What is self-publishing?

Also called independent or ‘indie’ publishing, self-publishing is the process whereby an author can turn her manuscript into both an ebook and print-on-demand book and make it available for purchase via an online (think Amazon, Kobo, or Apple Books) or bricks and mortar store. Essentially, the author takes responsibility for all the functions which the traditional publisher usually performs.

This doesn’t mean the author has to do everything herself, but we suggest that she knows what each step entails, thereby keeping control of the whole publishing process, even though she might contract out elements such as editing, formatting, cover design, and marketing.

Self-publishing is no longer called ‘vanity publishing’. Since Amazon introduced the Kindle e-reader and Kindle Direct Publishing platform, and Smashwords (a distributor of ebooks) opened its virtual doors in 2008, authors have been finding they can earn 60-80% of list price of their book as opposed to 12-17%. That’s not vanity, that’s a sensible economic decision.

At first glance self-publishing sounds daunting, but by attending the Kāpiti Libraries self-publishing workshops, authors are given a path to follow which ends with their book available for sale to the public. Individual workshops drill down and cover the nitty gritty of what to do, and how to do it.

The workshops are run by Diana Holmes who has been successfully self-publishing her books since 2011. Diana writes under several pen names and, at last count, has sold 100,000 ebooks across the world. She’s just published book number 35, and has plenty more to come!

Interested in turning your Word document into a published book? Read more about the contents of each individual workshop on the following link:

https://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/libraries/publishing