Self Publishing is PAIN! (but here’s how to)

Here is my detailed experience in self-publishing my novella Breach of Peace! Otherwise known as the self-publishing how-to guide by Daniel Greene

BREACH OF PEACE LINKS:

Equipment:

[DanielGreeneReviews]

If you have any questions about the process leave them here and I’ll answer them in a follow up video!

[frthlvfchrt]

"Don't compare yourself to Sanderson"

"haha keyboard go - Brando Sando, probably

[B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS]

Self-Publishers are BRAVE. And yes first drafts will make your eyes bleed.

[milospollonia]

Self publishing is such a nightmare but actually at the end you absolutely love it when you hold your book in your hands

[GraysonGibson]

I’m a graphic designer and I’m SO GLAD you mentioned paying your artist fairly and also being detailed when giving answers and art direction 😂 for me it’s 10x more difficult when someone is vague or just says “do whatever feels right”. As a designer it’s our job to bring your vision to fruition so the more detail the better

[nerfinfineon]

“Don’t compare yourself to Sanderson” is the absolute best advice of the whole video 😂 so true

[therenegadebard]

Before Tor, I self published for 10 years, starting into 2011. And for 10 years I've been screaming for people to get their book edited. Writers like me, Michael G. Manning, Daniel Arenson, Michael J. Sullivan (You heard me. He started out self-published) and others fought tooth and nail for respect and recognition. We had zero resources and were the constant target for critics. You can't imagine how much I hate hearing someone say they don't need an editor. Or say they'll edit their book after it's published. After everything we went through and all the sh!t we had to take....yeah....get a damn editor. :)
I and the other writers I named have had wonderful indie careers. I alone sold more than 500k copies of my indie books, not counting audio. So it can be done. It makes me happy to see it when writers like you, Daniel, care enough to do it right.

[woahitscorrina]

Me at every step: Write that down, write that down!

[elizamb]

It's definitely true that you're going to hate whatever you have written for a while. I've deleted so much of my work. Don't do that. Save your ideas, your future-self will thank you.

[milospollonia]

Daniel is writing stoned. That's the lesson I take from this. Write stoned.

[butterandcompany]

"Don't compare yourself to Sanderson, " -the writing advice we all need

[ladyhoratia]

I've been writing for almost seven years now and I have never been able to get anything published. i might actually try self publish. thank you Daniel for giving me hope

[RavenGrave]

Speaking as an artist, I love it when people give detailed feedback EARLY ON. Especially since I do traditional art, someone saying, "Oh I love it!" in the sketches and pencils, and then hours of work and fifteen layers in in, saying "Oh...no the hair is wrong, it needs to be shorter!" helps no one, because at that point, it is very, VERY difficult to change things. Clarify things, ask questions, give notes, and if you're not sure or unhappy about something? Say so! It's your art and you are involved in the process!

[Hero_Of_Old]

Step 1-actually finish the first paragraph of my book

[animefreakazoid]

But let’s be real, you give your cat your writing, the feedback will be brutal.

[adamgrogory]

As someone who is both a very big fan of Daniel, and an aspiring future writer, I am very thankful for this video

[sarahkendall]

One thing I would say as an Editor is be prepared to going 'blind', so don't be surprised if a Proof reader misses something that another Editor/Proof Reader picks up on. Also, accept the fact that there will always be errors in your work, no matter how many times you and however many people read it, it's an accepted fact in the industry that you are not going to catch everything. And finally, if your work has some kind of stylised writing keep a style guide - its basically a cheat sheet for you and your proof readers to use when checking for consistency, so for example do all your Goblin characters speak in italics? If so, put that in your Style Guide, or do you want your work written in British English (including the correct comma style?) Then put it in your Style Guide! :)

[helenthehobbitwilliams]

Even though I have no intention of writing a book, let alone publishing one, I found this video very interesting 😁

[Exeidur]

I was pretty curious about this, working at a publishing company. I think the biggest surprise to me was the 'you get the book and check every page; you're going to find mistakes'. We definitely don't check every single page, and there'll always be at least a few errors in the final work. These usually get sifted out after the first few printings, but not all of them get caught.
It rarely happens that the cover isn't alligned correctly, since there are pretty standard sizes and we're publishing tonnes of books a year. But I can see this being a bigger issue when you self publish.

So thanks for the insight! And congrats on publishing your book successfully :)

[donk]

I’ve been a self published author since 2014 and it’s always a painful experience, but it’s also a very satisfying experience. I have full creative control, I get to choose who I want to edit and proof read my novel, someone I trust, and I get to choose who to design my cover and any illustrations if needed. The hardest part of self publishing I find if the marketing. Oh god the self marketing! It’s a constant battle but I wouldn’t change it for anything!