Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Hello Self-Publisher!

I am a newbie on this forum. I am actually a freelancer designer working on free and customized e-book covers for people like you. I want to make my free service specified, so I'd appreciate if you can answer or discuss on my one simple question: What are the biggest challenges you facing in the Self-Publisher's world today?

There is no bad or good answer. Thanks.

Marketing your works!!!!

Established publishers pay smaller royalties because the put a lot of $$$$ in publicizing/marketing their products. They also have established distribution points.

Let's say you self-publish on Kindle or CreateSpace paperback for Amazon.com. Where are you going to get the money to:

a - pay for reviewers to give your work the good word?
b - advertise in the various publications?
c - make a lot of copies to sit on store shelves?

The way the most successful self-publishers are that way because they crank out book after book and catch the eyes of potential buyers. It's a self-generating game. Write a lot of works and get decent reviews which increases the visibility and chances of being bought by readers.

And there is this - we are often so engrossed in telling our story at length that we ignore how to sell it as briefly and eye-catching as possible. How many novelists could make a living working in an ad agency?

Thank you longknife!

I have asked this question on other forums and surprisingly - or not - I got exactly the same answers about lack of marketing. Thank you for your reply!

• Unnecessary, unprofessional, and fair-weather profiteers' goods and services scavenging off gullible self-publishing consumers' vanity
• An ever exponentially expanding plague of narcissistic daydream writing that is static -- the white-noise hiss of a corrupted transmission signal
• Lack of blunt and frank self-assessment and otherwise conscious, critical editorial evaluation
• Obliviousness to minimal, essential grammar, rhetorical style, content and organization craft, expression and discourse, and appeal features
• Nonnative and otherwise incompetent English language users advertising predatory publishing services and goods for self-publishers
• A flood of incompetent services and flawed goods and static narrative expressions that corrupt writing and language arts and sciences
• Self-interested perpetuation of self-delusional and erroneous gossip and rumors about self-publishing and conventional publishing
• Vice-ridden culture
• An unnecessary human wreckage of broken ambitions
• A la carte services and goods nibbles that drain wallets and kill writers' dreams by a thousand knife cuts

Although, the writing and the services and self-publishing culture and vanity appeals match each others' amateur standing -- ample occasion for dress-rehearsal practice and possible improvement. At least writers and artists are practicing their arts and learning the ropes and slings and arrows of a contentious, highly competitive lifestyle. If only a little more conscious, critical, responsible thought was interposed between vanity appeals and mature self-involvement.

In a final analysis, only a strongly appealing and competently arranged product successfully sells; and, it successfully sells itself.

longknife wrote: And there is this - we are often so engrossed in telling our story at length that we ignore how to sell it as briefly and eye-catching as possible. How many novelists could make a living working in an ad agency?

Good call Longknife! Marketing knowledge is helpful for anyone who has decided to take the fate of their career/products into their own hands. I suggest reading a couple of good books on copywriting, or finding a good site or online course. Don't worry, your story telling ability can help with writing good copy!

Also, I have found that for good advice in general, Joanna Penn's blog and podcast are great resources: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/blog/

Bonne chance a tous !