What it’s really like being an independently published author

You have been lied to.

Forget the ‘Make $1000 a day’ or ‘How to get RICH quick with KDP’ videos on YouTube. I am telling you now. They are complete bullshit.

                Think about it; why would anybody do anything other than sell books on KDP if it was that easy to make money? And not only that, if you discovered a secret money pile, would you really tell everyone about it? It’s clickbait. And I feel that you, like me, have been on that hook many times.

I have been selling books independently using Amazon KDP for around two years now. Let me save you a lot of pain in the long run and allow me to break your heart quickly.

                It is not easy. It is not a get-rich-quick scheme. I have been a delivery driver, a carer for disabled children, and even a police officer. And running a business as an independent author is by far the hardest job I have ever had to do.

And yet, I and thousands of others still do it. Not because I want to get rich quickly (even though I wouldn’t mind having a few more zeros in my bank account generated from book sales), but because I must write stories. I must get them out of my head. I must see what the characters get up to and I am their guide, as they too guide me through the narrative.

                So that said, is KDP a fool’s game? Far from it. Is it possible to make a living, even a great living from selling books online? Absolutely. But is it easy? Not a cat in hell’s chance.

The Three Questions

Firstly, if you want to sell books on KDP, you have to ask yourself are you prepared to invest money into book covers and editors.

                Are you willing to spend money on adverts, keywords and marketing?

                Are you willing to spend hours and hours not only writing a book, but editing it, sending it out to beta readers, Advanced Copy Readers, build a network of other writers and readers in the hope that with enough time, effort and tears you will eventually be able to make a living out of doing this?

If you answered No to a single one of those questions, then give up now and don’t bother. But if you answered Yes to all of them, then you are about to embark on an amazing journey.

                Like the heroes in the stories we write, being an independent author is filled with a roller coaster of emotions. I remember the first time I was able to buy a meal with the royalties I got from my debut novel The Space Between Heaven and Hell. I remember my first bad review on The Everlife Chronicles. I remember the amazing interviews I have had with writers on my Instagram, and the first YouTube video I uploaded that got comments.

                Self-publishing is an incredible thing to make a living from if you have a realistic mindset about it all. It won’t be overnight, and if you can’t defer gratification then this is not the career for you.

                When I first started self-publishing, I devoured everything I could about the subject. Some things stuck, and others didn’t. I made mistakes. I wasted money. I bought courses that promised a quick fix. I bought budget book covers that still give me nightmares. I skipped out on the editing. I overpaid for ads. All to chase the dream.

But there is something that comes from fucking up. You get experience. You lick your wounds, and you get back up and get back in front of the keyboard and you crunch away. You will always make mistakes. You will always have more to learn, and you will pick yourself up more times than you can count and get back to it.

                So for the budding author reading this. I thank you. Not only for reading my blog, but for chasing your dream in the pursuit of writing stories.

                If you are looking to embark on this journey, then I implore you to read on to my next blog, ‘How to Market as an Indie Author.’