I’ve been doing some very basic research on Kindle Direct Publishing — and I’m curious, what do you WordPress illuminati think about it?
Personally, I’m very intrigued — it seems like a fascinating tool to self-publish, completely doing an end-run around the paper-publishing brontosaurs.
Ultimately, this is all Top of the Mountain stuff, while I labor mightily on the slopes — but still rolling it around in my mind palace. [Sherlock reference — sorry, thought this was Tumblr for a second.]
Thoughts – opinions-actual experience?
spell-sword.com 
I don’t know about any of it, but my hubby keeps sending me articles, in case I get back to finishing my book. This one impressed him, not that I’ve read it yet… http://gigaom.com/2012/01/16/ratcliff-e-books/
Really good article — and get back to your book. BOOK GO.
I know, I know…I got over 25k words, went on holiday and never picked back up. That was over a year ago. The blog was, and does, inspire me to write. Now I just have to figure out how & where. Technology and no private space irritate me to no end…
I haven’t tried self-publishing myself, but what I’ve noticed from other people’s self published works is that they tend to often be poorly edited. This isn’t always a result of poor writers though, so my advice would be make sure you have at least a couple of extra readers to help you with the editing process, because the things one professional editor will notice often require several inexperienced ones.
I definitely agree — I was an English teacher for a while, after all! Once I get That Thing done, I plan to get a small posse of beta readers go to work with fire and sword.
I agree for sure about the editing thing — if you’re going to self-publish, it’s still vital to have excellent writing as well as editing, and packaging (cover, jacket copy, etc.).
If you intend to make a go at making your living that way, I’d start building your platform now as well. I just came back from the Writer’s Digest Conference, and they talked a lot about marketing products — which is every bit as much for self-publishers as for people who go the legacy route.
Good advice, thanks Emmie!
I agree with Emmie. If a debut novelist is going to self publish, they need to make sure it’s a quality book on par with traditionally published books. That means engaging an editor, making sure they understand ebook formatting, and all that self publishing entails.
Personally, I’ve invested too much time trying to get traditionally published to switch gears because self publishing has a huge learning curve. But I wouldn’t rule it out as a route to publication in the future for me.
Absolutely, Kourtney. I’m sort of on the opposite end of the equation — I’m just starting out, and trying to decide the best publishing route to pursue, assuming I produce anything worthwhile.
Self-publishing is extremely attractive to me at this stage – low cost, quick return [in getting people to read my stuff, not necessarily any sort of fat cash.], etc. Also it’s bordering on instant gratification — I can finish editing my novel, and a day or so later my mom can read it on her Kindle.
One of the blogs I follow here on wordpress which has a LOT of helpful information on self publishing is http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/ . If you are thinking about it at all you should go check him out.
Thanks, I’ll add it to my list!