Self-Publishing Goons: Yep, people buy it! - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > Self-Publishing Goons: Yep, people buy it!

Spokes: Jan 9, 2010; Thanks for a MONSTER of an avatar, Awful Survivor Mods!

Scrivener (which used to have a very generous trial period, unsure if it still does) and Kindle Create are both just fine for formatting, very Silver Standardy

# ¿ Jul 24, 2019 23:59

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# ¿ Jun 18, 2021 19:13

Spokes: Jan 9, 2010; Thanks for a MONSTER of an avatar, Awful Survivor Mods!

Judge Schnoopy posted:

After 16 years on these forms I don't know why I'm still surprised that there's a thread to learn everything I need at any point in my life.

My wife is self publishing her poetry book. She wanted it to stand out and arranged the poems into 5 sections that tell a story of insecurities manifesting into existential crisis. It's very therapeutic, in a way, and I'm incredibly proud of her work.

We went through a self publishing consulting company because I didn't know what I was doing (for example, not checking SA). $550, terrible editing, accusatory tones, no guidance and a refund later, she's back on her own to self publish. I'm doing everything I can to help but for poetry, I have no idea about the cover.

We're on version 2 and it's simple, gets the point across, but I'm afraid it has that 'self published' look. Any tips on basic mistakes to avoid, or am I better off lobbing this over to a paid cover designer?

The best place to start is looking at Amazon's top sellers in whatever category you're shooting for.

Poetry, for example (specifically poetry by women, but you can look at the parent category): https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Books-Poetry-Women/zgbs/books/10159402011/

"by Rupi Kaur" is a genre all its own, but it's clear that you don't need to be fancy to succeed, just don't let it look low-quality. You can get an expert cover designer for well under $550 if that's the route you want to take, and there's dozens of goons who'll be happy to help you through the self-pub process

# ¿ May 19, 2020 04:27

Spokes: Jan 9, 2010; Thanks for a MONSTER of an avatar, Awful Survivor Mods!

Speaking of 50k, the Facebook group 20booksTo50k has all the answers if you feel like your questions have been asked a million times before, especially regarding “how do I sell more copies / make money”

# ¿ Sep 18, 2020 06:52

Spokes: Jan 9, 2010; Thanks for a MONSTER of an avatar, Awful Survivor Mods!

Yeah, as stated before Publisher Rocket (formerly KDP Rocket) does a good job of showing niches where you might want to focus on writing/categorization/advertising. The other paid service worth noting is K-Lytics, which is more about writing to market rather than how to advertise something you already have.

Doing the bare minimum of research and getting the cover/blurb formatted appropriately for the category is a million times more important than any of this, tho

# ¿ Jan 17, 2021 19:05

Spokes: Jan 9, 2010; Thanks for a MONSTER of an avatar, Awful Survivor Mods!

Fleta Mcgurn posted:

Hi, all, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, but is there a general freelance-writing-for-money thread? I haven't published on Amazon yet, although I'm planning to in the future, although my idea for a book about sexy female scientists who bring ancestral humans back via cloning and then bang them for science is probably verboten in this thread.

Yep! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3476455

# ¿ Apr 26, 2021 15:22

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > Self-Publishing Goons: Yep, people buy it!