The post was updated in February 2024.

“And then one day someone tells you maybe you were mistaken. And your life won’t be what you imagined it to be.”

Ann Leckie

How I Self-Publish in 2024

Making a plan

Plans are good. When I travel, I like knowing where I will sleep and where I will eat. I like spontaneous exploration, but when I’m jet lagged, I need a plan to know where I will go to eat (cuts down on my anxiety). Traveling to foreign countries is a test of my survival skills and my faith. I make writing plans too. Sometimes, I write an outline, or I might decide how many words I will write today. Planning ahead makes me feel safe, so I don’t worry about where I am and where I’m going in my life. My future is secure.

You never know what tomorrow brings, but here it comes. Let’s make a plan for self-publishing in 2024.

Step 1 Write your story

This is the creative part and it basically boils down to this one simple instruction: write the story!

You can do this.

Outline first, if you must.

Or become the panther that stalks down the story like prey, that bouncing off-topic, because you can, that wanders way too far in the jungle. Worry not, panthers do not get lost. They’re on a mission.

I am a panther. I write semi-outlines, make a character study, and get some of the world details down and then I become a daydreamer. Lately, I have learned to just babble, to let the story tell itself. I guide it, as best I can. I get frustrated when I can’t figure out what’s going on.

You will always face down writer’s block. It is a roadblock. (Life is another.) You can use the Artist’s Way to get back your creative vibe, you can face down the embarrassing moments. And then start planning. Break your writing into multiple goals and those goals can have their own plans of attack. Small baby steps (like that anime I loved called Baby Steps about a newbie tennis player becoming a professional and falling for his talented teammate. Ah so cute!).

Whatever process you use, learn to love that process and get your story written. Make it beautiful.

A Quick Overview of My Process

1. Writing (Each book is like a different puzzle when you are a Panther-style writer.)
2. Then the first set of Revisions.
3. Next, let your Beta readers read it. ( I have two lovely readers, and my mother will always read my books).
4. Then second revisions and third revisions and… (yes… Polishing can last forever, years even. Changeling Fate, was written in my twenties, but not published until last year, because I finally decided this story is good enough.)
5. Then comes Copy-editing (grammar, oh boy, are you ready? and proofreading.

Roles of a Self-Published Writer

Here is my theory of the roles of a self-published author. There are distinct yet overlapping aspects to the process.

First. you have a creative part, including the physical, tactile act of writing. This is the most personal aspect, where no one else can help you with this part. You make all the decisions. You craft your characters and invent their world. This can result in your messy first draft. You can get help for things like world-building, but that’s really in the next part.

Next, editing. The editor takes charge. This can happen before you start writing if you outline first. This is where you critique, review, and revise the story elements. It might be character, plot, setting, or the world. This also includes grammar and copy edits. It’s not creative or active, but there are times when you have to dip back into the creative part as you fix it. You can get help from others. In fact, you should get help for this part. Especially, to get feedback. It makes a world of difference. This part ultimately creates the final story.

Then you have the role of critic. This is when you act as a beta reader for someone else, or you read a book and write a review. It’s consuming and buying books. The key to this aspect is your emotional experience of something someone else has created. This is tied particularly to the editing aspect because if you know how stories are edited, you know what’s missing or what makes it amazing.

And there is the marketing/publishing aspect, the business side of selling your story or giving it away, but ultimately getting recognition for your hard work. This is when you design a book cover, pick your keywords, and write a clever summary or back copy. The end goal is to present your book to the world in a professional manner. This last part is an entire industry from graphic designers, publishers, and analytics.

When I started self-publishing, I was only familiar with the creative, editing, and critic roles.

How did self-publishing work for me?

In December 2017 I wrote Book 1 of an urban fantasy trilogy called Fairy Doctor. I made a rough draft, I fixed up the loose ends, and I gave it to my beta readers. (This meant my best friend, my writing friend, and my mom. Yep. That’s it. I’m still looking for beta readers, please contact me if you want to help, know any beta readers, or where I can find them. I’m willing to trade stories if you’re interested.)

When it came time for copy-editing, for my first book I ignored all the advice around the internet and tackled it myself. It’s not the most professional route, but I hope this will change in the future. I have used the online web app called ProWritingAid.com. It’s wonderful but has severe limitations if you use the free version. Your word count is limited to 500 words and if you’re trying to work on a book, then it’s a very very slow process of copy and paste. Grammarly is good for similar reasons and I’m using it more now because the widgets work better in a web browser.

I worked chapter by chapter, going through grammar and improving the overall style, removing passive voice and generic descriptions. I look at my sticky sentences in particular. Because often these sentences are dry, undescriptive and use a lot of ‘sticky words’ like ‘maybe’, ‘very’, and ‘quite. After I finished my review, I printed out a copy of the book. Yes, a physical hard copy. I read through it looking for errors and inconsistencies, checking capitalization. I’ve worked through my book at least 5 times at this point, if not more.

After I received recommendations from beta readers, I read through them to make any necessary revisions. The second time during my copy-editing phase, I reviewed the manuscript with Pro-writing/Grammarly help. Third was the hard copy proofreading, and the fourth was a check inside Kindle Create. Then lastly when I reviewed the book for the paperback version.

But really, once you have your story written, edited, and proofread, then you’re ready for the next step.

Step 2 Self-publishing

This is when you take on the role of publisher and this includes the marketing and selling of your book. It’s often called passive income, but it still requires a lot of work upfront. (Yes, I’m looking at you, AI novel generators and I’m very displeased. This is not how I do things, but more about that below.)

Marketing is about finding your audience. Your readers.

And making sure they know that you know, that we both should be best friends, and you should buy my book. No pressure.

Marketing is detailed. But I recently made a post about ‘how I became a marketing genius’. It is a journey into marketing and how I decided to move forward with it. There are so many resources out there for marketing your book.

You can use social media. Build an email list and have a newsletter. You can sell at writing conventions (in person!)

You can publish your book on Amazon. I use Kindle Create to make my Amazon books. They are a quick and easy way to upload your writing document. And they become a professional-looking book with that fancy front matter and table of contents that work correctly. This is a free program that Amazon provides (probably so they can encourage professional books).

I also use Draft2Digital for every other platform. They also allow you to upload a .doc file and will create the book for you with chapter headings and table of contents. They provide custom back matter, which includes sign-up links and what other books you’ve published through them. They make it easy to publish.

What else to do to self-publish?

• I made a website.
• Where can I find free stuff for my website?
• I designed a book cover. And then I experimented with AI to make this book cover for the Thorn Path.
• I designed and printed business cards.
• Free E-book promotion! I have one of those. You can download the free e-book here!

Step 3 Repeat

Oh!

Is that it? Easy, right?

Hardly. I am on step 3 right now.

I am deep in the swampy stages of marketing my books. My goal is to sell a few more this year than last year. And to finish more stories. In 2024 I want to finish the last book in my trilogy (it took me long enough!). I have a Vella story named The Thorn Path, which I wrapped up recently (still available for LIMITED TIME ONLY), and I hope to have it out by the end of the year. I’m going to start putting my stories out on the blog even more because that is my new marketing strategy. (Stories everywhere, watch out!) And I have another writing project I hope to get off the ground soon about dragons racing! Yes, three writing projects. I ricochet between them. (Okay, it’s more like I focus on one each month.)

I have a friend who writes. She had a pen name too for a while, Nikki Kincaid. And wrote mysteries full of complex characters in dark dangerous words, with a small slice of romance. (I’m always petitioning for more romance.) Then she started putting herself out there with her real name: Kendra Lisum and has a ghost story giveaway. Go download this right now and sign up for her newsletter. Because then the fun starts. Kendra writes the best newsletters. (I love her stories. Like about the telegram solving a murder mystery and how she faces the world as a creative.)

We give each other advice on how to self-publish. Her friendship means so much to me. So, I hope you find other writers who can give you that push and encouragement. I hope to find more! (Give me a shout if you want to connect) I can’t express even a tenth of how much she means to me as a friend and writer.

In Summary: Three Steps to Self-Publish Your Work

1. Step 1 Write your best book
2. Step 2 Decide on marketing goals and make a plan that works for you.
3. Step 3 Write more.

Search for communities and opportunities for indie and self-published authors, and start building your self-publishing career! At least, that sounds like a solid plan.

More Resources for Self-publishing and marketing

• Reedsy (You can connect with professional editors and designers, or you can browse their expert-level blog posts, such as “How to launch your book in 6 steps.”)
• ProWriting Aid has events and blog posts with brilliant advice, like this one about the four stages of editing.
• IndieUnlimited.com features ebook and print book deals. (Every month there is a party (aka new promotion) for print books.)
• BookBub has loads of good resources for Marketing research, and a massive mailing list if you want to pay for promotions, then they are worth the return-on-investment! (Good marketing term there, not that I have proof yet. This is just my personal assessment from researching.)
• Best Book Monkey is another source I’m using to reach out to readers and other authors. Plus they have free and discount e-books. Find your next favorite.
• Goodreads allows you to post questions/answers and connect with other readers and writers. (Here’s more info on what to do as a Goodreads Author. Plus I noticed that liking someone’s review sends them an email. Is this like guerilla marketing?)

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A little background about this project

In autumn 2017, after years of writing only as a hobby, and occasionally querying agents, I decided to self-publish. I made a writing plan, and for various reasons, I quit my job. This gave me time to focus. I published my first book in 2018, called Fairy Doctor Falls in Love, and I made a prequel called Fairy Doctor Returns. (I know, I know my title choices are questionable.)

Once I set up the ‘business’ side of my self-publishing, I struggled to write the sequels. Eventually, I ended up going back to school to get a second degree in media arts. (I studied everything from film, illustration, web design, making games, creative coding, and motion design and animation) Flash forward two years: moving to a new city, two new jobs, an internship, and a global pandemic. Phew.

I finished my degree in November 2020. I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. I treat my writing more like a hobby again. Don’t worry, I have a plan. I studied some of this design and marketing stuff. Now it’s time to put it into practice. Take responsibility. I’m paying for this website, after all, I might as well use it. Plus, I have many more stories to share with everyone. So many stories.

The first time I wrote this blog post it was called ‘How to self-publish in 2018’. And I made the following confession:

“So, the truth is I have no idea what I’m doing, or if I’m doing it right, or if I will succeed. I gave myself 6 months to start this self-publishing business. I’ve reached that point; I’m going to run out of money soon. This blog post needs to have a question mark added to it. How do you self-publish in 2018?

There are so many books out there. My own is just one among a sea of letters, but it’s out there and I’m proud of that. I will get the next one finished.”… ca 2018.

That is still relevant. I am still stumbling around the internet, researching and figuring out how to self-publish. I have updated this page with more information and new images. What a meandering path I’m taking. I’m still very lost, so chime in with advice, or criticism, or just to say hello.

About Ava Clary

Who am I? A writer in her early forties now! Still passionate about writing and traveling. Ava Clary is my pseudonym. (Sounds way more sophisticated than it is.) Maybe someday soon I’ll publish something under my real name. I found it liberating to invent Ava, to give her a Google Account, to have Ava’s name on the book cover as the author of my silly stories. (They are silly on purpose. They have ridiculous fairies in them and I make inside jokes. I try not to take myself too seriously.) I will still work very hard as Ava to make my stories the best they can be. I’m here to have fun and to bring new stories into the world. I hope you will support me by buying my books.

Best of luck, Ava