Has anyone tried selfpublishing a novel?

Do join a writers’ group. You’ll find people at many different stages of writing and/or publishing who can advise and share. I went via Amazon and Draft2Digital - and yes, hard work. There are also lots of groups on Facebook ( if you don’t mind the new rule), who can help you along the way. First, though - well done!

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I am surprised no one has mentioned Lulu. My husband (who is 80) uses it for novels and poetry books and finds in easy. Check it out under Lulu self publishing on google. Good luck.

JamesandJon33

Esmay a literary agent takes 15%.

But they are worth their weight etc. On the other hand an agent won't take you on if you aren't a terrific writer and they can't sell you.

Why don't you try the traditional route first? Have you approached agents? The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook is still very useful. Check it out.

As a professional writer, with 125 titles published, can I just say, you can use either Amazon (KDP) or IngramSpark to produce your Print-on-demand or eBooks. But do sign up to Reedsy to get them properly edited and proofread first.

The hardest part, as with any book, is that people have to know they exist before they buy them. So, publicity and marketing are crucial (You can get professionals on Reedsy to do those things for you too).

If you want to try the traditional route, an agent is helpful but not essential. They will take 15%, as has been mentioned above. It's the publisher, not the agent, who offers an advance and that money has to be earned out before royalties come to you. This is not the case with self-publishing.

I suggest you buy A & C Black's The Writers and Artists Yearbook, which is updated every year in August. (They do one for children's books too) This is a terrible time in the publishing industry, especially because our books have been "scraped" to train AI in America.

My advice is to treat the job professionally, i.e. get your work properly edited and proofread, and not give up your day job. Good luck!

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I wrote a book during lockdown, but when I got back to work I realised I had no time to do proper self-publishing and promotion etc. I ended up paying a 'hybrid' publisher to do everything. Big mistake, it was really no more than a vanity press, the editing was a joke, They would not let me use a cover, I'd already organised but gave me a choice of 2 covers, both awful.

You could try to get an agent but research them very carefully first to make sure your book fits with their interests, think up a 'hook line' to get their attention. You never know, you might be lucky, but 'querying' can be a rather depressing procedure.

Self-publishing is now mainstream. Look for organisations that help writers e.g. Jericho Writers, some publishers run useful courses e.g. Curtis Brown in addition to the local groups already mentioned.

Good luck!

I have just been reading a piece by Dr. Tim Spector ( Zoe) in the Sunday Times business section. He says his first book had a £3000 advance and he hasn’t had a single cheque since. I think a lot of writers believe a contract with an advance payment is the way to go. They don’t realise that you have to pay that advance off in book sales before you get paid royalties. Which is why well known celebrities dominate book sales. They are presumably a good bet

I knew somebody that did a non fiction self published book and it was not a good seller so in the end there was a financial loss of over £1000 - and that was over 10 years ago . Be very careful and investigate your audience

You may also find javing a web site to bw useful for marketing and publicity purposes.

Good luck with your venture.
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I have self-published a few books on Amazon and a poetry book which was sent straight to a printer. It costs nothing to self-publish on Amazon and it is easy to find videos and books on the subject which will guide you through the process.

The firms which offer to publish for you for a fee running into thousands are basically scams. I run a small publishing business to help people self-publish on Amazon if they don't want to do it themselves but the fees are much lower. This includes editing and proofreading.

You have to do the marketing yourself but even traditional publishers leave it to the author to do that anyway. Again, there are courses which cover this topic.

I have written a few children's adventure books. 2 different agents read the first few chapters of one of the books, asked for the whole book then rejected it. I've thought about self publishing, but was too terrified to go down that route, though I'd be good at reading extracts in schools etc as I was a teacher and did Am Dram as well, so have absolutely no terror of that!

My husband wrote a book based on historical research. He paid over 2,000 euro to a publisher .... the company folded/went bust. We chased after him and eventually we got 50 copies from the printer and the electronic version returned. He had to go to a lot of trouble to adapt that first copy to make it suitable for the Amazon template but there was no more expense. He put it up as a paperback at the lowest price point so gets a few cents from every copy sold. What is missing is an agent to promote the book.

Although I can't talk about getting novels published, if anyone wants to write an autobiography, do consider finding out about "Storyworth". An initial charge of 99 dollars pays for a year of sending you appropriate questions about your life, and one hardback book with a colour photo on the front. Further copies cost about £39. I wrote about 35 chapters of varying lengths, and was very pleased with the quality overall.

A friend of mine has published a lot of books through Bookouture and been very successful. Look up Julia Roberts books on Amazon, also a presenter on QVC.

Oh wow, what a lot of answers! Thanks everyone. Lots of tips there. It's only self-publishing I'm considering, not the other way.

I've been busy proofreading - with my sister - my story, which is an effort for young adults. My sister is a retired Prof with experience of proofreading people's articles. I'm now going through it again for a last time before sending it in, to a self-publishers up in York (YPS) which has has good reviews online: I've spoken to them twice now.

I found I didn't want to send it in right off, as some of the self-publishers wanted. I also read recently that at Amazon/Kindle (who I investigated a while ago) you don't get to speak to a person - very off-putting!

I do intend to let them CopyEdit it. The info is that I pay for what they do - afterwards! I have ideas for a cover, but will listen to advice.
So far, I feel I'm probably on the right track.

Comments?

Three friends or neighbours has self published:

1. A friend has published a book of her own poetry, lovely thoughtful poems but the layout by the printer was terrible and very amateurish, I felt so sorry for my friend.

2. Another friend has illustrated a children’s book written by her neighbour. But, in my view, her drawing and painting is pretty awful, however the book and printing is good and professional, and she seems very happy with it. I bought one out of politeness,’it was more expensive than I would has liked

3. A neighbour has written a detective novel, it looks very good and the printing and layout is professional and she’s very happy with what she paid.

Good luck with it all.

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There's only really one practical choice now, Amazon Direct Publishing. You provide the text, they publish both as Kindle download and as a paper book. People order direct from Amazon they 'print on demand'. Or you can order a few dozen (at author discount price) and distribute them yourself.

Up-front cost - nothing. If it's a straightforward text book, you can probably handle the layout yourself in Word or a similar program.

The great thing is that if you receive the first copy and it's a bit of a mess, you've lost nothing except the price of that one copy. Try again, upload the new version!

I disagree ExaltedWombat I published my first book with a ‘hybrid’ contract. The company were marvellous, very professional. Really good editing and proofreading. Help with blurb, acknowledgments etc. I was happy with their book cover but could have submitted my own. It was a great experience and I got my first lot of royalties, six months after the book was published.
They offered me a traditional contract for the following books.

Yes, I self-published a novel under the pen-name Alice Mae, in 2021 with New Generation Publishing. I was very pleased with the finished product.
It was hard work and a financial loss, but I made very little effort at marketing and the satisfaction of completing the task at 81 was well worth it. I pay £30 a year to keep it available to print, and if I have the health and strength to go to a book fair or something like that, it's a great idea to ponder!

Good summery there Wombat of the Amazon approach. My husband just wanted to get his research/story out rather than make money on it. He visits the area where the book was based annually and checks out libraries and museums and donates the odd copy. He is not someone to self promote so is missing out on doing talks at local history groups. He has since made a 'novel' of the story that was uncovered in the research to make it more accessible but has yet to do anything with it!

Well: I have now sent off the novel to the self-publishers of my choice. All proof-read several times already.

Good Luck Alie
Update us here when you have news please. 🍀

When I self published in 2013, it was easier for books to be seen and ordered. Today it is very difficult, as there are so many millions of books being self published.
This is a summary of my 3 books: