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WEEK 14 - #VoidDeckWriter: How Do You Get Published? Self-Pub Questions to Consider

Week 14 down, and onwards to Q2. As a very wise person once told me, “Uhh… you draw (or write, or create), then you put in PDF, then you print.” This week's issue talks self-pub - questions & mindset.

April 09, 2021

Week 14 down, and the second quarter commences. This week, I thought it’ll be a good time to answer the age-old question - “How did you get published?” - particularly from the self-publishing perspective.

As a very wise person once told me, “Uhhh… you draw (or write, or create), then you put in PDF, then you print.”

That’s it, simple.

Okay, I’m kidding.

While the advice sounds pretty straightforward - the getting to it may not be. Therefore, before you decide to jump into the self-publishing processes, it’ll be good to jump into these questions first.

Note: This post will not be one that spells out the steps you need to take to self-publish - there are loads of other articles that can help you with that. The intention of this post is to provide a mindset framework that may help with your decision - to self-publish now? Later? To self-pub or not to self-pub?

Have you ever thought of publishing or putting out your own creations? Share your barriers in the comments!

Simple does not mean Free

The title says it all.

Self-publishing is really as straightforward as my friend mentioned - it’s creating, formatting, and printing or putting it out there in the world. So why are we not doing it more to either build our portfolios or start our writing careers?

A multitude of reasons can come up for this and I’ve narrowed them down to these three:

  1. Cultural / Social Image

Considering how accessible publishing is nowadays, self-publishing continues to get a “bad rep” because it appears that you are doing so because you’re “not good enough” for the big leagues. With this mindset still rather prevalent here and there, it can be a challenge to overcome the self-doubt that can eat at you should you decide to go into self-publishing - Am I doing this because I want to self-publish and test the market? Or am I doing this because I cannot seem to get into a market that has its own “gatekeeping” controls with limited opportunities? That said, perhaps one of the things that can be done to alleviate this feeling is to write the best book you can, which brings me to the next aspect -

  1. Skill Gaps

Let’s be honest, we can’t know everything, or even know how to do everything. Even experienced writers and editors will need external help to beta read and edit work because we will always have blind spots to our own work. The same issue surfaces when it comes to layout design, cover design, and everything else in between. Which brings me to the next point -

  1. Costs

Putting a book together on your own has a few costs that need consideration. Printing costs money, formatting (even online) costs time and money, layout software costs money, cover and layout design - which also contribute to the sustainability of the book - costs time, energy, and money. And no, exposure and begging should not be considered to be payment here - skilled help requires payment (even if you’re friends).

Ultimately, while the process of getting from concept to product may sound straightforward, there are costs involved - money, time, energy etc… So here will be the question I would recommend considering before you proceed -

What will you be willing to pay for to get your work out? (Hint: Not just money)

Processes, processes

While the processes are simple enough, there are still a few considerations under each main category, especially if you’re looking to self-publish:

  1. Creating

After writing your brilliant piece, what steps are we talking to ensure that we have written the best story we could tell? What about copy mistakes and points that have logical gaps (e.g. having the sun rise three times a day)?

And most importantly (at least for me) - Is your story speaking to the people you have written the story for? (including yourself)

  1. Formatting

Is PDF or eBook format the way to go? What about books or content styles that have inspired you and make the most sense for your creation? Would you be able to produce them in that format (even in a draft format)? Are you willing to give it a try?

  1. Publishing

Do you want to go into traditional / print publishing or digital publishing? Or both? With all these added options and accessibility to various formats - podcasts, eBooks, games, chapbooks, zines - are you looking to publish books because it seems to make the most sense for the story? If so, how can you go about publishing them? What platform are you intending to use / try out? And can you do it yourself or would you like to get help?

So in terms of processes, perhaps you might want to ask yourself and take steps to answer these questions as you plan out your projects - what are the skill or resource gaps that are forming barriers in your creative journey? Are you able to factor them into your schedule?

Have you ever put off doing something you really wanted to put out in the world because of specific skill or resource gaps? How did you overcome them or how are you coping with them? Share them in the comments!

What are your intentions?

Will you continue creating if you have no sales? Will you continue telling your story and improving yourself even if no one is bothering with your stories or art put out in the world?

This section will be my shortest point, but it’s probably one of the most difficult (even for myself) to answer - why do you want to publish? What are your intentions?

This is particularly important, especially in an over-stimulated world where thousands of new creators are vying for attention. That’s both the beauty and the barrier of the creative industry - while everyone can lift each other up, everyone is also each other’s competitor. And to be honest, it’s not the best feeling in the world. Therefore, I would recommend going back to the age-old advice -

If you’re not able to gain fulfillment from your own creation and creating your own stories because you have stories to tell, how are you going to inspire others well? And perhaps, that’s also when you might need to ask yourself this question -

So, what are your intentions?

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Ultimately, I’d like to leave all of you with this additional lesson I’ve learnt - Results don’t have to be instant to be considered results. There is no rush in creating your work (unless you promised a deadline - even that can be negotiable) and in the end, what’s important is whether or not you have aligned yourself and your projects to your own intentions. That’s how you can get some level of sustainability in your practice, especially in self-publishing.

And that’s it from me! See you all next week!

Are you a creator who faces barriers in putting your work out there? What are the ways you find yourself getting around them? Share them in the comments!