north east regional extra | February 5 - 11, 2020
nemedia.com.au
1.
February 5 - 11, 2020
Self-publishing a real option
◆ SELF LOVE: Self-publishing is more accessible these days, no matter your genre. PHOTO: Kieren Tilly
By SIMONE KERWIN FOR some writers, the decision to self-publish their book has too many negative connotations, and they allow their work to remain unseen rather than enter the platform; for others, like local author Belinda Harrison, it’s an option chosen willingly. Belinda is now three books deep into her self-publishing journey with the ‘Thermopylae Bound’ series. “It’s definitely not something that everyone wants to do, or can commit to the
time it takes,” Belinda said. “For myself, it’s only been in the last couple of years that I’ve been ready to look into what self-publishing really consists of and make the decision to do it.” The six books in her LGBTQIA epic fantasy/ romance series were already written before she started on the self-publishing journey. While she had queried a few national publishers, they couldn’t quite see where they might fit in the market and, being from a new author, they weren’t prepared to take on the risk.
“I completely understand the decision; the series definitely crosses a number of genres, and would be hard for a marketing department to pin down,” Belinda said. “I suppose that’s the advantage of self-publishing - I can tap into and find my own ‘people’ on social media and on the internet who love those cross-genre books or one of the aspects my books offer, and are willing to take a chance on it without spending a lot of money.” Belinda said while there were many advantages to releasing your own book, you were also then responsible for everything - from the
cover design, to having your work professionally edited, which platform/s to release it on, who will print the hard copies and how many should be printed, along with all the sales, and marketing and promotional aspects including explaining to people why they should buy your book, why they’ll enjoy it, and where they can get it. “It’s definitely not for the fainthearted, and there are many times in the past couple of years where I’ve questioned my own decision and wondered if I should just abandon the whole thing,” Belinda said.
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