Do you have what it takes?

I will be building this page over the next few months, but I wanted to get started with a checklist. I see myself as an ambassador of sorts for independent publishing, but I am still learning too. Here’s what I have learned so far:

• • • You must have an editor and beta readers. Because I wrote this novel while in the Drexel MFA program, I had the advantage of a packet-exchange mentor, Aimie Runyan Vetter. She is a prolific author of historical and women’s fiction. She read the entire manuscript and provided suggestions that were thematic, character- and plot-related, and detailed. I also engaged several beta readers to make sure the story flowed and made sense. Because of the spirituality embedded in it, I had two clergy friends read it also. I won’t have this luxury for the second novel, and I will have to hire a developmental editor. You cannot skip these important feedback steps, especially when self-publishing.
  • • You must be willing to self-promote. Especially if you don’t have an agent or traditional editor, no one will know your work like you do. Even writers with agents and traditional deals have to do this more and more. For

      starters, I suggest you sign up for a paid Canva account; it’s the easiest way to create social media graphics and videos. It’s $120 a year, but you can start with a free trial or free account. I did my book trailer with Canva.

  • • You also need to be a good literary citizen. This means not just talking about your own work but celebrating the works of others. Subscribing to writerly Substacks. Following other writers on Instagram. Here’s a helpful post from Writer’s Digest. It’s a good way to build your social media platform because you will need it.
    • To do it right, you will need to spend money. Yes, you can self-publish for a few hundred bucks. But your book will likely look amateurish, contain typos, and will be difficult for anyone to find. You especially need a professional cover design, done by people familiar with the book industry (not just your graphic artist friend). That’s why I think independent publishing is a good option for older people with time and some disposable income; I would never recommend borrowing money to make this happen. 
    • You need a realistic sense of yourself. What does that mean? Well, hopefully you don’t have delusions that you can do this with no editors or beta readers and that your manuscript is already perfect. Humility comes in very handy. You need an honest assessment of what you’re good at and not so good at. You need to be a voracious learner and acknowledge that you have a lot to learn. The resources available to you are incredibly helpful. 
    • You need self-discipline. This is not necessarily one of my strong suits but I am managing because I want people to read my novel. It’s different for everyone, but you need to set aside time every day for writing, learning, promoting, and achieving deadlines along your path to publication.