Brutal Honesty about Self-Publishing

Truth About My Self-Publishing Journey

I was inspired by Hyperbole and a Half’s come-back.  She talks honestly (and humorously!) about depression.  I need to have that kind of heart to heart with you, my reader.  I mean that, there’s probably just one of you, and that’s ok.

Apparently, you can’t just slap any book into e-book format, self-publish on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and just make money.  I wasn’t trying to get rich, but I had a goal of earning $1,000.  I have not earned enough for them to send me a check yet.  My book is not erotica, does not have special instructions or have any sparkly vampires.  It’s a silly send-off of the show Murder She Wrote, examining what happens to relatives of those amateur detectives who seem to be encountering a murder every week.  No one has written a review.  I have sold 13 books on Amazon, earning me $9.10, and 12 books on Barnes and Noble, earning $9.60.  They won’t send me money until I get over $10.  My last sale was in March, when a bunch of my friends showed me support (thank you!).  I can’t rely on selling my book to friends and relatives.

I thought that if I self-published, I wouldn’t have to deal with rejection.  Ha.  It’s just different.  I have to determine how to write the rejection letter to myself.  “Dear Jane, this is not working.  I suggest trying something else.”

My something else will be a book for Librarians.  I have specialized knowledge, and it is a niche market of known readers.  I also know who to market to.  I’ve got the start of the book and I’m trying to pull together something that is both informative and entertaining- a slightly snarky how-to of running a small library.  I’ll include things like a “Are you burned out?” quiz, book lists and coping strategies.  When I’m done I have a beta-reader in mind, a colleague of mine whose opinion I value.  I think she’ll do it.