How to Get Started Self Publishing: 5 Questions You Must Answer Before You Start

Updated on January 15, 2019
heidithorne profile image

Heidi Thorne is a self-publishing expert, author of books, eBooks, and audio books. Former trade newspaper editor.

Source

With all the tools and self publishing platforms we have available to us these days, it seems like self publishing can be done by almost everyone and anyone. Technically, that's correct. But the real question is can it be done well by everyone and anyone? And that answer is a big NO!

It's not the tools that will make or break your self publishing efforts; it's errors in the message, purpose, marketing and risk management that will.

So before launching your book project, you need to ask yourself five key questions to determine if you're good to go.

Question #1: Why Do You Want to Write and Self Publish a Book?

The desire to write a book is strong with large segments of the population. I've even heard estimates as high as 80 percent want to do so. The reasons for wanting to write a book include the following:

  • Leave a Legacy or Express Yourself. We want to be remembered as someone of value and that our time here on this planet mattered. So many people feel that sharing their stories, insights or art with the world is a way to keep their memories alive, even after their death. In itself, this is not a bad thing. The problem comes in when people confuse their life value with the value of their written work in the marketplace. Just sharing your thoughts or story isn't enough. Your work must have a purpose for your audience. We'll talk more about this under Question #2 below.
  • Create an Income Stream or Career. As with leaving a legacy, this is not a bad goal. Sadly, it can be a tough to achieve goal due to high competition in the age of the Internet and economic realities. If this is your goal, you need to become a businessperson and marketer, in addition to a writer, to be successful.
  • Promote a Business or Yourself. A more realistic goal than hoping to make a decent living from writing is to write a book that helps you make a living. These types of books are written to showcase your expertise, experience and personality in a way that will draw sales leads and other opportunities to you. However, this opportunity is usually only available to people who are self employed or own their own business. (See Question #4 below for issues that may prevent you from self publishing.)
  • Provide Customer Service. A subset of books that are written to promote a business are books that help a business serve its customers. For example, a consultant may wish to publish a training workbook for her workshop attendees.

Tip: Pick your purpose! Some books may have multiple goals. That's fine. But be clear on what those purpose(s) are.

Question #2: Who is Your Ideal Reader Audience?

I am absolutely stunned by the number of prospective author clients I speak with that have no idea who will read their books when finished. If they say "everyone," I know they've put little or no thought into this important aspect. Others may have a vague idea of who their audience will be, such as women, young adults, business people, etc. But their targets are usually so broad that it would be difficult for me to figure out an exact market segment. Not being able to determine your primary target audience will derail all marketing efforts for your book.

Tip: Understand who your book's audience will be and then provide them with what they want to read.

Question #3: What is Your Book's Primary Message and Mission?

I see the most difficulty for this issue with "legacy" type books (as discussed earlier) and with authors who are attempting to write the "be all, end all" book within the category.

Some legacy authors are just interested in telling their stories, often with a laughable overdose of minor and irrelevant detail. There's no real message or mission. They just think that their experiences are so unique and so interesting that readers will—of course!—be enthralled. For some celebrity level authors, that might be the case. But for the rest of us, unlikely. If you are writing a legacy type book, you must ask yourself, "Why am I telling this story and how will it benefit my reader?"

In the nonfiction arena especially, I encounter authors who are trying so hard to write the final authoritative work on their topic. This is a tall order for any book and any author. So they overreach and under deliver. They also often don't finish their books because there's always something else they think they need to add.

Tip: If you can't distill your book's mission into about 25 words or so, you need to clarify your message.

Question #4: Are You Eligible to Self Publish?

Sadly, I often have to be the book dream killer for some prospective authors. There are some professions and topics that are highly regulated, high risk or for which self publishing may be flat out prohibited. Some examples (and there are others!) include finance and investments, law, medicine, health, multilevel marketing companies (MLMs), etc. Self publishing without being aware of the limitations and potential liabilities can be dangerous and lead to lawsuits or worse.

Tip: Research limitations and laws that apply to you, your business and the type of book you plan to write and publish. Seek legal advice for issues that may apply to your personal situation, profession or business.

Question #5: How Will You Protect Yourself from Media Liabilities?

In addition to the eligibility to self publish, you need to be aware of what are called media liabilities. Media liabilities include issues such as copyright and trademark infringement, content liability, errors and omissions, defamation, libel, slander, breach of confidentiality, and invasion of privacy.

Don't think that just because you might be writing fiction or poetry, you're exempt! Did you ever see notices at the end of movies to the effect that the film's story does not depict any real people? Or if you give spiritual or religious advice in your book, do you think that you are not responsible for how your work might be interpreted or implemented? No one is exempt from these issues and appropriate disclaimers are a MUST HAVE for all types of self publishing.

Also, if you are employed, be aware that employers may restrict or outright prohibit self publishing (including social media!). Make sure you are not violating any laws, company rules or confidentiality agreements with what you publish. It's not worth risking your livelihood or financial future! If you are employed, seek legal guidance before pursuing ANY publishing efforts.

Tip: Educate yourself on media liability issues! Discuss all your publishing efforts with both an attorney (especially one familiar with intellectual property) and a commercial insurance provider (not your auto-home-life agent!) so that you know how to properly protect yourself with disclaimers, insurance coverage and preventive measures. Yes, there is such a thing as media liability insurance which may be expensive, but it may be worth it to protect your interests.

Bottom line: If you can't answer these five questions, you have no business self publishing.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Questions & Answers

    © 2016 Heidi Thorne

    Comments

    Submit a Comment
    • heidithorne profile imageAUTHOR

      Heidi Thorne 

      3 years ago from Chicago Area

      Hi Cee-Jay! You're so right! It's so easy to get published these days and so easy to get into trouble. Thanks for reading and your kind comments. Have a beautiful day!

    • Cee-Jay Aurinko profile image

      Cee-Jay Aurinko 

      3 years ago from Cape Town, South Africa

      Seeing myself as an aspiring indie author, I found this hub very helpful Heidi Thorne. I think some indie authors don't have a clue when it comes to the legal matters pertaining to self-publishing. Bless the lawyers lol.

    working

    This website uses cookies

    As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, toughnickel.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

    For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://toughnickel.com/privacy-policy#gdpr

    Show Details
    Necessary
    HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
    LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
    Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
    AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
    HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
    HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
    Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
    CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
    Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
    Features
    Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
    Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
    Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
    Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
    Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
    VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
    PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
    Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
    MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
    Marketing
    Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
    Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
    Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
    SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
    Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
    Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
    AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
    OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
    Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
    TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
    Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
    Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
    Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
    Statistics
    Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
    ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
    Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
    ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)
https://toughnickel.com/self-employment/How-to-Get-Started-Self-Publishing-Questions-You-Must-Answer-BEFORE
toughnickel.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2020-05
114317
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:WYLG3V3ARZKYQG6TN64SM5ON74SEEA5S
<urn:uuid:7cba5131-c6c6-4777-9f7c-af959842acae>
2020-01-24T22:28:31Z
34.238.179.60
text/html
sha1:UOQ3ZV2ZDSCVLASHYGNPF36AHUWBYXLB
<urn:uuid:9b4d4114-ec37-4df8-840d-5854836f4ba7>
https://toughnickel.com/self-employment/How-to-Get-Started-Self-Publishing-Questions-You-Must-Answer-BEFORE
response
<urn:uuid:85ef4633-ed1f-49cf-9017-94d891af146d>
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2020-05
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for January 2020
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-27.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.16 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.1-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/