The world of self publishing truly is a modern day gold rush. I mentioned the documentary “The Klondike Gold Rush” in my last post. The more I think of the fates of all those fortune seekers I cannot help but see the comparisons in the self publishing rush; minus the loss of life.
In the Klondike, or in any gold rush, few find the mother load. Those that did hired hundreds to work their claims. Still others made their fortunes in commerce and providing other services to the masses that came in search of gold. They served food and hawked goods, sold women’s luxury items in great demand in the wilds of Canada and for great profit, or they simply sought labor under those with the edge on the needed services and markets. And then, as per my last post, there were even those who came to write; to sell the service of the story teller to the millions that never venture far from their homes in search of fame and fortune.
Few make any real money self publishing. The truly talented may be snatched up in the process by an established publisher. Some are lucky or shrewder than others and find a niche in a particular genre. Others offer services such as editing (various forms), publishing and marketing. There are now a slew of people writing books to supposedly teach you the secrets of making a fortune in self publishing. Or they want to convey the secrets of marketing, that one element that is keeping you from the riches you deserve, that all others are partaking of (fool).
There is even editing software that you can purchase, though I suggest you not rely on it for your finished product. Almost any angle that can be worked is being worked to make money off those pursuing elusive literary fame via that Internet gold of self publishing.
The harsh reality is you need to pay for editing if you are serious about providing an acceptable product (you still may make nothing). You might want to start with software, but before you finish you want real live eyes reviewing your work. I believe research to find reasonably priced editors can pay off. The same can be said for cover artists. Various platforms exist for those services. I am still studying the Reedsy platform.
Marketing on the other hand is a bit of a mystery to me. It may be best just to stick with services Amazon is able to provide. I do not believe sticking exclusively with Amazon, outside of finding editors, cover artists and mentors, is a bad thing. They allow you to offer promotions for your work without cost to you. You can purchase advertising if you don’t want to go with one of their full blown marketing packages.
Like in the fore mentioned documentary there are still people digging out a living in the gold fields of the Klondike. It is a load of hard work for their efforts to payoff. It’s the same with anything, including self publishing.
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