Around four years ago, I began writing my first novel. I read “The Maze Runner” by James Dashner, and I thought that the main characters had chemistry that none of the others did – and that it would have been such a beautiful love story. “We need more queer representation in these types of books,” I thought. So that was my inspiration to create a dystopian, queer novel. I would write thousands of words a day, reworking the novel every single day. And eventually, in May 2025, I self-published my baby and debut novel, “Where It Ends.”
Should I self-publish? It’s a question most authors will deal with at least once in their lives. With the rise in technology, publishing is at the fingertips of anyone who has enough willpower to write something. Traditional publishing is one thing, but self-publishing is another. Traditional publishing is a much more difficult business to get into considering the constant influx of queries literary agents are getting from young and aspiring and even bigger authors. Self-publishing is risky as opposed to its counterpart considering you don’t have nearly as many resources or people to help you throughout the process. You’re entirely on your own.
In my opinion, that’s what makes it exciting. It’s fun to learn, to make it your own and make your own rules in the process. However, at the same time, it is not financially fulfilling. My published novel is on Amazon (a great place to self-publish for your first novel)! I think in total, I may have made $150. For a first time novel, and a self-published one at that, that isn’t terrible. However, a lot of the people who bought books were family and friends, and while that counts, that just shows that the real struggle for self-publishing is one thing, and that’s marketing.
Marketing is something you would think would be easy with social media. It’s not nearly that easy. I’ve taken to TikTok and occasionally Instagram, the two most popular social media sites in the world, and even then, it’s near impossible to make sales through those. It’s about knowing the right hashtags to use, the right things to say, the right video to make to entice people to want to buy your book. You need to build an audience and a platform, which means you need to start marketing before you even publish your book, sometimes before you even finish writing it. It’s difficult, and if you’re going to self-publish, it’s something you really need to commit yourself to doing constantly, consistently and everyday.
I think another thing people find hard when it comes to self-publishing is editing and cover art. These two things are essential to your story and the publishing process. The editing is where the magic happens. It helps tie your story together in a neat little bow and the book cover helps sell people on what your book may entail in the first place. Without decent editing and a good cover, it feels pointless. There are plenty of resources to help you though!
I got lucky with my cover art because I had friends in graphic design. Using your friends and family as resources for your story can be very helpful. My friends also helped me with editing by reading the story for me and helping me make sure it made sense, and I did most of the editing myself, but there are cheap places you can find editors and cover artists, such as Fiverr, Upwork and Reedsy. These websites help source people who are looking for freelance work so that they can acquire a job.
Self-publishing is hard, but it can be so worth it. If you have the right resources and the commitment to constantly be talking about and promoting your book, it’s something that can be very beneficial to your life as an author. However, keep in mind that it doesn’t always go to plan, and self-publishing is always a gamble. Be prepared, but have fun! The important thing is that your story is out there, and people can enjoy the world you’ve created!