Welcome to a new occasional series called “How’d They Do That?” It’s all about people who have successfully done amazing, hard things. The things you might want to do. I’m sharing their best tips with you!
We are kicking the series off with Bethany Boring, who recently self-published her book Unmasked: The Journey from Surviving to Thriving. Bethany is a certified life coach, award-winning speaker, cancer-survivor, wife and mom of three adorable little boys. Their family motto is “The Borings are not boring!” and no truer words have been spoken!
God has taken Bethany on an amazing journey and she wanted to share that journey to inspire and encourage others. She looked at several routes to publishing her book. She didn’t have the giant platform that traditional publishers were looking for. She didn’t have thousands of dollars to purchase a self-publishing package from one of the do-it-all self-publishing companies.
What she DID have was the assurance that God gave her a message to share, and a willingness to learn. With some patience, research and time, she embraced the learning process and successfully published a high-quality book without breaking the bank.
Bethany’s top tips for self-publishing on a budget
1. Pray about your goals
Let’s face it. It’s unlikely you are going to make a million dollars from a self-published book. It happens, but it’s rare. For Bethany, it was important to get her story down on paper for her boys (read her book and you’ll understand why!). She also wanted a resource for her friends and coaching clients. She was realistic about her goals from the beginning and the results have far surpassed her expectations.
2. Do Your Research
Pretty much everything you need to know is available for free online. Facebook groups are full of people who know how to do this and are anxious to help. The Christian Indie Authors Network offers several Facebook groups on different aspects of self-publishing that contain a wealth of information. You can choose how much or how little you participate, but just reading the old posts is a great education.
Another great source of information is your audience. You already have an audience, even if you don’t know it! Every friend, family member or acquaintance who has ever said, “Hey! You should write a book about that!” (like you’ve never thought of that yourself, bless their hearts) is part of your audience. Ask them whether they prefer e-books or paperbacks, narrative or workbook style, etc. Their input will influence some of the decisions you make along the way.
3. Build Your Network
Bethany suggests starting early to build relationships with other authors and bloggers. While it seems like there are millions of them, the Christian writing and blogging community is actually a very close-knit group. They want to help others be successful and will be your biggest cheerleaders and sources of information.
But don’t just be a taker … be a giver also! Promote their work, serve on their launch teams, buy their books. You will help them out and also learn what might work when it is your turn to promote and launch.
4. Accept Help
People want to help you. Really. They do. Bethany has a friend who believed in what she was doing and did all of the graphic design for free!
You can also barter services. Bethany swapped some coaching sessions in exchange for professional editing. So look at what you have to offer someone else and try to work a WIN-WIN deal.
5. Buy Carefully
When it comes down to it, you may have to pay for some services. Check with the network you have built to get recommendations. For editing, formatting and printing, you will hand them your heart and soul in your manuscript, so be sure you choose reputable people.
Bethany found a reasonably-priced formatter in Australia who was recommended in one of the Facebook groups. Unfortunately, their price did not include a trip to Australia for a face-to-face approval meeting :).
It wasn’t an option for Bethany to hand over the manuscript and have someone else do the rest, and it may not be one for you. But with a lot of research, a supportive network to help and reputable services for what she couldn’t get done herself, Bethany was able to get her precious words in print.
If she can do it, you can, too. You may not get it all right the first time, but you will learn a lot and grow in the process.
Connect With Bethany
Order your signed copy of Unmasked at Bethany’s website. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Periscope (her scopes are so much fun!)
RESOURCES
Download this list of resources Bethany and others have used to self-publish their books.
[email-download download_id=”718″ contact_form_id=”716″]
Thanks to Bethany, Rachel Britton and Jeff Goins for contributing to this list.
RESPOND
Do you have other tips for self-publishing on a budget? How about ideas for other things you’d like to see covered in the “How’d They Do That?” series? Share them in the comments!
Linking up with Crystal Storms at #IntentionalTuesday, Rachel at Garay Treasures and Mssional Women at #FaithFilledFriday
33 thoughts on “How’d They Do That? Self-Publishing on a Budget”
Leave a Reply to Christa Cancel reply
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Thank you Christa and Bethany for sharing your insight and valuable information 🙂
Sarah –
You are on an amazing publishing journey! I can’t wait!
Thank you so much Bethany for your information and Christa for sharing it with us. This is some information I can use.
Thank you!
Thanks, Jeanie! Glad it was helpful!
Jeanie –
So glad you are putting this info to use! Any plans?
I love these tips, specially the one of asking for help! Many times we struggle more than we should because we refuse to ask for help.
Thanks for sharing.
Xoxo Gema
Yea, why do we do that to ourselves?? Thank you for stopping by, Gema!
I’m one of those stubborn strong-willed personalities, yet asking for help within the writing communities was so easy! Building relationships was essential to even starting the writing process as I had little confidence! Great takeaway!
Congratulations on your book! You are right. There is a lot of information available about how to self-publish a book. Most of it is good and some of it is just not that helpful. It’s important to keep in mind that publishing is just part of the process. Pre-writing (figuring out your why, your who and your what) is just as important as writing. Figuring out how you will deliver it to the people that really need to read your book before you start is really important, too. It’s terrific that you did it!
Oh yes – I LOVE talking about how to setermibe your why, how and who! So incredibly vital to a good foundation. One of the best starting points I had was writing a letter to myself, representing a reader that had just completed my book. I wrote the goals I wanted the reader to have long after the book was put down. Great thoughts!
I do like these tips, especially number one. Even if you don’t pray, per se (as it happens, I do) you need to know why you’re doing this work – and it is massively hard work. But it’s a lot of fun when you see the result.
Anne – Amen! And even if the result isn’t right away, that burning message inside of you that keeps you awake at night, finally has roots! God can and will move mountains!
Great post and helpful information to know! Look forward to reading the rest of the series 🙂
I second this! I can’t wait for the rest of the series! Christa does a great job of breaking projects down into attainable goals!
Thanks for sharing this information. I’m looking for tips about self-publishing and this is great! Thanks
I’m so glad you found this post! If I can be of any assistance, please let me know! I’d love to help!
my hubby keeps encouraging me to go the self-published route but it’s so overwhelming just thinking about it! thanks for the encouragement!
Laura –
What a GREAT source of encouragement! Seriously, start by asking him more about what type of book he wants you to write – start dreaming! If you need any help, I’m here to encourage you as well!
Thank you so much for this great information and encouragement. I’m working on self-publishing my first book right now. I appreciate all the help!
Elizabeth – I’m so glad to hear you are on this journey! Are you forming a launch team? Let me know!
A great inspiration – thank you! I feel like I’ll be looking into self publishing in the future and I’m starting to read tips and thoughts about it now… It still feels scary 🙂
Karen – I remember the second I held my book in my hands for the first time…it was exciting and so very vulnerable at the same time! When we decide to put our words out there, I think it’s normal to have a level of fear. It’s new territory and increases our faith! You can do this!
Thank you Bethany and Christa for these great suggestions! And Bethany, as always, thank you for being so authentic and sharing your story. You are an inspiration! Blessings!
I’m so glad you came by Staci! I agree …. Bethany is an inspiration!
Thanks for sharing Bethany’s story and her journey – and all the valuable information! So inspiring!
I hope it was helpful to you, Clare! Thanks for stopping by!
Ah! This list is so helpful! I am in the process of publishing my first e-book and I am definitely needing this encouragement. Thank you <3
Raewyn, I saw your ebook launch and it looks awesome! Way to go!
All of these tips are excellent, but #4 particularly resonated with me. I’m terrible at accepting help and even worse at asking for it. Your suggestion to barter is a great one, and I plan to utilize your advice for an upcoming post I’m working on!
– Liz @ Downtown Demure
Asking for help is so hard. But people really do want to help! Be sure to share your post with me so I can see how you put the tips into action!
Thanks for sharing these tips as I myself (and a few other poeple I know) would love to publish books one day but don’t know the cheapest routes so this was VERY helpful.
Thank you for linking up to “Bloggers Who Have Inspired Me”
Rachel xo
Garay Treasures
Thanks, Rachel! I enjoyed your linkup and look forward to coming back!
Christa and Bethany — Thank you so much for sharing about your journey and pouring your insight into others! May God bless each of your ministries as you continue to walk His path!
Blessings,