There are good reasons why self-publishing is taking off and drawing in all kinds of authors. This week we heard that funny guy and movie star Jim Carrey has decided to get into self-publishing.
Guy Kawasaki, Jackie Collins, J.K. Rowling and lots of other published authors are getting into the act also. And with good reason.
Maybe it’s the “indie spirit” or just the fact that by publishing your own books you can reverse the usual royalty calculations—you get all the profit, instead of the usual “10% of the net”—but it’s obviously a hot topic.
As you might imagine, I get a ton of inquiries every week, many with questions. We even had to set up a contact form to handle them all.
One of the common threads in these questions is the difficulty authors have putting all the pieces together.
I answer as many as I have time for, but I know people want more. More depth, more information that’s targeted and reliable, more authoritative answers to the publishing dilemmas new authors face.
Recently I made a video that addresses some of the reasons that self-publishing has become such a powerful alternative for today’s authors.
I call it “8 Keys to Self-Publishing Success Today,” and it’s live now.
The video runs about 19 minutes and is very content-rich. But you know that. There’s no fluff on my blog, just practical advice to help you build better books.
And there’s no fluff in my videos or training programs either. I’ve streamlined them so you get the information you need to do the job at hand.
Go over and check this video out, I think you’ll like it.
And if you do, or if it raises questions for you, I hope you’ll leave me a comment just below the video. That would be great.
Here’s the link: 8 Keys to Self-Publishing Success Today [Video]
You’ll get the most out of this video if you make the time to watch it straight through. Here’s the link one more time: 8 Keys to Self-Publishing Success Today [Video]
Enjoy!
Good day, Joel. I have learned so much from you. I downloaded two templates this week and they are amazing to work with. Thanks for being such a tremendous resource.
I need some video help, though. I have tried every link on the site and from your original email, in an effort to access the 8 Keys video. The site http://www.selfpublishingroadmap.com/launch-video-1/ always returns a ‘404 Not Found’ error message. I’m using Windows 7, and Chrome browser, then tried Firefox and Explorer with the same results.
Hyacinthe, thanks. The video is offline because it was part of the recent launch of the Self-Publishing Roadmap training program. I’ll fix the link, sorry for the bother.
Rock on Joel!
Thank you for your informational and inspirational video. I am self-publishing my first novel through CreateSpace and as you said in the video, it was hard work! One aspect of publishing that was a challenge for me was the legal/copyright area and I purchased your Quick & Easy Guide to Copyright and it answered all my questions in the simplest way. I also loved how you had text that we could use for the Copyright page. Magnificent! Thank you for not only being a supporter of self-publishing, but supporting the aspiring writer. So you want to know what my goals and dreams are for self-publishing? To have complete control of the fiction series I am creating and to jump into the imagination of my readers.
Thanks for this video, Joel! It will be an encouragement for anyone even just thinking about writing a book and wondering if it makes sense. But for those of us with roots in the print publishing system it’s also a helpful nudge showing how times have changed to make room for indie authors. I’m going to share your link in my small niche writers’ community.
As I was taking notes from the video I missed some of the eight points on screen so it was great to have the transcript available to fill in the blanks in my notebook.
~Marie
Thanks so much, Marie, I really appreciate it. I’ve got 2 more videos following this one that together have a pretty powerful message.
Your video doesn’t open on my iPad or my iMac. Is it just me?
Linda, you need to click through to this page to see the video:
8 Keys to Self-Publishing Success Today
Great video Joel. It’s clear, simple, direct, gives a great sitrep of self publishing and goes quickly. If I was to offer a couple of minor points. The background was too plain; I accept you don’t want anything distracting but white is possibly too minimalist. The other minor point putting my teacher and trainer mentoring hat on; is a summary of the eight points at the end would have been useful and would have brought the whole thing to a more rounded and satisfactory close.
But these are minor points because your video is a great reminder of where self publishing is and a great motivator.
I look forward to “Return of the magnificent 8…” or “The 8 Keys II – just when you thought it was safe to self publish…” :)
Christopher, much appreciated. The white background is, in fact, the whiteboard that I use throughout the video lessons in the course. I have a serious lack of good backgrounds in my office, but your point is well taken, as well as the one about offering a summary. I’ll be interested in your take on video #2 when it comes out on Monday, the style, although similar, uses a lot more graphics.