What it takes to be an indie author

May 29, 2025 I’m sometimes overwhelmed by the number of skills necessary to self-publish a book. In no exact order, over the past eight months, I’ve:

• set up my business (created a name and a logo, registered the business and the book, opened a dedicated bank account),

• had the novel line edited, copy edited, and proofread, each time carefully reading through the results—this on top of already having read the thing so many times I have to keep my eyes from crossing,

• had the cover designed, written the cover copy, done some of the interior designing (learning about fonts, serifs, and fleurons), worked with a formatter to produce the book into ebook and print versions,

• created a website, and had it redesigned (thank you, MacMedia!),

• recorded the audiobook (note to fellow writers: when you read your book aloud you find many things, even when you thought it was finished, that you just have to change. I will always read my future books aloud before getting an outside editor involved). Now my patient husband is helping me edit the audiobook—steep learning curve—how do you cut and paste corrections into the sound file? How do you break up long chapters into separate ones? Should you cut out all breaths, or just the really loud ones?

With the editing and formatting of the ebook and print book nearly finished, I’m putting on my marketing hat and have signed up for a “virtual book tour” in September, in which the tour organizer will send my book to her network of bloggers and Bookstagrammers to get reviews around the September 26 launch date. I’m studying other marketing techniques to decide which will be cost-effective and—most importantly—which I can enjoy doing and not feel like a pushy jerk!

Bottom line: it’s a ton of work and a serious investment of time and money. But it’s incredibly gratifying to at last be fulfilling my lifelong ambition of holding my published book/s in my hands and getting it/them out into the world!