Self Publishing on a Budget // what you can and can't live without

[@mical7582]

I often discover that the people picking up on grammatical errors are writers themselves. I have seen books with mistakes. When I look at the comments, no one has noticed it or they simply do not care. Some readers just want to be entertained and when you read fast, you don't see them as much.

[@AmyaMyamYkate]

If you're a Canadian who's self publishing, you get free ISBNs from the government (Library and Archives Canada) 🤗 Just create and account, add your book info, and wait a few business days for approval.

[@c.gravelle8128]

Thank you for this information!

[@AmyaMyamYkate]

Also yes, most libraries will require the books they carry to have ISBNs and have a 'professional appearance' - AKA not bound in a binder or written in a notebook

[@emmaberger3748]

Yes I watched this whole thing and have no intention of publishing anything ever 😂 just here to support katie 🥰

[@AndreaJSeverson]

Just adding on to the topic of using ProWritingAid/Grammarly/etc in place of an editor. I'm an indie author doing things on a shoestring budget, so I self-edit and don't hire an editor. I use ProWritingAid and it's great. But I totally agree that it is NOT a replacement for doing a proper edit yourself or hiring someone. The AI programming in PWA is great but it's not perfect. I still have to make a lot of judgement calls on whether I agree with them or not. I'm not a pro editor but I have a MA and a PhD in Writing/Rhetoric, but even with that experience I still have my mom (also a writer), alpha readers and beta readers look over my drafts during the developmental stage and read through my manuscrtipt at least twice when it's done (copy edit read through and final proofread after it's formatted). Between all the drafts, I read each book at least 5 times before I hit publish. Whether you hire and editor or not, you're paying one way or another, with time (if you edit yourself) or with money (if you hire someone). Great video Katie! I totally agree with all of this advice, even if I haven't taken all of it myself, but those were very concious decisions I made (like ISBNs and book covers).

[@isismolina3]

I also used ProWritingAid for my first book. It definitely isn’t a replacement for a real editor, but it does catch a lot. I had many beta readers, many of who fixed mistakes as they went without me even asking. I also edited the book myself 5 times, and every time I caught more and more things, which honestly made me feel like I was doing a good job of it. I would have been worried if I had nothing to fix. I have a BA in Creative Writing and I’ve been editing people’s essays for years. I don’t think my book is perfect, but I think it is possible to get it to a decent shape without a professional editor ONLY if you know what you’re doing. For my second book, I am paying an editor, but I’m still going to go through it many more times myself.

[@sandbagger1912]

I self-published my first novel this year. There are so many costs, but I agree, paying for a professional edit and cover are necessary. Then getting the book placed and working the social media angles is a learning experience. So many strategies. It is like a full-time job. I have decided to pay for most of the additional things you need to do for formatting and marketing for this first book. I have someone working with me who takes care of most of this. We'll see how it goes. Maybe with the second novel, I will take on many of these responsibilities myself. As you say, there is a lot of free how to videos out there.

[@Nicolette_Thomas]

Listening to you, and watching your publishing journey always makes me excited and less lost as I continue my own journey. Thank you!

[@lissaroy4108]

Oh wow, thank you so much! I feel so overwhelmed with all the publishing stuff I need to know, this is a video that I'll come back to over and over again for sure!

[@daniellecastaneda4423]

This was such a helpful video! I'm not quite ready for this phase in my writing journey but I saved this to my playlist so I can come back to it.

[@jampsonn1826]

My library requires me to enter an ISBN for any book I suggest they purchase using their online form. But they've also denied some indie ebooks I've sent in despite them having ISBNs (i.e. Elliott Brooks' novel), so idk what their criteria is honestly. Lol

[@AmyaMyamYkate]

Some places can be stricter and require the book is available through their supplier too (the ones I know some libraries use are Whitehots and Library Service Centre)

[@ammalyrical5646]

People drop $1000 on a cover? Wow, I feel like if you do that a couple of times you could've also spent the money upfront in a course in cover design... That way you know what to do and can save a lot of money in the future (I'm considering trying this, but with a targeted course in graphic design, but mainly because it also seems like fun). The editor is going to be important for me though. I'm bound to make some mistakes I won't notice in my writing even if I do edit it after waiting for a day to a week after I'm done. And I don't trust Grammarly for that stuff whatsoever. It's a useful tool for not looking like I can't write English in YT comments, but that's about it. Katie, I'm like you, if I notice errors it takes me out of the story, especially in stuff that isn't contemporary romance. I'm probably not as good with English as you are but I am decently good with scientific writing, so I might notice more than average (even with my likely dyslexia). It's also just training, I guess. And I might just think something is a mistake because it would work differently in Dutch (or German/Frisian).

[@pixiesgarden8353]

To answer the ISBN and library question, the answer is no. Without an ISBN, libraries can not catalog the book properly.

[@helenfroats9691]

this is so useful thank you so much!!

[@BrianaBurnside]

This was so helpful you have no idea! Thank you!!

[@mical7582]

Do you have any advice for authors who do not want to use social media?

[@AshleyHanno]

Okay but what level of Patreon do we need to subscribe to for you to name names re your DNFs 😂 kidding! Thank you for your videos, super helpful. I love this really simple approach and then just layering more as you go along!

[@booksvsmovies]

I think computer editors like grammarly are only really good as spellcheckers, they’re just not sophisticated enough for other elements of style.

[@nickolenaturcotte3540]

Great info thank you

[@nickolenaturcotte3540]

Can you publish 1 book with Amazon and another with Ingram spark?

[@stevencarsley2446]

Hello my name is Steven another great video

[@annmariespencer8329]

Can you expand more on the free marketing and how to? Really interested in that.

[@Katesbookdate]

I have a playlist on what's been working for me! :) kzbin.info/aero/PLtDvPgGl33YYFnz9DDpFZQNzH6Bmsq09Y

[@storiesbydesirae]

When you say ebooks no longer need an ISBN, is that even if I'm selling the book through Draft2Digital and not just KDP?

[@popcornpagez]

What is your opinion of Reedsy selection of editors?

[@Katesbookdate]

I've had nothing but really awful experiences with Reedsy and I've tried three different professionals from them, so I won't ever personally use them again. But there's such a range of people on there to work with, so I imagine there are some good ones in there!

[@MsDianaJean]

I’m not a writer, but I am a voracious reader. Poor writing & errors really drag me out of a story. Ditto clunky writing. I’ve DNF’d hyped books bc I just couldn’t get into the story. Ultimately I would rather read a good plot that’s basic-error free yet simply written (or even rambly) than a technically perfect book that’s boring or sterile.