self-publishing – Tara Tries To Write

LF: A Great Editor

April 16, 2024 No Comments

It always annoys me when “literary snobs” dismiss self-published work as sub-par, or something that’s just not worth their time. Sometimes it’s really just them looking down on certain genres (*cough* romance *cough*) because they think it’s “easy to write.” And sometimes, their aversion of all self-published work stems from reading or hearing their peers talk about a handful of badly edited ones.

Sad, but true.

As a reader, I can forgive a few minor grammatical errors in the books I read, but gaping plotholes, one-dimensional characters, and problematic narratives make me cringe and wonder: Who the heck edited this?

I cannot stress this enough: To every author, self-published or not, having a great editor is IMPORTANT. A good editor can spot grammatical or typographical errors for you, but a great editor can do that AND also flag problem points in your manuscript. Great (AKA experienced, skilled, and constantly improving) editors are able to tell if a plot point or character behavior doesn’t make sense and offer constructive insight on how you can make your book better. And the more you continue working with good editors, the better author you will eventually become.

But how exactly do you know if you’re working with a great editor? Here are some qualities that I think they must have.

The Writing Community

How much does it REALLY cost to self-publish?

April 3, 2024 No Comments

(TL;DR version: It’s less than P40,000.)

How much does it really cost to self-publish a book?

Recently, there’s been a bit of buzz around self-publishing practices here in the Philippines. Every once in a while, various conversations about the different issues surrounding self-publishing (quality of work, ~legitimacy, and costs, to name a few) arise in different social media platforms, and I want to somehow contribute to that through this blog, but for now, let’s focus on one aspect: COST.

I remember someone from a big book event last year who very specifically asked us how much money we spent to publish ONE BOOK. And I also remember the shock on her face when I blurted out some rough estimates (less than P20,000), which made me wonder if she’d spent more, or was about to.

Now before we go any further, let me be clear: I cannot speak for every self-published author out there. Everything I’ve written here is based on actual costs that I have personally spent publishing my books in the last nine years. Enumerated below are several items I usually budget for when I plan on releasing a book, including a price range for each.

Ready? Here we go:

Events, Personal

Tara’s Takeaways: What’s my favorite thing about self-publishing?

December 2, 2023 No Comments

It’s true. All so true.

The above image was part of a slideshow I created for a Book Talk I was invited to recently. Most of the details are on this Instagram post, but long story short—I spoke about my self-publishing experience to a group of Grade 7-10 students and had fun. Yes, even if I had NO idea what I was going to do when I got the email invitation.

I mean…it’s a group of teenagers, and I mostly write adult romance. Heh.

Personal, Writing

“I don’t know you, but I already love you.”

February 13, 2015 No Comments

About a month ago, I’ve come across this comic strip by Manix Abrera and found it quite funny. As someone who dabbles in social media management in my day job, it really is quite humbling to see people liking and sharing posts you write, whether on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media channel there is that you use. However, the general thought of this comic resonated louder in me about two weeks ago when I published my first ebook.

Personal, Projects, Writing

A Journey On Paper Planes

February 5, 2015 No Comments

It’s an awesome thing when dreams come true, isn’t it? If you had told me a few years back that I’d be able to publish a certain piece of fiction as an ebook with very minimal fuss, I’d have told you to “get out of here.” Anyone who’s lived as long as (or longer than) I have would know that getting something published is no joke. You’d have to go through certain processes and channels to even get your work considered, and that required a lot of time, money and effort. Of course, not a lot of young people could afford to expend that much, so we make do with the next best thing and publish our work on free space online such as forums and blogs.

These days, however, it has become very easy for aspiring writers to publish their work and get it recognized by reputable platforms such. For rather inexperienced writers like myself, this is a really amazing development, and I have personally embarked on this journey only a week ago when I published my first ebook, Paper Planes Back Home, on Amazon and Smashwords.

Honestly speaking, I am a newbie about all this, and everything’s still so overwhelming to me. Time and again I have experienced seeing my pseudonyms on forums, blogs, and content-sharing sites like Wattpad, but there is nothing quite like seeing your name displayed beside your book on Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, or the Apple Store. It’s pretty surreal. I admit I have spent a considerable amount of time just staring at my book’s pages and feeling so thrilled. I finally did it. Sure, I might not sell a lot of books, but goddamn, I finally have something up there with my name on it, and that’s just completely awesome.