by Gale Leach

This article follows one that appeared in WITS in January 2025: https://writersinthestormblog.com/2025/01/charting-your-course-how-should-you-publish/

At a writing conference in 2008, the question asked most was whether self-publishing would be viewed as a legitimate path for authors, or if it would always be labeled vanity press. Nearly twenty years later, more and more authors, new and established, embrace self-publishing because of the advantages it offers. This article will describe what many consider the best methods for making your work available to others, how these methods differ, and why you would choose one over another.

Romance, fantasy, sci-fi, thrillers, and non-fiction (mainly self-help) work well with self-publishing. Traditional publishing is better for literary fiction, children's books, and academic works because it offers established credibility.

Traditional or Indie

To succeed in traditional publishing, you must be able to meet deadlines, write quickly, and have more books ready. If you want the publisher's help and expertise, you'll have to let them handle editing, design, and marketing. Your best book could be rejected in a market that prioritizes sales over quality. (This is one reason I self-published.)

With independent (indie) self-publishing, you act as publisher, manager, and business owner. First you hire the people or services to edit, design, publish, and distribute your book. You decide which distributors or retailers to use. Then you retain complete control over artistic and business decisions; you keep all profits and rights. You pay nothing until the books sell. When that happens, the retailer takes a cut, and, if you use a distributor, they take a cut as well.

The In Between

Intermediary solutions exist: assisted publishers handle some or all of the publication tasks (editing, design, formatting, distribution). You retain all rights and receive all or the bulk of the majority of the royalties, but you pay an upfront fee for services rendered. If you don’t wish to navigate the sometimes murky online waters, these services are a viable option. While I don’t believe most people with straightforward projects need them, it’s a personal choice.

Most self-published authors today choose between independent publishing and assisted publishing, depending on their expertise with the tasks involved and how much they can or want to afford for professional help. My recommendation is to give indie publishing a try. If there are steps you can’t complete, then consider asking for help from freelancers or signing on with an assisted publisher. Just be sure they are vetted—check Writer Beware and look for individual publisher names + "scam" or "review" in Google searches. Be sure to retain your rights and understand the services you're paying for.

Note: You may hear of hybrid publishing, which is a cross between independent and traditional publishing. The publisher invests in your book and helps you get it to market, while you also supply funds along with your manuscript. Rights can vary, as can payment. Be sure you know what you’re getting into if you choose this path.

Key Steps in Independent Self-Publishing

An indie author can access the same retail distribution as a traditional publisher, for both print editions and ebooks, using online services such as Amazon KDP, Draft2Digital, and IngramSpark.

8 Key Steps

1. Writing and revision

Complete the manuscript, then revise it yourself and again with the help of a critique group or other reviewers.

2. Cover design

I placed cover design second because it’s critically important, and you can begin creating your cover long before your manuscript is done. Your cover is the first thing readers see, and it must drive them to look at the description or open the book. Make sure you know the look of other books in your genre. Your cover shouldn’t mimic them, but it will sell better when it reflects the current depiction of your genre.

People may see your cover in black and white, grayscale, color, high-resolution, low-resolution, as a thumbnail, or full size. It needs to be readable at all sizes and look good on low-quality or mobile devices. I highly recommend that you hire a professional to create your ebook or print book cover. One designer recommended often is Damonza.

3. Editing

Includes line editing, copyediting, and/or proofreading. Have your final draft edited by a professional—not your Aunt Maggie, who was an English teacher, or your husband or wife.

4. Design

Get professional interior formatting (typesetting) for both print and ebook if you can afford it. Alternatively, online services have improved and work well; don't be discouraged if you use one.

5. Conversion

Prepare the manuscript file for different formats, such as EPUB for ebooks and a high-resolution PDF for print.

6. Distribution/uploading

This means choosing distribution channels (generally print-on-demand [POD] for print books and/or aggregators/distributors for ebooks) and then uploading the final files, setting the price, and writing the book description.

7. Book description

Don’t skip over the importance of this short piece of text that will be used on Amazon and elsewhere and may be printed on the back of your book. Starting on this early—even before you begin your manuscript—will clarify what your book is about and will help your book sell with a great description.

8. Marketing and promotion

You are responsible for all marketing, which can include social media, paid advertising (like Amazon Ads), email newsletters, blog tours, and arranging promotional deals.

I can’t do justice to the topic of marketing here—my hope is to tackle it in a future post. Still, be aware of certain important things that often go unsaid or unread:

Important Considerations

• Self-publishing and traditional publishing both produce similar monetary outcomes. Some authors rise to become bestselling authors. Sadly, few can support themselves with either method.
• When authors write books, they don’t consider what must happen when they finish. Previously, publishers assisted with marketing and promotion, but that day is long gone (except for bestselling authors). Today, authors must handle these things on their own, whether self-published or with a publishing group.
• This reality can be tough for authors. They struggle to gain an audience, deal with unforeseen obstacles, and face financial constraints. Authors who self-publish typically need several books and years of effort in writing, editing, marketing, and promotion to make good money.
• Be sure you are dedicated to the continual creation and promotion of your work before embarking on the publishing path, as this is a cycle that repeats as you broaden your reach.
• Note to children’s authors: you don’t market to children but to their parents or persons procuring books for schools or libraries.
  
  

Self-Publishing Platforms

Dozens of self-publishing platforms are available to DIY authors. The most popular platforms can be categorized as one of two kinds:

• Retailers (Amazon KDP, Apple Books, Kobo Writing Life), where the author publishes directly to that platform which sells books to consumers.
• Distributors (Draft2Digital, IngramSpark) that send books and/or ebooks to retailers and libraries.

Additionally, there are print-on-demand (POD) services that allow you (or other distributors) to print as few as one copy to as many as are needed without created excess inventory. IngramSpark, Lulu, Amazon KDP, Barnes & Noble Press, Draft2Digital, Kobo, Apple Books, and Smashwords have this feature and more. The landscape can be pretty confusing.

Below is a list comparing the features of the top publishing platforms.

The top self-publishing platforms generally include Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for its massive reach, IngramSpark for print distribution and wide access, Apple Books and Google Play Books for mobile device ecosystems, and aggregators/distributors like Draft2Digital (which merged with Smashwords) for distribution to multiple retailers. Other services are Barnes & Noble Press for its specific market, Kobo Writing Life for international reach, and service providers like BookBaby.

Top Platforms and Their Strengths

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

IngramSpark

Apple Books

Google Play Books

Draft2Digital (D2D)

Other Important Platforms

• Barnes & Noble Press publishes eBooks and print books directly to the Barnes & Noble marketplace.
• Kobo Writing Life: Kobo is a dominant ebook player in several international markets, including Canada, parts of Europe, and Asia. Offers up to a 70% royalty rate on ebooks. Provides a channel for audiobook distribution.
• BookBaby: A powerful aggregator and service provider offering editing, publishing, marketing, and distribution services.
• Lulu: A platform for creating and selling many types of print products.

I have more to share, but I’ve run out of space. Stay tuned for how to create ebook files, how to self-publish a print book, maximizing your sales, and more in the third installment of “Charting Your Course.”

Which publishing route have you or do you plan to take? What platforms have you used?

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About Gale

Writing The Art of Pickleball in 2005 launched Gale Leach’s career as an award-winning author. From 2011 to 2020, she also created her own company, Two Cats Press, which published the works of six Arizona authors, including seven of her own fantasy adventure novels for children and teens. Currently, she’s at work on a fantasy series that involves technology and magic, multiple worlds, and creatures you only thought were mythological.

Gale and her husband reside in Arizona, accompanied by a rescue dog, two rescue kittens, and a bearded dragon. Her interests outside of writing include singing, playing music, genealogy, reading, crafting, and many types of puzzles and games.

You can connect with Gale on social media or her website.

Top Image was made by Gale using ChatGPT.

by Sarah (Sally) Hamer

Intimacy. What a suggestive word! It immediately brings up images of satin sheets, steamy love songs and sweaty bodies.

But that’s not all of it. In fact, love-making is only one aspect of intimacy and may even have nothing to do with it.

The Free Dictionary gives three descriptions of intimacy:

1. A close or warm friendship, familiarity, closeness
2. A usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship
3. A feeling of being intimate and belonging together

Sex is only included in one of the three descriptions, for a very good reason. Intimacy is not about sex! Sex is just one of many diverse expressions of intimacy

As you can see, other expressions are friendship, closeness, togetherness, a feeling of belonging. But one we often don’t think of is hate. Not necessarily hate of strangers, but of someone who knows a person well. Imagine your most evil villain. If there is not an intimacy of knowledge between that villain and your protagonist, the relationship is shallow and, ultimately, impersonal.

Think of Hannibal Lector and Clarice in Silence of the Lambs. It’s the intimacy he demands from her that makes him so very, very creepy. Inch by inch, he exacts payment from her in return for the information she so desperately needs to save the ‘lamb,’ and that payment is in an intimacy she has withheld from everyone else.

Intimacy is directly connected to relationships of all sort. And the stronger the intimacy between the protagonist and a love interest or villain, the stronger the story.

What genres need intimacy? ALL of them! From a sweet love story with nothing going on below the neck to the hottest erotica with no holds barred. A creepy suspense to the goriest murder mystery. From women’s fiction to a man’s adventure, EVERY ONE of them needs some level of intimacy.

Use of intimacy in writing

What is intimacy, how do we create it and how can we use it in our writing?

Imagine a target with concentric circles. The one farthest out is red, with orange, yellow, green, blue as you go towards the middle. Purple is in the exact center. Each one has a specific “intimacy value” as a story progresses.

1. First awareness (Red)

When two characters meet, no matter which two, there is always an awareness of the other person, starting simply as an introduction. And, it doesn’t have to be sight only. It could just as easily be a smell or a sound.

A woman walked into the room.

Across the hall, the baby screamed as if someone were beating it.

In this way, we introduce others to our POV character through his or her senses and, if necessary, our character reacts in some form or fashion. If this is an antagonist – whether beneficial or harmful – the awareness will evolve into something more. If, instead, it’s only a descriptive element, this may be all the interaction needed.

Dorothy’s first experience in Oz is abject fear. She’s been through horrible experience after horrible experience and, when her world stops spinning, she opens the door to find everything is as far from normal as it can be, with no one she knows or can trust. Then, it gets really bad.

We receive all of this information through her eyes and, even though there is some interaction between the characters, there is really no deep commitment, as such, to any of them.

2. Interest blooms (Orange)

Next, our POV character realizes the other person is someone he or she wants to know more about for whatever reason. It can be a heightened glance, a stare, a smile, a frown, anything that shows a nascent connection between these two characters.

When Clarice first goes through the seven gates of hell into Lector’s prison (count them!) and meets him for the first time, he has an immediate reaction of interest. He’s assessing her, determining the best way to get into her mind.

3. Reaction (Yellow)

And Clarice notices and reacts. We see her struggle to not be affected but Lector’s intense scrutiny is hard to shrug off.

A blush, a smirk, anger, joy – whatever the response the story and characterization calls for – is reaction. It shows interaction between the characters and allows for thought from the POV character, which will include at least a little back story, and another response. Again, where this goes from here depends on the needs of the story.

Dorothy’s reaction to her new and frightening surroundings depends on which character she’s interacting with – the Wicked Witch, the Good Witch, her trio of heroes, the Wizard – but each one goes through the process of first awareness, the bloom of interest and her reaction. And, so it goes to the next step:

4. Verbal Communication (Green)

An exchange in words. The characters will communicate with body language too, but dialogue is necessary for almost all genres. It also increases intimacy, because a “throwaway character” probably won’t get even that much of a reaction. So, this raises the stakes.

For two characters to speak to each other makes their inter-relations more personal and they become more involved. At this stage, the conversation probably isn’t going to be earth-shaking. There will probably be few secrets or mysteries revealed.

Clarice knows that Lector’s ability to analyze and, therefore, dissect, people is dangerous, so she’s extra cautious about how much information she wants to divulge. In fact, she’s been specifically warned by her superior NOT to tell Lector anything. But, in the give and take of their relationship, she discovers the tit-for-tat won’t be free. The intimacy Lector demands is almost impossible for Clarice to furnish, at least at this point. Her desperation to save the Senator’s daughter isn’t great enough yet. But it soon will be.

5. A Step Closer (blue)

The stakes escalate. We see hints of the great darkness and a fear that lurks within. The form of communication is not important now, whether thought, body language or dialogue, but each type reveals a little more and we see our character taking a journey of discovery – discovery of other characters and self.

Dorothy’s journey is not only an actual one, but also an expedition into her own abilities to connect with other characters and, sometimes, to stand up for herself.

But intimacy is hard. And, eventually, the risk of our character not opening up is even worse than that ultimate intimacy.

The struggle continues. And this is where the character growth occurs. Because to allow that giant leap takes courage that must be learned and nourished.

6. The True Self (Purple)

Here’s where we strip away all facades, all masks. The true self is revealed, in a way that leaves the reader with no doubt as to the exact nature of both the protagonist and the driving force behind his or her actions. Secrets are revealed, deep emotions lay bare. But these things are shared with only a very select few, only the people who have earned the right to know. Intimacy may continue to grow throughout the story, depending on the story, but, without it, there may not be a character arc.

Clarice tells Lector the truth of the lambs and why she has to silence them in her mind. No one else, not even her boss whom she wants to emulate, is privy to her innermost secret. But Lector has proven to her that he’s trustworthy, at least in his own way. It may not be enough for her to be happy about him running loose, but it’s enough for her to give him what he wants. So, in return, he helps her find the villain.

During her entire story, Dorothy meets various characters and, after a period of disbelief, trepidation and, finally a willingness to interact, she allows the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion, and even the Wizard, to become friends. Trust is a little harder to come by but, eventually, she gives that too, at least to the ones she cares about most. And, her final level of intimacy is with the family she cared enough to go home to. She shares her experiences with her aunt and uncle and, with her new-found knowledge about how relationships work, she finds peace.

Final thoughts

So, the question is: Where do your characters fit on the circles when the protagonist is in the middle? They should all start in the outer red circle – at least as far as the reader is concerned – but, depending on the depth of the relationship, they should move towards someplace in the middle.

Only a very, very few will reach the blue circle, whether it is friend or foe.  Others will change colors several times in a story or will not move hardly at all. The Wicked Witch, for instance, moves closer and closer until she becomes blue, but Glenda never goes deeper into the intimacy circle than yellow. She doesn’t need to – Dorothy has others she can trust to help her.

Eventually, intimacy becomes its own reward. It makes our protagonists stronger at the same time it gives them the courage to face the past. And the future.  

What colors do your characters stand on? How do they move around? Can you see that by giving them places to stand, you can work with their levels of intimacy?

* * * * * *

About Sarah (Sally)

Sarah (Sally) Hamer, B.S., MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories and has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.

A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for over twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at www.margielawson.com and for the No Stress Writing Academy at https://nostresswriting.com.  Sally is a freelance editor and book coach, with many of her students and clients becoming successful, award-winning authors.

You can find her at info@mindpotential.org

Top Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

A Birthday Waltz for Jenny Hansen

by Lisa Norman

Author’s note: Today is Jenny Hansen’s birthday, and I was challenged to write something to celebrate her. You may notice this article is not in my normal style. No editors were harmed in the writing of this article. Although one did require a bit of a hug afterwards.

For Jenn, on your birthday—may your prose be lively, your commas cooperative, and your semicolons never lonely.

Scene 1: The Ballroom Opens

The chandeliers glitter, casting commas of light across polished marble. The great ballroom of Language hums with anticipation, ever-changing as the lights shift with the seasons.

Through tall golden doors, the punctuation marks sweep in.

Commas, normally so reliable and powerful, chatter like excitable cousins at a wedding, clustering and clinging, never quite finishing a thought. Dancing with and, and deep in discussions of Oxford versus minimalism.

Periods tap polished shoes to keep time. Solid. Steady. Reliable.

Semicolons hover near the punch bowl, sighing about how no one truly appreciates refinement anymore.

And then—cue the fanfare—the em dash bursts through the doors. Glitter. Swagger. Spotlight. Every eye turns.

Scene 2: Enter the Em Dash

The em dash doesn’t simply enter—it commands. Each stride a statement, each interruption an encore. It—oh, there it goes again—cuts off the poor colon mid-explanation.

Writers swoon. Nothing says drama like a dashy entrance.

“Why use a period,” they whisper, “when you can leave your reader dangling, breathless—just—like—this?”

The em dash twirls beneath the chandeliers, scattering tiny hyphens like glitter.

Somewhere, a comma faints.

The em dash becomes a solid feature of every best seller. Used cautiously like the spicy attention-seeker it is.

Scene 3: AI Learns the Steps

In the shadows by the orchestra, something hums—a quiet algorithm keeping rhythm.

AI watches, recording every sway, every glittering dash.

It studies billions of lines where the em dash twirls and the comma stumbles, where humans dance on the edge of grammar. And it learns. Em dashes are power.

Soon, every AI draft reads like a Broadway revue choreographed to feature the power of the em dash.

Em dash. Em dash. Em dash.

Too much spice! But… more human than ever before.

The writers pause mid-spin.

“Wait—if I use too many,” someone whispers, “will readers think I’m the bot?”

Scene 4: Humans Change the Tune

The chandeliers flicker as the music stutters. A new rhythm takes hold—chaotic, human. Imperfect.

Writers begin to trip deliberately:

• Misspeling words, definately.
• They repeat repeat words.
• Sentences are left hanging mid
• They sneeze mid-keystroke: asdflkj.

Laughter ripples through the ballroom. The orchestra hesitates, unsure whether this is rehearsal or rebellion.

(And somewhere, the Grammarwitch, my amazing editor, clutches her editing pen like a sword. Don’t worry, Lori—it’s all on porpoise. Now she’s clutching her double strand of pearls in horror.)

Scene 5: The Feedback Loop

AI joins the floor. The lights flash in binary—on, off, on—as circuits hum in time with the waltz.

Now the bots mimic the humans mimicking the bots. They stumble gracefully, pretending to forget the steps, adding a typo flourish here, a double word there.

The ballroom becomes a whirl of mirrors. Reflections of reflections of reflections.

Who’s leading now? Who’s following? The music doesn’t seem to know either.

Scene 6: The Toast

The orchestra quiets. The chandeliers dim to candlelight.

Across the glittering floor, commas and colons pair off, exhausted. Even the em dash slows, pausing mid-gesture—just this once—to let everyone catch their breath.

Raise your glass.

To punctuation—forever personified.
To writers—forever messy, magical, and occasionally misspelling for effect.
To AI—forever awkwardly trying to keep up.

And most of all, to Jenn—may your birthday be punctuated exactly as you please (with or without em dashes).

Has the dance of AI interfered with your writing style?
Alternatively, please feel free to add birthday wishes for the amazing Jenny Hansen!

About Lisa

Lisa Norman's passion has been writing since she could hold a pencil. While that is a cliché, she is unique in that her first novel was written on gum wrappers. As a young woman, she learned to program and discovered she has a talent for helping people and computers learn to work together and play nice. When she's not playing with her daughter, writing, or designing for the web, she can be found wandering the local beaches.

Lisa writes as Deleyna Marr and is the owner of No Stress Writing Academy. She also runs Heart Ally Books, LLC, an indie publishing firm.

Interested in learning more from Lisa? Sign up for her newsletter or check out her school, No Stress Writing Academy, where she teaches social media, organization, technical skills, and marketing for authors!

Top image by Deleyna via Midjourney.