1) Edit. Then Edit Again. Repeat.
Yes, I am serious. 🙂
You will probably edit your work about 20 + times before you are satisfied with it. With each edit, you find new ways to improve your story’s plot, flow, character development, etc.. You will know your story and your characters inside and out once you’re done.
2) Editors! (Yes, more editing)
So you’ve gone over your manuscript fifty times, but you still need an editor. A fresh pair of eyes will catch things that you missed before. I was shocked that I had actually missed a couple of grammatical and spelling errors after all those self-edits.
3) Stay Productive
Don’t hinder your success as a writer by waiting for that mystical moment where you are dripping with inspiration. I know, nothing can compare to that. But if it isn’t there, you need to power through if you ever want to complete and then publish your book.
If you feel stressed or just uninspired, take a walk, read a good book, or play music that…well…inspires you to get into writing mode.
The only person holding you back from writing is you.
4) Self-Publishing is Affordable
I kept my self-publishing costs below $2,000. Not so bad. But if I had been a little more patient and did some more research, I could have kept the budget easily at $1,000.
5) Networking
The support and guidanceyou get from fellow writers and authors is very helpful. Plus, many friendly book bloggers will feature new writers on their websites for interviews and reviews – free advertising!
6) Feeling Accomplished
After years of writing, editing, and re-writing your novel, nothing feels better than launching your book into the world, then seeing the sales report start to grow in earnings.
By the Sword was so much fun to write, but self-publishing really scared me at first. The challenge gave me a huge confidence (and maturity) boost. It showed me that I have it in me to do anything I set my mind to.
You have it in you, too! Your amazing, unique story idea is also worth the effort.
It has been an overall amazing experience!
Do you have any questions about the self-publishing process? Feel free to ask. Or, do you have anything you would like to add about what you learned on your road as an indie author?
Photo by fotografierende from Pexels
Musings Of A Wildflower 
I think one of the most important things I learned is not to spend too much time promoting your book and devote more time to getting more novels out. The more novels you have under your belt, the better visibility you get.
Such a good point! More books mean more exposure…and too much time spent on promotion can end up draining an author, I think.
In addition to the editing, I have several beta readers read my book before publishing it. They can tell me if the story really works.
Thanks for mentioning beta readers. I definitely want to have a couple for my next book.
Don’t forget editing! And then more editing! 🙂 (So very happy to see that mentioned because so many people skip that step, which leads to disaster!)
Oh, so true. Such an important step.
Great information. I’m not quite ready yet, But, it’s never to soon to start thinking about my options.
You’ve been tagged by the Lucky Seven Meme…details at http://www.tracikenworth.wordpress.com
Great tips! I am curious about your new book you are working on. Do you have to do a lot of research for the time period that your book is taking place? Your flash fiction piece makes me think you might have some history background, or I might be off base.
I do have to do some research, yes. But I love watching historical war movies, so I get a lot of the info that way. A fun way to learn! 🙂
Great tips! Editing is definitely key.
By the way, I just nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award. Check it out:
http://coreymp.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/the-versatile-blogger-award/
ooh thank you! 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂
And sometimes the very best thing you can do with your manuscript is to put it down and go fishing. Or work in the garden, or build that addition to your living room. Sometimes, you just need to get away from it for a while. When writing becomes drudgery you begin to resent your work and your craft. Everything suffers. Go take a walk in the woods.
All the very best to you, Sara Flower!
Thanks! That is good advice.
And all the best to you and your writing career. 🙂
great points… thanks for sharing 🙂
i totally agree with you when you say “The only person holding you back from writing is you.”
[…] 2012 – Okay, pot twist! I got tired of waiting for agents to pick up my books after a year of querying. Self-publishing it is! Now it’s time to explore why it’s a great choice and learn a lot along the way. 😛 This is still early in my writing career, but this was quite an interesting year for blogging. […]