Guides to becoming a self-published writer – how many of them are worth the money?

Like many authors new to publishing on Amazon Kindle and other self-publishing platforms, I was keen to learn more about the subject. I wanted to make sure I was editing, formatting and publishing correctly, and making the right decisions regarding cover design, pricing and marketing. At times, I have a tendency to rush headlong into new projects, without doing the necessary groundwork first; so this time I wanted to make sure I was well prepared. I wanted to give my work the best possible chance of being found, bought and read!

Reading some of the e-books available on this subject has been enlightening to say the least - but, unfortunately, it’s not all good…

Like any area that people decide has 'get rich quick' potential, Kindle has been touted as a gold-mine. You just have to look at the titles of many of the e-books aimed at self-published authors. Titles along the lines of 'make a million on kindle', 'Kindle cash', 'how I made a million/thousands with Kindle' abound. We live in a quick fix, ‘I should be rich/happy/successful for no effort’ society, and making your fortune on Kindle holds a certain appeal. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many books on self-publishing available, and most of what’s out there is definitely riding the ‘be another (insert name of famous indie author here!) wave.

That said, there are many self-published authors – myself included – who have been writing for years and are delighted to have a means through which others can read our work – finally! I got my first check from Amazon last week - and did a dance around the house to celebrate. It may not be a fortune but its payment for doing something I love. That’s what most self-published authors are looking for – the chance to make a living at writing. I believe that the mirage of fame, fortune and mega-success is a trap for the unwary – one that many books on the subject perpetuate.

So for self-published (or planning to be self-published authors) out there – which guides to self-publishing are actually worth the money? Below I have listed the six most popular guides available on Kindle, and my opinion of their strengths and weaknesses. In alphabetical order by author they are:

Michael Alvear – Make a Killing on Kindle (Without Blogging, Facebook Or Twitter). The Guerilla Marketer’s Guide to Selling Ebooks
This writer takes a different approach from some of his competitors (as shown in the title); one that will appeal to those who have blogged, tweeted and Facebooked in a frenzy – with few or no resulting sales. The main premise of this book is as that you should market within Amazon (thus capturing those who are already looking for books like yours), rather than trying to market to the whole world when you are an unknown author. Some of his advice is good: creating a good title, masterful book description and dazzling cover art make sense, as does using Adwords and the Amazon search engine to make sure the keywords you use when uploading your work onto KDP get your book found. However, some advice, such as putting a billboard up on your competitors’ Amazon pages, is likely to get you in trouble with Amazon and is a bit irresponsible on his part. In all, Alvear has some good advice – but his ‘hard sell’ techniques will put off some authors.

John Locke – How I sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months!
John Locke is the guru of self-publishing success. His sales background is evident throughout his book. He’s pretty smooth and goes to great effort to make you feel as if he’s your friend, as if you’re sitting down for a chat over a beer together. He would even have you believe that this is not ‘an ego book’ and that he’s ‘giving’ you his secrets because he wants you to have his success. If you can bear to wade through all the waffle and self-promotion, Locke does have some valid advice; like writing for and marketing to a specific niche, and keeping within it. Find out who loves your books and tailor your marketing to find them. Recently, Locke took a bit of a hammering when people discovered that he had actually bought many of his reviews. Ethical matters aside (if someone wants to fork out money for fake reviews that’s their business I suppose), the main issue most people have, is that Locke doesn’t mention buying fake reviews in his book. When asked about why he did it, Locke became defensive and added that he wasn’t ashamed of what he’d done – but if that’s the case why did he not mention it in his book? You decide.

Michael Masters – Kindle Cash - The Beginner's Guide to Creating, Marketing, And Publishing On The Amazon Kindle
This book was a bit distracting to read at times, as it isn’t formatted very well – not a great start for a book teaching you how to self-publish! There’s also, like Locke’s book above, quite a bit of extraneous ‘padding’. Masters also takes the ‘we’re in this to make cash’ approach to extremes at times. He suggests that new non-fiction writers should write about the top three ‘bleeding neck’ subjects if they want people to buy their books. These are: relationships, money and health. However, if you’re a fiction author, this doesn’t really help you. Michael goes into a lot of detail on choosing and refining your niche – which is probably useful for self-help authors. Like Alvear, he details using Google Adwords to search for useful keywords and to isolate hot topics. This book rambles a bit, but there is some good advice scattered throughout – you just have dig a bit to find it!

Toby Neal – Building an Author Platform that can launch anything: A Social Media Mini-book
Neal comes from a sales background – and considering that half her very short book is actually the first two chapters of one of her novels – you can’t help but feel as if you’ve been had! She also mentions her novels continuously throughout the ‘mini-book’, which I found off-putting. She cites John Locke many times and most of her advice on writing to your target audience comes straight from him. Like Locke, she also enthuses about creating a blog and using twitter to promote your work. You will find some valid advice in this tiny book – however, it’s just too short and generalised to provide new authors with the assistance they need.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif – How I Made Over $42,000 in 1 Month Selling my Kindle ebooks
This book’s focus is on using Amazon KDP Select to promote your books and become a successful self-published author. She goes into detail about how she does this – and she has a lot of unique advice – rather than rehashed information from other authors – about blogging and using Twitter effectively. However, it is evident from the book that Tardif is a veteran self-published author and even runs her own publishing company. She has spent years becoming established, so her success on KDP Select shouldn’t come as such a great surprise! However, Tardif’s respect for writing and those who follow their passion is refreshing and inspirational. When marketing your book she suggests following the three E’s: Entertain, Educate and Escapism – so that you give your readers value – even if you're writing a marketing newsletter or blog post.

Zoe Winters - Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author
I’ve saved the best till last! Winters’ book is well written and researched, informative and doesn’t insult your intelligence (yes, some of the others do I’m afraid). Winters is not one of Amazon’s high rollers, but she makes a decent living out of her writing. She has taken a methodical, business-like approach to the entire process. She recommends creating your own business plan, having realistic expectations and accepting and moving on from ‘failure’ as part of what it means to be an indie author. Winters provides a wealth of information on the different avenues for indie publishing, as well as formatting your book for Kindle and Smashwords, editing, cover design, branding, marketing, ISBN numbers and registering for copyright – as well as a handy troubleshooting section. This book really is an indie author’s bible!

If my overview of the above six books teaches us nothing else, it's that if ‘so-called’ experts can’t agree on the recipe for success, there probably isn’t one! Of course, we all know this, deep-down, but the holy grail of the 'elusive easy answer' is a hard one to let go of. Researching this blog has taught me that you must write because you love it, because you want to share your writing with others, to entertain and provide escapism, or to teach. Frankly, if writing doesn’t light your fire then there are much easier ways to make money than becoming a self-published author!

To all of you who have actually finished this rather long blog – thank you for reading. I welcome your comments and thoughts on this subject and wish you all the best for your writing. Don’t ever give up!