This is the last in a series of three posts that cover ten things I’ve learned during my first six months of self-publishing on Kindle Direct. To finish off the list...

7. There is more to it than I thought.

I had not anticipated running a lot of ad campaigns, or Goodreads Giveaways, or writing a blog, or emailing with readers. But those things are all part of building a series, and they have all become part of the rotation. And I don’t mind doing them; they are just things I hadn’t expected at the beginning.

8. There is also actually less to it than with alternate paths.

Publishing through traditional publishers often requires getting an agent, and that seems a difficult trick. There are writers in a group I have joined who spend a lot of time trying to win that part of the game. Agents aren’t really a feature of the world of academic publishing that I’m familiar with, but once a contract is signed to write a textbook, I can say from experience that there are a LOT of moving parts before a final manuscript is accepted that aren’t part of the KDP world.

9. If you are thinking of making a go of self-publishing, be prepared to lose money initially.

You have to advertise, in my opinion. There are several million books on Amazon, and if you are new, you have to create visibility for your book or not very many people are likely to find it.

You also need covers that are interesting if you want people to take a first look at your work. If you have the knack for designing them, that’s great, but I don’t, and so covers are the other main expense I’ve had with my books. Lindsey Cousins is my cover designer - https://www.behance.net/gallery/21047... - and she does a great job. Wait until you see the cover for Voided Man 6.

But even with expenses, my experience has been that you can get to the break even point and beyond reasonably quickly, just not right away.

10. The KDP world is user friendly.

I’m not tech savvy, but I’m almost never frustrated with the KDP ecosystem. And on the few occasions I’ve hit a roadblock, I’ve been able to get a call back from someone who can help within five minutes.

That’s my report on my first six months of self publishing. Next time I’ll have a synopsis of my two December releases.

Thank you for taking an interest in my writing.