Do It Yourself, And Do It Better | Elsie Granthier

I’m not sure if self-publishing would ever be for me. And that’s not an indictment on the promise or quality of self-publishing, it’s the opposite. It’s a trade like any other, so you must develop skills and spend time and often money, to be successful. It’s a big commitment, and not something you should go into lightly (or blindly). Self-publishing essentially means becoming a publisher yourself – and I have my hands full with you guys!  

But as an aspiring author, I‚Äôm going to be on the (virtual) front row of our Self-Publishing month in April. Why? Because every skill a self-published author needs is invaluable for traditionally published authors. Parts of this industry view self-published and traditionally published authors at opposite ends of the publishing spectrum ‚Äì we couldn‚Äôt disagree more. We‚Äôre all working with the same tools whether we go DIY or get in contractors (what do publishers have in common with builders? They can’t work without a cup of tea). Ultimately, we all want the same thing: to write a really good book that readers love. ¬†

We’ve designed Self-Publishing Month to be an accessible, welcoming environment to learn skills outside of writing that can feel scary and out of reach. We’ll learn how to build an author website; explore creating author branding that feels authentic to you; discuss the tools of the trade like self-editing and using beta readers; and find out how to generate that all-important publicity.  

Publishing is a fast-paced business and, if you do get traditionally published, there’s no guarantee of how much time and budget will be allocated to market your book. Your publisher will do everything they can, but your book’s biggest advocate will always be you. Self-publishing skills are crucial to give your book the space in the world it deserves – and they’re not as tricky as they may seem!  

Take Clare Mackintosh ‚Äì she’s sold more than two million books worldwide and her sixth novel is coming out this summer. She‚Äôs an established author with a publisher that backs her with snazzy advance copies for authors and bloggers, and big marketing pushes, but she still makes time to put together her monthly newsletter, which brings yet more readers in. ¬†

Knowing how successful Clare is makes us so excited when we see debut authors building their own platforms Рlike Jericho success story Aliya Ali-Afzal. We loved watching the buzz she created around WOULD I LIE TO YOU on Twitter – from changing the emojis in her handle to match her book cover, to running a giveaway and sharing photos of her book spotted out in the wild.  

Publishing a book may feel like a finishing line, but in many ways, it’s only the beginning. Just because a book exists doesn’t mean people know about it. Whether you’re self-publishing or publishing, take the ‘self’ to heart – and shout about your book from the mountaintops.  

Maybe you’ll self-publish. Maybe you won’t. Either way, the skills you’ll learn during Self-Publishing month are crucial to your writing career. We promise to show you that these DIY skills are not as scary as they look! You need these skills. Your book needs you to have these skills, so that it can enter the world to the fanfare it deserves. I can’t wait to see you there.  

Elsie Granthier, Events & Writer Support Assistant