My Writing Journey

A Letter to a Friend Just Starting Out Indie Publishing

Rachael Ritchey

So, I have a friend who is a published author, but her publishing company recently shut their doors. It was probably for the best, and in the midst of it a gift actually came in the ability for this dear author friend to take her work to the next level.

It will be so much better than it was with that failed publishing house for a few reasons, but one that is foremost in my mind is that her artistic vision can be put into the hands of people who really care about seeing it thrive, to capture its beauty, and are passionate about making that creative presence shine in the modern publishing industry.

My friend has thus far been shy about drawing attention to herself, but I want to help her draw attention to what she is trying to share with the world, so as I help her take these first steps into indie publishing, I gave her some helpful advice and information for getting started.

I think this is good for any writer, aspiring indie author, and indie publisher to listen to, so I’m sharing the basics of the letter with you today. I hope you find something helpful here, and if you need more, make sure to check out my How Not to Get Overwhelmed series here on my blog.

A Letter to My Friend Just Starting Out in the World of Indie Publishing

[Dear Author Friend,
I’m so excited to see you entering the Indie Publishing world with your inspired writing!]
[Now on to the advice]
You really should have a blog for people to visit in case they’re interested in finding out more about your books, etc. It can be super basic, and if you want I can [help you] start one . . . at WordPress. Or you can start one yourself. It’s free and there are lots of free themes to choose from.
You want a blog or website link inside each book (especially the ebooks) for people so that it makes life easier for them if they want more of you or your writing, or even to contact you.
I’m including a whole list of links for you to use to get started on self-publishing. Most of this you need to get done before you are ready to publish, but places for people to locate you and your book info are super important. It’s about helping your readers, and it’s too hard to find you right now, so that will turn a lot of people off from even trying.
A blog really only needs to have a basic bio, a place for people to contact you (a form can be made on WordPress so you don’t even have to share your email address right away), info about your books and where (if any) to find them. From there you can personalize it more, share about your inspirations and blurbs of your books, pictures of your covers, etc.
[If you want to find/attract readers, you will want to offer them whatever you have in you that will make it easy to connect with you on a more personal level. Such is the way of our world filled with social media. 🙂 ]
Beyond that (most of this is completely free!):
  • Make a Smashwords account: http://www.smashwords.com where you will be able to upload your ebooks for sale at places like Apple & Barnes & Noble, etc. w/o having to do it separately.
  • Ingramspark is where you can also make hardbound books.
  • I think other companies to check out for that are Blurb and Lulu.
  • Lulu is the only free sign-up service of these three Print on Demand (POD)
Okay! Now that I’ve overwhelmed you with stuff, let me know how I can help!

That was the gist of the letter. I hope you found something helpful here and are encouraged to start on the journey of self publishing with class and confidence!

And don’t forget, I have a whole series on helping you indie publish, one piece at a time:

How Not to Get Overwhelmed with Indie Publishing

How Not To

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Published by Rachael Ritchey

Rachael Ritchey is a dreamer who believes in the resilience of the human spirit. She never wants to forget we are not what has happened to us or what we've done. She believes we are deep wells of compassion and strength, and when unleashed, these subtle super powers can change the world, even if only just one person at a time. Rachael writes with an eye toward exemplifying these attributes. Her clean but real and true-to-self YA fiction reflects these qualities with daring adventure and sweet romance that almost anyone can enjoy. Rachael lives in Spokane, WA with her husband, kids, and their dog named Hashtag.

29 thoughts on “A Letter to a Friend Just Starting Out Indie Publishing”

  3. Reblogged this on Allison the Writer and commented:
    This is a wonderful letter written by an awesome writing friend, which ought to be shared with all writing friends who are new to the self-publishing world! And even if you’re not a newbie, it’s an excellent refresher / guide for what to do next time. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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