Writing Excuses 11.11: Self-Publishing in 2016, with Michaelbrent Collings

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Writing Excuses 11.11: Self-Publishing in 2016, with Michaelbrent Collings

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2016/03/13/11-11-self-publishing-in-2016-with-michaelbrent-collings/

Key points: Self-publishing. Indie. Kicked in the door, shot a bunch of people, and is casually sipping its whiskey at the bar over the dead bodies. But... It's a lot of work. The question is not "Can you get published?" The question now is, "Can you get noticed, read, and reread?" The secret to authors making a living is having other people sell their books. Also, your first book sucks. Be aware of the Dunning-Kruger effect. You are a business. Be objective about it. Kindle Select or diversify? Promotional lists? Investment? It depends. The big thing is volume -- once they read one great book, make sure they can find more! Best online resource to learn about self-publishing? Google. Lots of options, from small press, to farming it out, to DIY all the way.

( Do It Yourself? )

[Brandon] All right. So we're going to stop here for our homework. Actually, Michael's going to give us his favorite writing exercise.
[Michaelbrent] Okay. So take a first line of any book and turn it into a scary line. Take the scary line and create two separate short stories based on that scary line.
[Brandon] Oooh. That's cool. Thank you to our audience here, at Life, The Universe, and Everything.
[Whoo! Applause]
[Brandon] Thank you to Michael for being on the podcast with us.
[Michaelbrent] You're welcome.
[Brandon] This has been Writing Excuses. You're all out of excuses, now go write.
[Mary] Writing Excuses is a Dragonsteel Production, jointly hosted by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Taylor. This episode was mastered by Alex Jackson.