In the month of August, we got to celebrate several special days: National Book Lovers Day, National S’mores Day, National Vinyl Record Day, and National Power Rangers Day, just to name a few. However, August is also known as National Dog Month and National Wellness Month.
When I realized August was National Wellness Month, I thought to myself, “Which book I should review to represent this?”
At first, I was going to read Your Pocket Meditation Guide: Reduce Stress and Anxiety; Change Your Life by Christina Feldman because what better way to take care of yourself than by reducing your stress and anxiety. But then I ordered a set of books by Joanna Penn about self-publishing, writing a novel, marketing your book(s), and having a successful author mindset. They came in right at the beginning of August, so I thought, “Why not review at least one of her books?”
The way I’m looking at it I’m still taking care of myself because I’m expanding my knowledge about something I love and that brings me true happiness: writing and the publishing world.
I may have about six years under my belt in the self-publishing industry (as I have published both my books myself and I have helped others with publishing their work), but there is always something new to learn or to better understand. That is what Penn’s book did for me; it helped me understand certain aspects of the self-publishing world a little better, but it also taught me new things that I didn’t know about.
For example, she discusses the difference between being an indie author and being a self-published author, which I didn’t even realize there was a difference. I thought they were one in the same. But according to Penn, a self-published author is someone who does everything themselves (editing, formatting, cover art) and defines their success as their book being published and out for the world to see. They don’t “aim to sell a lot of books.” While an indie author is someone who collaborates with professionals for editing, cover art, and formatting, and defines their success “as long-term income as well as creative fulfillment.”
What’s funny is, I see myself as both. I’m self-published because I do everything on my own and I’m truly so happy and blessed to say that I’m living my dream, that my books are out there for people to read and (hopefully) enjoy. However, I’m an indie author because I do request (and pay for) assistance with editing and cover art and I know that this is a long-term investment that, if my writing is good enough, could make me a lot of money.
Another great example is how she recommends publishing your books as Large Print books, as well, because it is “an underserved market.” It is honestly something I’ve never thought of, even though my own mom prefers Large Print books, since her eyesight is not that great, but I will now do so. It’s very important to make sure all your bases are covered so you reach every audience member possible.
Speaking of, one other great example of something I’ve learned from Successful Self-Publishing is how to self-publish audiobooks.
One medium in book publishing that is growing so quickly is the audiobook. So many people, with their crazy, hectic schedules, don’t have time to read a book – even an eBook on a Nook or a Kindle – and they’ve been resorting to listening to books instead of reading them. This is an extremely popular market right now that every author should really capitalize on, but the question(s) is how and how much is it going to cost?
Penn covers (in detail) how you can self-publish an audiobook. She goes over how you can be exclusive to ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange), which will distribute your audiobook to Amazon, Audible, and iTunes ONLY. And through ACX, you can either find a narrator to narrate your book and pay them upfront so you can keep all the royalties or split it 50/50 with them, or you can narrate the book yourself and upload the file. However, if you don’t want to be exclusive to Amazon, Audible, and iTunes, since there is a wide range of sites that sell audiobooks, you can also use sites like Findaway Voices, which will distribute to Kobo Audio, Scribd, and more. But it is completely up to you what you want to do. She even gives a link for more detail about self-publishing an audiobook.
I have to say, the one thing I loved about this book is how Penn placed links to dive more in-depth into certain topics throughout her book. This is a short book; it’s only 108 pages. But in those 108 pages, she gives you as much information as possible as well as links to where you can learn more about whatever topic you’re curious about.
And not only does she talk about self-publishing your book(s), but she goes over how to market your book(s), and the one thing she states repeatedly when it comes to marketing (and publishing) is to “stay focused on the positive.”
She states, “Change your attitude toward marketing,” as a lot of authors, including myself, have a rather negative attitude when it comes to marketing our books. I normally say it’s one of the hardest things about being an author because you need to put yourself and your books out there for everyone to see and that can be nerve racking. However, Penn states that we need to change that attitude, especially if we want to make decent sales from our book(s). And the definition she gives for marketing truly helps to change that attitude. She defines it as, “sharing what you love with people who will appreciate hearing about it.”
After I read that sentence, my eyes almost bulged out of my head because I realized that when I’m doing events and I talking about my books – their plot, how I created them, how I published them myself, etc. – the ones who truly see and hear the passion in my voice are the ones who are buying. That’s because they’re interested in reading the story and learning more. It goes to show that when you are passionate about something, and you show it, people will respond.
“Once you change your attitude…the whole marketing landscape shifts because it’s now a positive thing. You’re sharing things you love and attracting like-minded people.” (Penn)
Another piece of advice she gives that resonates with me is write more books. She says at one point, “…a survey [done] by International Thriller Writers found that it takes three to four books for a reader to become a true fan. One book is not enough to capture a reader’s attention,” and I couldn’t agree with that more.
The thing is, that one book may capture a reader’s attention to the point that they want more. But when that next book is not out, nor will it be available for the next year or two or three or more, you may lose that reader, and you don’t want to do that. You want them to keep on coming back for more. However, I am also not sitting here saying you need to publish a book one month then publish another book one month later and so on, because the publishing process is a long road.
In her introduction, Penn mentions, “…you will realize that publishing is not the hard part. Publishing a book takes just a couple of hours, but writing, editing, and marketing remain the most challenging aspects of the process!” And again, I couldn’t agree more with this statement.
When I clicked on the “Publish” button on my books, it was breeze. It was like taking a breath. But everything leading up to that moment – writing my books, editing them, having readers look over my work, formatting them, and so on – were more like breathing underwater.
I’m not saying this to scare you. I’m not saying this so you can turn around and say, “That’s it, I’m never publishing a book.” I’m saying this so you (especially if you are looking to publish a book) understand this is not a 1, 2, 3 process. It’s one that takes time and patience. Personally, I enjoy it immensely and when I’m holding my book at the end, it is truly so rewarding. But it all doesn’t happen overnight.
In the end, I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone looking to learn about the self-publishing process. Like I said, it does take time to publish your book, but when all is said and done, you get to say that something you worked long and hard on is now available for everyone to see. And that…that’s one of the greatest feelings of all.
To learn more about Joanna Penn and where you can get her non-fiction books, including Successful Self-Publishing: How to Self-Publish and Market Your Book, please visit thecreativepenn.com. And to learn more about her and her fiction books, please visit jfpenn.com.
Please note I am not getting paid to review this book or feature this author. I am just a fellow author trying to support others by showcasing their work.
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