Welcome to the second annual DIY week at QSF. We’ve got a great line-up of topics for the week, some of which are moderated – but in general, we’ll just share information about how to start and manage a small press:
Tuesday: Jordan L. Hawk – Starting Your Own Press/Crowdfunding
Wednesday: Nicola Markus – Editing and Production; ISBNs; eBooks or Paper?
Thursday: Alicia Nordwell – Getting Your Books Out There; Amazon; Other Venues
Friday: Loren Rhoads – Promoting Your Work
Saturday: Hannah Walker – Mistakes to Avoid, Mistakes to Make, Keeping Up Your Morale;
Sunday: Dawn Chapman – Taxes and Royalties
Today Jordan L. Hawk is talking about getting a press off the ground. The ins and outs and funding aspects especially.
Starting a press, whether its purely a self publishing venture or something bigger, can be daunting. You have to come up with a name, get a website, and figure out the whole ebook (and maybe print) production process. You have to find an editor, and then either make a cover yourself or find a graphic artist who can do it for you.
And it all costs money.
So what do you tackle first? And how do you pay for it?
You can go slowly, using royalties from your other books, and build it up as you are able. Many authors enter self publishing as they get the rights back from stories formerly published by other houses.
You could also try the crowdfunding route, using a site like Kickstarter for a short-term project, like launching your first title, or Patreon for ongoing funding. Just remember, you will have to give something worthwhile back in return.
So if you publish your own books, please jump in and share your experiences – how you got started and how you financed it. We’re especially interested in hearing about crowdfunding, but would love to hear from everyone.
If you are considering going out on your own, bring us your questions!
These weeks work because of participation, so please jump in!