Interview Self-Publishing Cookbooks

Interview Self-Publishing Cookbooks Self-Publishing Cookbooks: Interview with Marcy Goldman Last updated 07/06/2017â€Å"You have to have more passion than fear - or simply want to do it anyway - otherwise those two swear words ‘what if’ will stop you from even trying.†Although the self-publishing alternative becomes more valid and tempting every day, many traditionally-minded authors still fail to consider author publishers as their peers, and often disregard all independent publishing efforts as vanity publishing.Of course, more and more genre fiction authors are bridging the gap every day by becoming hybrids; but non-fiction genres such as cookbooks are still pretty much in the hands of traditional publishing, essentially due to the high production costs.In this thought-provoking interview, Marcy Goldman exposes her reasons for self-publishing her cookbooks and offers specific advice for cookbook authors. She shows that it can be done to the highest quality, and can become a truly liberating experience for an author.How to Self-Publish a Book: 7 Sim ple Steps to Success Read post Many successful indies recommend authors to â€Å"follow the steps of traditional publishing† when self-publishing. How important is having a good copyeditor for a cookbook? And a designer/formatter?It is absolutely crucial and there are more and more qualified, fair-priced skilled freelancers you can hire to assist you. You are also the creator and will be doing a ton of work to launch, market and distribute. It really pays to hire some production and editorial help. That said, even traditional cookbooks can be notably imperfect.The thing I like about many indie authors coming from a â€Å"mainstream† background is that they suddenly feel empowered to try new things. You’re now about to self-publish a book on tango, and have also published a poetry one, just because: â€Å"now, I can†. Do you think being liberated from traditional constraints is a good thing for indie writers?Yes, self-publishing is a good way of experimenting a bit without going too off course from your established platform, if you have one. It is still best to get consistent content out there and gain traction in the genre you’re known for or wish to establish yourself in. Second to that, just get your best content out there!Most authors necessarily plug away at what they’re known for or what they think will ‘sell’. They quickly learn not to pitch agents or traditional publishers with unproven ponies, so to speak. We all tend to try and fuse our passion writing what sells with what we also think ‘will sell’, but luckily, as a self-publisher, you don’t have to worry about that acquisitional ‘wall’. You can indulge more risky books on your bucket list and in so doing, energize yourself as well as find a whole new niche of readers, ultimately increasing your revenue.You can also see directly what the publishing process is like and learn more insights into how books get sold. So it’s not just about the writing, it’s about what production, distribution and marketing approaches might work better for you and your works. You’re free to explore all that.You write in your piece that: â€Å"There’s also a presumption (or fear) that without sufficient social media or a platform, books (even great ones) won’t get noticed†. Do you think that producing great content is enough? How big has the whole â€Å"discoverability† challenge been for you?Fortunately I have a platform, but no one, not even William Shakespeare, starts with a platform. This is an age-old question anyway, which was around way before the advent of self-publishing. All writers, aspiring authors think â€Å"If I do it, who will read it, who will buy it, who will find it?†This is not new. It is yet another version of a common sabotaging thought almost every creative person has at one time or another. You have to have more passion than fear - or simply want to do it anyway - o therwise those two swear words ‘what if’ will stop you from even trying.Do the doing, get it out there and then see what happens.How do you see the future of publishing? Do you feel like publishers have adapted to the new technologies, formats, and distribution channels?That is a tough question! I think some publishers have slowly adapted to the new technologies but traditional publishing is an old-school, slow-moving, methodical industry that is sluggish with pride and history. It does not easily turn on a dime. It’s possible that, given some self-publishing success stories, they might follow those trends and/or those authors to seek out new talent or see what readers respond to. Indie publishing is often a bit of ad hoc market research for them.They might also be inheriting a new breed of author coming from self-publishing and might have to appreciate that these authors are of a different ilk. That’s not a bad thing, it’s a realistic thing. Confid ent creators, versus grateful or humble ones (all talents being equal), might be awesome authors to deal with. You might see some landmark works come out of this new breed.Do you think that the self-publishing alternative is taken seriously by the traditional actors (publishers, agents) or still widely seen as vanity publishing?I think indie publishing isn’t taken as seriously as it might be, which is a pity if you look at some of the ‘unknown’ but wholly successful authors out there. Having said that, it’s not as disdained or dismissed as it used to be. It is becoming legitimized as we recognize that there are huge shifts going on. Nothing is ‘as it was’†¦Beyond that, I think all publishers (indie or traditional) recognize that eBooks do well, however they recognize that eBooks often sell for very little, and in small quantities, making it difficult for many authors to thrive. To that end, I suggest writing shorter books, before putting an opus out as an eBook or putting something out in print and see what happens. Experiment.Follow Marcy and Reedsy  on Twitter: @MarcyGoldman  and @ReedsyHQWould you agree that self-publishing is still widely disregarded as a  Ã¢â‚¬Å"lesser alternative† by many authors? If you have experience of both worlds, did you find self-publishing liberating? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below!