Hello there!
I have been following your fan fiction for a while now and I’m in love with your writing. So, I’m so ecstatic that you’re continuing to write and publish your own book! I will definitely read it when it comes out. I’m more than certain it will be wonderful.
You can answer this privately or anonymously, and it’s 100% okay if you don’t want to answer, because it’s a bit of a personal question.
I want to publish my own book as well, but there’s so many steps I don’t know of. If you don’t mind me asking, is it difficult to publish a book? How do you do it?
I’m so sorry if this is personal, and by all means, you don’t have to answer. It’s just been my dream to publish a book for so long, and I wanted to gather information so I know what comes ahead as a writer.
Thank you! <3
Hi!
Thank you so much for bringing your love for my fanfiction over here to my own original work. Your support truly fuels me on the daily. I can't wait to share my original work one day.
I've been holding off on answering this Ask because I wasn't sure if I was qualified enough to answer it, but I've been motivated recently by the empowering thought of, "fuck it..." so here we go. 🙂
First of all, I'm so happy you wish to publish your own book as well!! The amount of people attempting to publish a book, self or traditional, admittedly feels alarmingly saturated at times, but I always have to remind myself that my story matters and it is unique. Yours is too, whatever it may be! There's an endless amount of stories to be told and that is a beautiful thing; it is not something that should deter us from doing what we love.
To be honest, I still don't know everything that needs to be done in order for me to self-publish a book. Or maybe I do and I've just been overwhelmed by the amount of information that is out there.
This checklist is something that has been extremely helpful to me. There are so many things I hadn't thought about such as taxes and ISBNs and everything it takes to design a cover. There are a lot of things that Amazon helps you do if you choose to go through them, such as a cover template and automatically giving you an ISBN.
I would say, overall, it is difficult. But this is coming from me as a writer that has yet to become an author. I'm sure once I do self-publish something for the first time, it'll come easier to me. Obviously lol. But I am absolutely still in the researching and learning phase of it all.
Other random tips you didn't ask for, but ones that came to mind while answering this:
I would have a large chunk of your writing done before you go to make an socials or following, as much as possible before you decide that it's impossible to contain your excitement any longer
On the topic of social media...do not try to take on all platforms. Find one or two that you truly enjoy creating content for and focus on those. Trying to do it all is encouraged yet unrealistic
Reach out to people that are on this journey or have already published something. It's always nice to talk to people who have already done what you're striving to do
Most importantly, try your very hardest to not be discouraged by the success of others, whether it be what they've published, the attention they're getting compared to you, etc. Comparison is inevitable and the resulting imposter syndrome can be crippling at times. But you are important, your story is important, and your success will come to you.
I wish you nothing but the best of luck in pursuing your dreams! What a magical time for you. ❤️
