Things I Learned as a Self-Published Author

 In the summer of 2020, in the heat of the pandemic I decided that I wanted to publish a book I had been working on for the last six years. The only issue was I knew nothing about how to get my book out there. 

After looking around online for a bit I discovered Tellwell Publishing, and thought that they could help me bring my publishing dreams to life. Tellwell Publishing is a company based in BC and works to help Canadian indie authors get there books going. I learned that they offered a lot of services to help new authors like me, such as editing, marketing strategies and cover designs. They also do a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of getting your book available for sale. 

Yet, one of the most important things I learned through this whole process is to DO YOUR RESEARCH. It is important to do your own research because although Tellwell is a reputable and good company, there are scammers out there online who will take advantage of you if you don't know your stuff. 

It's important to look up the average costs of:

-editing services

-marketing services

-illustrations/cover designs

-distribution costs and how they affect your royalties

It is also important to look at the reviews of the company you are working for. 

For my second book, I used Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), and I really liked it. Amazon is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, online retailer in the world. You can buy just about anything on Amazon, so I figured if I wanted my book anywhere, I wanted it on there. 

KDP had one of the best and most extensive FAQ/guidelines pages that I have ever seen. It is full of amazing information about publishing your book and getting it ready for publishing. I used their tips and tricks in order to refine and fix up my formatting and make things look more professional. I am very happy with their services and how easy it was to publish my book.

BUT I needed to know about my own ISBN's and getting my own cover drawn and all those things I learned experience wise with the first book. SO as much as Amazon has important information in regards to publishing, having your own background knowledge on the process is crucial, too. 

Overall, I just want you to understand that if you don't know your stuff you're going to feel lost, or taken advantage of. This is a competitive field and it is hard to get yourself through the door and into the thick of it.