I'm game!

PM Sent!

 

[BHall]

@GiroudJD thanks for the wealth of information. I've been at this for about five weeks now and I have four books published. Can you think back to your early days and estimate how long it took you to get constant sales rolling in? Or how many books you had out before you saw steady sales?

My problem is that since I have only been at it for five weeks, my pen name is still relatively unknown. I've tried a few marketing strategies, but really decided not to focus on marketing until I have 10 or so books published. Due to that, my sales have been slow (14 sold total) but I have had over 400 free downloads.

Any advice? Am I expecting too much too soon?

Thanks!

 

[Karla]

@GiroudJD , thanks for this awesome thread! I have a question: You said you have books in a lot of different niches/genres. I heard that it is better to stick to one or two niches and publish a lot of books in that genre. You seem to do it completely differently? How do you market your books when they are spread over many genres?
And another one if you don`t mind: By how much are your fiction books outselling your nonfiction books? I have 3 non-fiction and 5 fiction boos (kids stories) and the non-fiction is outperforming the other ones.

Thanks a lot!

 

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[Cyberseraph]

I'm thinking of writing a guide on how to find great freelancers, so if I do, I'll post it here for free to share.

GiroudJD, Thank you so much for helping us with your awesome AMA thread!
@ GiroudJD and all others, who are outsourcing the content writing to freelancers:

Can you post a sample of your add when you are looking for ghostwriters?
Are you also asking them to write a sample page, before hiring them?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Syc]

GiroudJD, Thank you so much for helping us with your awesome AMA thread!
@ GiroudJD and all others, who are outsourcing the content writing to freelancers:

Can you post a sample of your add when you are looking for ghostwriters?
Are you also asking them to write a sample page, before hiring them?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I won't give you it word for word. But it should include: how many words, the genre, what you are willing to pay, any personal requirements you have (over 5 jobs completed, native english writers only, etc.).

I always ask for samples and mention that preference will be given to those that have samples in the genre i am hiring for. Also, look at repeat hire rates.

If anyone has been doing this long-term and wants to step it up a gear, i've started a mastermind group specifically for this method. Drop me a message if you're interested in joining.

 

[Cyberseraph]

I won't give you it word for word. But it should include: how many words, the genre, what you are willing to pay, any personal requirements you have (over 5 jobs completed, native english writers only, etc.).
I always ask for samples and mention that preference will be given to those that have samples in the genre i am hiring for. Also, look at repeat hire rates.
If anyone has been doing this long-term and wants to step it up a gear, i've started a mastermind group specifically for this method. Drop me a message if you're interested in joining.

Thank you so much for your advice! At this stage I am negotiating with a lawyer regarding the NDA document that he will create for me. He is asking for €300 for the custom made NDA, but I think it is a good investment and will save trouble in future.

I am interested in the mastermind group, PM sent.

 

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[Selfy]

How does the mastermind group work? I'm really curious. I want to get started on this this month. Please update.

 

[Cyberseraph]

Question to everyone who is working with ghostwriters/freelancers:
Do you mention the title of the book in the NDA?
In this case the same freelancer would have to sign the NDA every single time when he writes a new book.
Is there any way to make the NDA universal, to make him sign only once for all work he will do for you?
Would this be save enough?

 

[EricZ]

Hi Giroud,
This thread is so damned full of gold information - we could make it into an Ebook!
I have dibs! (just kidding).

I do have a question which I haven't seen here yet.
Do you go through the lengthy launch process?

It looks like you are on a purely "push" system. You just crank 'em out without generating interest first? -- and leveraging the social media platforms etc.?
See this method:
http://okdork.com/2014/02/17/hit-1-amazons-bestseller-list/
and this one:
http://ittybiz.com/shhh-how-to-launch/

Do you not do any of that beta-reader stuff? -- and gathering followers first before you launch etc. etc.?

 

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[ewa]

I'm wondering how long are your books.

 

[GiroudJD]

Question to everyone who is working with ghostwriters/freelancers:
Do you mention the title of the book in the NDA?
In this case the same freelancer would have to sign the NDA every single time when he writes a new book.
Is there any way to make the NDA universal, to make him sign only once for all work he will do for you?
Would this be save enough?

I don't mention the title in the NDA. I just include the job description that I posted when I originally hired them. This way it's specific enough that it contains a brief outline, but keeps the title confidential.

 

[GiroudJD]

I'm wondering how long are your books.

Varies. Shortest is probably 6,000 words. Longest is about 80,000.

 

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[GiroudJD]

Hi Giroud,
This thread is so damned full of gold information - we could make it into an Ebook!
I have dibs! (just kidding).

I do have a question which I haven't seen here yet.
Do you go through the lengthy launch process?

It looks like you are on a purely "push" system. You just crank 'em out without generating interest first? -- and leveraging the social media platforms etc.?
See this method:
http://okdork.com/2014/02/17/hit-1-amazons-bestseller-list/
and this one:
http://ittybiz.com/shhh-how-to-launch/

Do you not do any of that beta-reader stuff? -- and gathering followers first before you launch etc. etc.?

That is correct. I don't do any pre-launch push or anything like that. On release day, I send an email to my list (which I've gained from having sign-up links in the back of all other related works). These are people who are interested, so usually a few of them buy the book right away, which is enough to give it an initial boost. But no pre-launch routine for me.

 

[ewa]

I have few questions. De Marco wrote in his book that fastline is a process that can be outsourced. It must be done all by ourselves. Some of you wrote that they outsourced they “writings”. Isn’t it unfair? And what about author’s copyrights of this things? I found some people who want to write for me but it costs of course. And what about the independence condition?

 

[EricZ]

I have few questions. De Marco wrote in his book that fastline is a process that can be outsourced. It must be done all by ourselves. Some of you wrote that they outsourced they “writings”. Isn’t it unfair? And what about author’s copyrights of this things? I found some people who want to write for me but it costs of course. And what about the independence condition?

@ewa
These authors are on a purely "PUSH" system, some are publishing two books a week!
In this case you MUST have a team. Minimum 1 ghostwriter and 1 designer.
YOU are entirely responsible for the input to this team,
YOU are entirely responsible for the output.
You target a genre, keyword, or category in Amazon then "push" your books out there.
In essence they are filling the long tail.

It has nothing to do with fair.
It is a totally viable business model and even fastlane model with a couple of tweaks.
Some are making 5 digit monthly incomes.
Scaling, and Control (Amazon owns the platform) are the weakpoints of Ebook ventures.

But if you make it big like JK Rowling? That is an Empire...

The important thing in the beginning is to concentrate on your small steps and realizable goals e.g. your first 1000 true fans (google that!)

And more important -- take the step!

 

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[Hucryn077]

Anyone jump in here if they know. First off thanks for the thread. ..its platinum! Will I be able to publish books on kdp even though I am a non usa citizen? I am a south African.

 

[GiroudJD]

Anyone jump in here if they know. First off thanks for the thread. ..its platinum! Will I be able to publish books on kdp even though I am a non usa citizen? I am a south African.

Yes, though there are other tax-related issues that non-U.S. authors have to jump through. Some of my author friends are from the U.K. and Australia and seem to have to pay more than I do and also have to get an EIN number from the U.S., etc. etc, but, like anything, a little hard work upfront is worth it in the end.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Anyone jump in here if they know. First off thanks for the thread. ..its platinum! Will I be able to publish books on kdp even though I am a non usa citizen? I am a south African.

You'll want to learn about any tax treaties your country may have with the United States. Otherwise I believe U.S. companies are required to withhold at a rate of 30% for foreigners. If your country has a tax treaty with the U.S. then you would pay the taxes of the treaty.

 

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[Hucryn077]

Thanks I checked and we do have a tax treaty with the US. I just started my first book and hope to press publish just before xmas.

 

[Steven Parker]

I won't give you it word for word. But it should include: how many words, the genre, what you are willing to pay, any personal requirements you have (over 5 jobs completed, native english writers only, etc.).

I always ask for samples and mention that preference will be given to those that have samples in the genre i am hiring for. Also, look at repeat hire rates.

If anyone has been doing this long-term and wants to step it up a gear, i've started a mastermind group specifically for this method. Drop me a message if you're interested in joining.

Do you still have this mastermind group? I'm interested, thanks

 

[Npl9]

The only books of mine that are illustrated are some children's books. Honestly I can't say what software was involved, as I outsourced the illustrations through oDesk.

I should add, that illustrated books are the only ones that I don't format myself. I'm not entirely sure of the requirements to make every illustration show up as it should (and don't do enough children's books to warrant learning it all), so for the formatting on those ones, I pay someone I found through Fiverr. Simple and cheap and he does a great job.

Anyway you could connect me with the person who formats for you on Fiverr? I have a book with a lot of pictures and I can't figure out how to make it look halfway decent.

 

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[Npl9]

What's the best way to get someone to look at my work and give me some feedback on it?

 

[Lex DeVille]

What's the best way to get someone to look at my work and give me some feedback on it?

PM me and I can help you out with feedback and formatting suggestions.