Read Lovely Books
Libby Waterford recently switched from being traditionally published to self-publishing
Libby made the transition from traditional to self-publishing about two years ago
At the moment, she is selling a few hundred copies of any single book in the course
But, as she points out, some self-published writers sell in the thousands
“It’s not a living wage,” Libby tells me as we sip our coffees at Caffe Nero
You have to figure out what your goal is — whether you just want to see your book
Libby believes that her royalty income will soon surpass the income she earns from teaching at the
“You have to not give up if your first book doesn’t break even
According to Libby, if you do it all yourself (and don’t need a developmental editor) you
“A copy editor makes changes for clarity and points out continuity errors,” she says
For example, the editor will look at timelines and might flag the fact that a character in
Developmental editing is almost always the most expensive type of editing you can buy because of the
Once a manuscript has been through a copy edit — which usually costs Libby around $1,300 — it also needs
Libby tends to spend on the lower end of the scale for her covers (around $80) and has
Most indie publishing experts strongly advise against trying to make your own cover unless you have design
You can use this feature even if you don’t design a cover there
She swears by Vellum but points out that it can only be used on a Mac computer
Libby favors Vellum because she likes to save her work locally and not have it be stored
However, she notes that that there are other apps you can use for formatting, including Atticus ($147), Reedsy
She advertises a bit on social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram
“The people who service authors are making more money than writers
Netgalley, which used to be open to traditional publishers only, has recently opened its doors to indie
She tends to give away physical copies of books so that she can personalize these with a
A Goodreads Giveaway obliges participants to put the book on their “Want to Read” shelf and this
BookBub will charge you $1,024 to promote a women’s fiction novel that you’re discounting to the
But the financial benefits of the promotion are not immediate
In fact, many authors give their books away for free during these promotions
The benefits accrue over time, and result from the boost a BookBub promotion gives your book on
“I need to sell about 800 books to make my money back on a title,” Libby says
99, writers exclusive to Amazon currently earn 35% of the list price
99, writers exclusive to Amazon earn 70% of the list price minus the cost of file delivery
If you choose to enroll in the Amazon program known as KDP Select, your book also becomes
Subscribers gain access to hundreds of self-published books, and authors are paid out based on how many
The catch to KDP Select is that your eBook needs to remain exclusive to Amazon for the
You can, however, sell the book on other platforms in physical form
“You might make more money on KU but then you have all your eggs in one basket,”
Libby believes the key to maximizing your earnings as a self-published author is to gradually switch to
If you want to make a career out of self-publishing, says Libby, you have to not give
“You need to keep publishing and learning and being entrepreneurial
Rather than going straight to a hybrid publisher, she recommends handling the process yourself
But paying top dollar to a third party to do everything for you doesn’t make sense —
But with persistence and entrepreneurial savvy, a committed self-publisher ought to be able to cover the cost
A small number of self-published authors are able to sell thousands of copies of their books and
With commitment, luck, and a great product, that could be you!