I self published my first novel (through Lulu.com) last year and I thought I would just share a few thoughts and ideas, especially in relation to marketing. Though I would not claim to be an enormous success (I doubt JK Rowling is quaking in her boots!!) I hope I have some hints and suggestions to pass on to others taking the same route.
The experience of using Lulu.com has largely been a positive one and it is a particularly good service for those, like me, who do not have money to spend up front. The distribution service has worked well and has allowed the book to become available in all major online retailers (Amazon, Waterstones et al). The actual quality of the books printed via Lulu is very high and compares well to those produced via major publishers. Although the print-on-demand costs can push up the unit cost of each book, I feel that on balance (especially with a helpful and vibrant on line community of members) their service is one I would recommend.
Other than actually writing the book (!) perhaps the biggest challenge facing the self published author is marketing it. Realistically, national media will rarely be interested in self published works so I began with a more local approach. Simply by sending inquiry emails I managed to secure interviews with papers such as the Ipswich Evening Star and the East Anglian Daily Times. When approaching the media I gave them an 'angle' for the story, namely that I had written much of the book during break times at work and this seemed to help generate interest. Don't rule out even more local publications either; a number of local 'advertiser' newspapers and magazines also ran articles after again, simple emails that I sent out. Such publications are very keen to hear local success stories (local author writes book) and are extremely supportive.
Following on from the newspaper coverage I was lucky enough to be offered an interview on BBC local radio - an opportunity that came from the producer of the show seeing an article in the local press. Although a daunting challenge, it was a great experience and one that raised the profile of the book.
Sending copies to national magazines and websites (especially those covering the fantasy/SF genre) for review can be expensive and time consuming and although I have had some good reviews, the major of my review copies have not resulted in actual reviews. How much you commit to this will depend on your budget of course but expect to spend a decent amount on postage etc with little promise of concrete returns.
I have also made use of the internet to offer the book as a free ebook download. Although this does not directly provide revenue it provides an invaluable method for reaching readers (and hundreds have downloaded it thus far) so if you can bear to offer your work for free then I think it can pay real dividends.
I hope this information is of some use to those writers out there taking or considering taking the self publishing route. In conclusion, I have found it a difficult but richly rewarding experience thus far. And if you are interested, my book can be found (and the ebook downloaded for no pence!) by clicking
here.