If you’re a writer who has always dreamed of being published or a new writer who is just discovering the beautiful messy literary world then this post is obviously for you.
Today I will be discussing what publishing looks like now. We’ll be going over the good, the bad, the strange.
My first topic is obviously traditional publishing, the ultimate goal and every writer’s dream. You’ve probably spent countless hours researching which publishing house you would love to become apart of or maybe you’ve always known (for me it’s harper collins) but in the almost too exclusive world of traditional publishing meant only for the best of the best it’s almost too easy to get rejected.
Yeah sure failure is always going to be a apart of life but contrary to what people like to tell you about it sometimes it does feel like the end of the world, especially when you finally finish that book you’ve spent months/years working on and ripping apart just to put it back together better and you submit it into your favorite publishing company, the one you’re destined to write for and you either get a rejection letter or worse no response.
It’s almost like the work you poured your soul into wasn’t good enough (It most definitely is) and then to make it worse there goes your only shot at ever submitting that book to your dream publisher.
What do you even do after that? Because I would probably cry and wouldn’t leave my room for a good month.
But if you’re not the type to wallow in pity like myself then you probably bounced right back from the crushing blow and on to the next publisher. It’s not number one but number two is just as good right? Sometimes… (Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves)
Or maybe instead of trying to convince someone else to believe in you you decide to take fate into your own hands and decide that maybe self publishing will offer something better.
Self publishing comes in many many many different ways. It’s quite literally the future, although holding a physical book in your hands is one of the best feelings in the world.
Also if you’re not too hung up on holding your stories in your hands e-books are sometimes the cheaper route.
Not saying that authors don’t deserve to get paid all the money in the world for bringing us some of the best stories ever.
But back to self publishing and what it looks like for us today.
So you’ve decided to put in the blood sweat and tears to publish your book yourself, congratulations. There are just too many routes to go, if you’re looking to make money (which you most likely are) Amazon, Radish and if you’re lucky enough to get in, the paid programs over at Wattpad and Inkitt. I’m not very familar with inkitt as I’ve only used it a handful of times (Later on I’ll do a more in depth post about the pro’s and con’s of each of our beloved writing sites/apps) but Radish, a site I’m pretty familiar with is pretty freaking great.
I’ve been on wattpad for years as a reader then as a writer, they’ve had their problems (*cough that outdated tag/browsing system *cough*) but the orange app is home to many writer’s who have gotten their big starts. I won’t name them but if you’re curious you’ll see a bunch of books on there that have been turned into movies or have gotten published at the official wattpad publishing house.
I have lot’s of love for Radish, I feel like they give you a chance to grow, especially with the way they advertise your book on I think wednesdays on both twitter and instagram if you put in a request. I also love the way they want their writers to make money off of their work. I’m not exactly familiar with how to submit your work to be on their site as I submitted when they had just started out but I’m sure it’s easy enough to figure out.
I think inkitt is a pretty great place to start, they have tons of writing contests to submit your work into and pretty great prizes too. I love that they have a community which is so important because writing can be lonely.
And then we have Amazon Books, almost every writer looking to get into self publishing’s go to. I think Amazon books is a great way to launch your writing career but not without doing your research first. I haven’t looked into the process myself but I would think it’s pretty basic, write a book, edit the crap out of it and then find a way to get it on amazon books but I’m sure there’s a lot more that goes into it.
When you choose to self publish without a team you are essentially a writer, editor and publicist, your job is to figure out how to get your book out there and as many people as possible reading it. If you’re not really into social media then you’re going to quickly need to get used to having your phone/computer attached to your hands outside of a google doc/Microsoft word doc.
It certainly is a huge job building a fanbase from nothing and don’t go ghost because you will for sure have to rebuild (Trust me I know)
Tik tok, Instagram and twitter are some of the best ways to get your work out there and build a loyal fanbase who will become obsessed with your work.
While it may seem like a lot it’s worth it, your work deserves to been seen and shared with people all over the world.
Hope you enjoyed! Come back next time for more rants from a sleep deprived mind.
Alexis Reign
THE DEATH OF THE WRITER'S...BLOCK 