Self-Publishing Guide

I remember looking outside my bedroom window a few years back and wondering whether anyone would ever read my writing. When I first started putting pen to paper, I was a little naive as to what it would actually take to make my book a success. All I knew was that I had a burning desire to share the message inside me to the outside world. I had never been taught how to write, never did any courses on how to self-publish and definitely didn’t know the process. I wrote simply to express myself. I couldn’t draw pictures, and the only time I thought I sang half-decent was in the shower. So, writing was the only way I knew how to artistically express my thoughts and emotions. I wrote and wrote and wrote.

Since then, I have spent thousands of hours researching everything from getting a barcode for the book to the correct discounts to give online retailers, the editing process, inputting metadata, marketing, etc., etc. (these and more will be explained in detail later on). After being successfully self-published, my first book Who Says You Can’t? YOU DO has been re-published by Penguin Random House and has 13 translations. I even signed with a reputable agent in New York due to the self-published success of the book.   

With my second title The Modern Break-Up (romance), I also decided to self-publish initially. I set up my own company and decided to the whole process again, just bigger now. I invested even more into marketing and into the development process. That led me to get an offer from Harper Collins and also sign a direct deal with German publisher Ullstein Verlag for a translation. The Instagram page for this book has almost half a million followers on it – @themodernbreakupbook.

This was all a dream a while back, please remember that. A few years ago, no one had ever read my work. I was sitting all alone in my bedroom with a blank notepad in front of me. Anything is possible when you have the vision and the right information. I had to research and learn about myself. People often ask me, “Why are you sharing this?” Well, simply, because I believe I have achieved enough as a self-published and traditionally published author to teach it. I hope you find the value in it!