My Take on Self-Publishing

[Bruh]

Erock87,

What site(s) did you use for the outsourcers. Thanks in advance & best of luck!

He has already answered that. Read the thread maybe?

I use oDesk and Elance, mainly. Main differences:
oDesk = cheaper, but lower quality and more work to sift through freelancers finding one that will actually work out. Don't have to pay until work is completed to my satisfaction. Good customer service and good protections for employers.
Elance = more expensive, but usually higher quality and less work sifting through spam cover letters, etc. Have to pay upfront into escrow (they take it out of your bank right away). Haven't had as good of customer service and workers are more likely to complain.

 

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[Bruh]

Hey @GiroudJD, any chance you can come back to your thread?

 

[AroundTheWorld]

OK. After reading everyone's posts I am starting my first book in an indefinite series, this week. I should probably start a progress thread but I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet... Yikes.

Ohh, I know this feeling. But, I encourage you to start one anyway! It is a great way to:

Hold yourself accountable
Make it *real*
And.... give back. Even if you don't hit it big right away (because what are the chances of that, right?) people will still learn from your individual process!

Plus.... I don't want to be the only one *out there* and *afraid*! LOL

 

[ctcrompton]

Hold yourself accountable
Make it *real*
And.... give back. Even if you don't hit it big right away (because what are the chances of that, right?) people will still learn from your individual process!

This is exactly why I started my progress thread. After seeing enough people in various stages of the self-publishing career, I realized it's foolish for me NOT to start down this journey, which includes keeping detailed accounts in a progress thread.

 

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[GiroudJD]

Hey @GiroudJD, any chance you can come back to your thread?

I'm still here, just a bit more careful about what I share. I shared a few titles with a member here (who will remain nameless) and, perhaps not surprisingly, those books were hit with a spate of 1-star reviews. Whether it's jealousy or just outright rudeness, I'm still not sure. But it's no coincidence that the only titles I shared were the only ones that got hit.

So I'm here, just backing off a bit. But I wish everyone well on their journeys!

 

[COSenior]

I'm still here, just a bit more careful about what I share. I shared a few titles with a member here (who will remain nameless) and, perhaps not surprisingly, those books were hit with a spate of 1-star reviews. Whether it's jealousy or just outright rudeness, I'm still not sure. But it's no coincidence that the only titles I shared were the only ones that got hit.

So I'm here, just backing off a bit. But I wish everyone well on their journeys!

That stinks. Repaying generosity such as you've showed in this thread by trolling your books...well, I just wouldn't have thought it of FastLaners. Just goes to show that we're not the only ones here. I'm still debating whether to take my thread inside.

 

[Blueskies4me]

I shared a few titles with a member here (who will remain nameless) and, perhaps not surprisingly, those books were hit with a spate of 1-star reviews.

I'm sorry that happened to you. I deleted a progress thread for fear of the same thing and a few other reasons as well. You have a whole ocean of good people behind you though...I hope it gets easier to tell who those are.

 

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[Blueskies4me]

Ohh, I know this feeling. But, I encourage you to start one anyway! It is a great way to:

Hold yourself accountable
Make it *real*
And.... give back. Even if you don't hit it big right away (because what are the chances of that, right?) people will still learn from your individual process!

Plus.... I don't want to be the only one *out there* and *afraid*! LOL

Remember that chick in high school, the one with the evil smile that would drag you off the edge of indecision and into the pool with her... @AroundTheWorld stop grinning... you know you're guilty. *Sigh* ok...progress is progress...

 

[AroundTheWorld]

Remember that chick in high school, the one with the evil smile that would drag you off the edge of indecision and into the pool with her... @AroundTheWorld stop grinning... you know you're guilty. *Sigh* ok...progress is progress...

Bwahahahaaaa!!!
Grinning and now giggling!
And splashing!

 

[thaboybam]

Great thread! I'm in the process of writing 2 ebooks in niche self help areas.

I have a couple questions:

1. Do you copyrite your work? ( haven't seen this question asked); and

2. At what stage did you form an actual publishing company? Did you set up a LLC?

Thanks!

 

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[Held for Ransom]

So I'm here, just backing off a bit. But I wish everyone well on their journeys!

Sorry to hear. Very common occurrence I'm afraid. Good luck @GiroudJD.

 

[RahKnee]

Would any of you outsourcing various aspects of publishing care to recommend someone who can produce decent covers? I've worked with a few professional guys who put together excellent covers (and I'll send you their way if you're interested. PM me.), but it's kind of expensive. I've gotten some done on fiverr as well, but really only liked the work of one guy I've used (same as above, PM if you want). There's got to be someone competent out there that isn't too expensive.

Edited to say:
Sorry if this comes across as a thread hijacking.

 

[ChickenHawk]

I'm still here, just a bit more careful about what I share. I shared a few titles with a member here (who will remain nameless) and, perhaps not surprisingly, those books were hit with a spate of 1-star reviews. Whether it's jealousy or just outright rudeness, I'm still not sure. But it's no coincidence that the only titles I shared were the only ones that got hit.

Wow. Just wow. I'm so sorry to hear this happened. I don't blame you for keeping a low profile after this. And honestly, this kind of makes me hesitate to share my pen name in the future. Although in fairness, I have to say that those I've shared it with here have been incredibly kind and supportive.

I'm still debating whether to take my thread inside.

I've debated the same thing. Sometimes, things can get a little weird on a public forum, and it's nice to have that extra layer of privacy.

 

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[lleone]

I'm still here, just a bit more careful about what I share. I shared a few titles with a member here (who will remain nameless) and, perhaps not surprisingly, those books were hit with a spate of 1-star reviews.

Such a great thread and so sorry to hear about the above. Hurts everyone and makes people hesitant to share.
I'm sure they are a jealous slow lane loser and will most likely be for life.

 

[COSenior]

There's got to be someone competent out there that isn't too expensive.

What do you consider too expensive?

 

[ChickenHawk]

Such a great thread and so sorry to hear about the above. Hurts everyone and makes people hesitant to share.
I'm sure they are a jealous slow lane loser and will most likely be for life.

I'm sure this was just a copy and paste glitch, but should clarify that it wasn't me who got hit with these particular 1-star reviews. But I definitely sympathize! And regardless of who it actually happens to, it does make people hesitant to share. It's sad, because when you benefit from this forum, as I certainly have bigtime, it makes you want to give back. But in a case like this, you can see where someone would decide to keep a low profile.

 

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[Hicks]

Just read the end of this thread. Literally speechless.
Thanks for all of the help and seriously annoyed for you.

 

[RahKnee]

What do you consider too expensive?

I had a few done that were $200-400 each. The quality was good, but the initial investment is killing me. If I could find a quality cover for about $50 I'd be happy. (<---need identified)

 

[COSenior]

I had a few done that were $200-400 each. The quality was good, but the initial investment is killing me. If I could find a quality cover for about $50 I'd be happy. (<---need identified)

You can get decent pre-made covers for around $30 just by searching the term on your search engine. If you want something specific, you may have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the prince, but fiverr is a good place to find the frogs. Most of the good ones have varying levels of service; $5 for the design work; use a good-quality picture instead of something found for free, $5; get the PSD file, another $5; and a CreateSpace cover $10. These are just the prices of the fiverr gig I've used. I'd say she does an adequate job only, but go look around and pick one with a good portfolio.

 

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[GiroudJD]

I use Fiverr for my non-fiction books, make my own for some fiction genres, and use http://goonwrite.com/ for some others, or when I want something a bit more polished.

 

[COSenior]

I use Fiverr for my non-fiction books, make my own for some fiction genres, and use http://goonwrite.com/ for some others, or when I want something a bit more polished.

Very useful link! Followed it to http://bubblecow.net/, thence to their free writing manual (a work in progress), which had a very useful discussion on how to show rather than tell. Now to go back and rewrite my WIP.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

Very useful link! Followed it to http://bubblecow.net/, thence to their free writing manual (a work in progress), which had a very useful discussion on how to show rather than tell. Now to go back and rewrite my WIP.

I've been working on this particular bit in my WIP as well. Thanks for the link.

(and, fwiw, I thought you did an excellend job of this in rustled.)

 

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[VeeGirl]

Wowza! You're my inspiration, @GiroudJD!
I have so many questions for you, I hope you don't mind. So sorry about the loser who tried to mess with your reviews, that's ridiculous.

Is it a long process to start a publishing company?

Are you part of any publisher's associations?

Do you copyright your ebooks once they are finished with US Copyright office?

How long does it typically your writers to complete a book or series of books?

Do they send you their progress daily/weekly/etc or do you only see the work once it is completed?

Do you have then sign a contract that states copyright and full ownership is transferred to you and that you are the sole author?

Thanks for letting me pick your brain!

 

[VeeGirl]

Another question, how unique are your book titles? I assume that it must be almost impossible to come up with a title that someone hasn't already used. Do you try to make your titles as unique as possible? For instance I searched "Playing With Fire" and there are tons of books with that title by different authors.

 

[GiroudJD]

Another question, how unique are your book titles? I assume that it must be almost impossible to come up with a title that someone hasn't already used. Do you try to make your titles as unique as possible? For instance I searched "Playing With Fire" and there are tons of books with that title by different authors.

I use a lot of subtitles, to make my books have a unique name. So it would be something like, Playing With Fire: Burned (An Erotic Romance)

Enough to set you apart and still keep the main title.

 

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[joanna]

Ha, funny, I was planning to title the second of my six novel cycle: Playing with Fire. Like others said when you have a common title, it's good to add a series name, or subtitle to help readers distinguish the books. It's not too bad if the other book is in a completely different genre and it's obvious at a glance, otherwise you might want to add those extra phrases. With really short, or one word even, titles duplication is almost unavoidable.

 

[UsmaanJ]

So why create a thread for me? Well, unlike HfR, I outsource 90% of the process. Is it easier/dumber/less prestigious/more fastlane than writing everything yourself? Well, I have no idea. And who am I to say. Will some look down on me for not being a "real" writer? Probably. Am I still putting out a quality product that readers enjoy paying for? Absolutely.

For some, especially non-fiction, I'll draw up a pretty detailed outline, with chapter ideas at a minimum, and sometimes even more in-depth. With fiction, and especially if I'm using an outsourcer that I've already used and trust, I oftentimes just give them maybe 2 or 3 sentences of an overall plot and let them work their creative mind to come up with the rest.
I have about 3 or 4 freelancers that I've worked with on multiple projects that I trust to work like that. But I'm constantly looking for new freelancers, and posting new ads, running trials, etc. That's probably the most time-consuming part of the process, now that I think about it. 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.

Just out of curiosity, if the people you outsource to are good writers, why would they write for you when they can write for themselves? They could be publishing for themselves and making the bigger bucks couldn't they?

 

[Hicks]

Just out of curiosity, if the people you outsource to are good writers, why would they write for you when they can write for themselves? They could be publishing for themselves and making the bigger bucks couldn't they?

I think you may find this boils down to 'risk'. On the ISBN website they specify that the 'publisher' is the party which takes the financial risk and not necessarily the author. Obviously the OP will have a better answer but that's my guess.

 

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[LIkeafox]

Just out of curiosity, if the people you outsource to are good writers, why would they write for you when they can write for themselves? They could be publishing for themselves and making the bigger bucks couldn't they?

I think there are a lot of people out there who can write but either don't have the confidence to publish their own work, or the knowledge of how to market their work to sell so they just sell their skills for a one time payment instead of using their skills as a real asset that might not pay off as much immediately but that will keep paying in the future.

I wrote a short story as a joke and published it about two years ago. This morning I just got another email from Amazon KDP letting me know that they were depositing some more royalties in my bank account, it's not a lot of money I'm getting from that story each month but it's still a few dollars a month for a couple of hours of work I did almost two years ago and don't even think about at all except for when I get an email telling me that some more money is on it's way. I've never gone out of my way to make the story successful or market it but over the two years it's been published it's made a couple of thousand dollars-- all for something that took me less than a full day at my slow-lane job to write, edit, create a quick cover and upload to a few sites like Amazon.

 

[GiroudJD]

Just out of curiosity, if the people you outsource to are good writers, why would they write for you when they can write for themselves? They could be publishing for themselves and making the bigger bucks couldn't they?

Likeafox nailed it. Most people (a) either don't know how to publish or (b) just want to write and earn their money upfront. It's a risk to publish something, even if you only pay the minimum for a cover and/or editing. Some people just like to write and write and write and not worry about anything after that. Those are my people.