Would you like:
30,000 books sold in 3 years
Over 200,000 books in the hands of readers
70% of book sales paid straight into your bank account (monthly – not twice a year)
Your books in libraries, book shops, on the Internet, shared and talked about in book groups, reviewed by top book bloggers and in magazines …?
In addition to this I’ve got:
9 books published – 6 novels & 3 non-fiction – and 3 more on the way this year (at least), and,
Loads of loyal, happy readers; a growing email list; and an industry standing that is increasing all the time.
The Great News …
Does this add up to self-publishing stardom? Well, it’s all relative, isn’t it? Not the dizzy heights of the likes of Bella Andre and Hugh Howey, but in three short years this writing career of mine has been one that many a traditionally published author would have been happy with, I’m sure.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “I’d like all that too,” the great news is – You can! You can do it right now, today – you don’t have to wait for anyone to give you the green light. Self-publishing is the great leveler – it really is for everyone. If you’ve written a book, or are in the process of writing a book, and if you want that book to get in the hands of readers, you’re almost there.
And Better News!
If you feel a little overwhelmed, the even better news is that The Writers’ Workshop and myself have developed a unique, exclusive online course that gives you one-to-one, step-by-step guidance for your personal self-publishing journey. Together with a small group of enthusiastic learners you will build your skills and learn insider-knowledge to get your author career off to a flying start. Find out more about the course here. This is the kind of stuff you cannot find on the Internet! (And includes a lot of hand-holding by me should you need it.) The next start date is on the 5th January so there’s still time to sign up if getting your book into print is one of your 2016 new year resolutions! (If that’s too soon for you there are other start dates throughout the year – check out the course page for more details.) We are only in the early stages of sharing our hopes and fears prior to the course beginning and we’d love to welcome you on board if you’re ready to take the plunge and invest in yourself right now.
Now For The Bad News …
Oh, wait – there is no bad news! It used to be that the sting in the tail of self-publishing was that ‘indie’ authors weren’t taken seriously (at best), or were ridiculed and excluded and sworn at and … Well, you get the idea. But look how things have changed. Readers don’t care, and most of the time can’t tell the difference anyway, and the publishing industry regularly reaches out to try and sign self-published authors, who often as not say, No, thank you very much, I’d like to keep my royalties to myself and my creative freedom intact. As for me, I’ve got BIGGGGG plans for 2016 – and I can’t wait to keep on sharing my journey with you.
Joanne Phillips 
January 3, 2016 at 7:30 pm
Congratulations!
January 4, 2016 at 11:17 am
Thanks Rosie x
January 3, 2016 at 11:51 pm
I am interested but I live in Australia ( expat Brit). How useful and relevant would the course be for me?
January 4, 2016 at 11:24 am
Hi Sonia,
The course is written for the worldwide market, not just the UK or US. Successful indie authors need to ‘think global not local’, and ebooks make that easy to do, breaking down the physical barriers like shipping costs ect. And of course, Amazon has its own dedicated KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) platform in Australia, so you won’t have any problems uploading your books. All the content included in the course will be applicable wherever in the world the author is based, and the specific homework and research projects we undertake together can be geared to your own markets and readership needs. Hope this helps, and do get in touch if you need to find out anything more.
Jo x
January 7, 2016 at 12:10 am
Thanks for the answer to my question – now I have another, my WIP is 40,000 a draft- I envisage about 60,000 words and need to complete it. Would it be better to have completed before I take the course? Have suggested the course would make a fabulous birthday present for me this year. My birthday is April – could be just the motivation to get going.
January 12, 2016 at 8:48 am
Hi Sonia,
It’s a bit of a yes and no answer to be honest. On the one hand, yes it would be good to have a book ready to publish, because then all of the skills you learn – on the technical side – can be put into practice straight away. On the other hand, much of what makes a first book launch successful is achieved months before the book is actually published (as those on the course are learning right now). There are so many networking and promotional opportunities you could be making the most of right now, like building up a ready-readership for your book before it’s finished, that it would be a shame to put off doing the course if there is stuff here that would help you – and I think there is. Besides, if your birthday is in April you’re an Aries (like me), so chances are you’ll have finished the book by then anyway and be raring to go 😉
Hope that helps – do get in touch via the contact page, which comes straight to my email inbox so I’ll see it more quickly, if you’ve got any other questions.
Best wishes,
Jo x
January 4, 2016 at 11:34 am
Congratulations, Jo, sounds like a great new venture for you! Good luck with all your plans for 2016.
January 5, 2016 at 9:23 am
Thanks Marina, very excited for 2016 – how about you? 🙂 x
January 5, 2016 at 8:24 am
Joanne, you make it sound very easy. It isn’t! I am currently re formatting and uploading my THREE previous books from a small publisher to my own banner. It is a NIGHTMARE …constant checking of proofs, dealing with Kindle & Createspace, who don’t ‘speak’ to each other. Yes, I think it is better for authors to self-pub & keep more of their hard earned money..BUT this should come with a warning: it is HARD HARD work to get it right…to get an inferior product is easy….wish people who write these blogs would mention all the backbreaking work…and it isn’t just me…I’ve checked with a few friends who are also self pub. and they are all reporting problems . I’m doing mine with the help of a systems analyst who knows what she’s doing..and it’s STILL problematic.
January 5, 2016 at 8:58 am
Hi Carol,
I’m so glad you raised this point, and you’re absolutely right – many people do struggle with some aspects of the self-publishing process, which is EXACTLY why The Writers’ Workshop wanted to provide this course! Some authors find the technical side frustrating, as you are right now; others hit a brick wall with marketing, while many first time self-publishing authors might find parts of the process difficult that you’ll actually breeze through.
What frustrates me is that is so much information around now that is offered as ‘free’, when it’s really only drawing people into bolt-on courses that cost stacks of money. This free webinar or that free ebook, only to find that the meaty information is contained in a ‘special price offer’ add-on. What we’ve produced here is upfront and value for money, bringing together years of experience and research, and offering it in a unique way that gives writers looking to self-publish for the first time a genuine head start, and chance to connect with other SP authors, and a clear guide to avoid all those nightmare scenarios you mentioned. And where in the course page does it say it’s not hard work? 😉 Week Four is actually titled ‘Now The Hard Work Starts’! That’s week four, the end of the course, clearly signposting that this old self-publishing journey is not a breeze but a set of skills you can learn and then apply – and hard work to boot.
I think that the people who write these kinds of posts are the type of people who want to share the knowledge they’ve spent years developing – they don’t want to sit back and watch others struggle while only telling them how hard it is. Yes, it can be hard – although many authors I know breeze through the entire process. But focusing on the positive shows us that there are enough rewards to make the hard work worthwhile 🙂
January 12, 2016 at 10:50 pm
I am 12 days late wishing you happy new year. Here’s hoping 2016 brings lots more of what you mention above, and happy times besides.
January 14, 2016 at 12:18 pm
Thanks Pauline, and a happy new year to you too 🙂 I hope you have a productive – and relaxing – 2016. Can those two things coexist? Let’s try to make them! 🙂 x
January 13, 2016 at 12:02 pm
This sounds like a really good course. I stumbled across it while looking for something else. I’ve bookmarked it for future reference. (Also made a note of Carol H’s comment – I’ve heard similar from many people!).
January 14, 2016 at 12:17 pm
That’s great, Rhoda, and I’m really glad you stumbled across us! 🙂 Be assured that all of those annoying technical glitches are walked-through on the course, with access to help at the end of an email should you run into any other problems while uploading your books in the future.