By Amra Pajalic
In the three decades that I have been pursuing my writing career, I have had many reincarnations. I began as a newly fledged graduate from a Diploma of Arts in Professional Writing and Editing which gave me a crash course in the publishing industry. In the decade after, I built my writing portfolio and had a dream run in the industry where I got represented by the largest literary agent in Australia, was shortlisted for a major literary prize for my unpublished manuscript, had two publishing companies make an offer on my debut novel, had amazing reviews and won a literary prize after publication.
However, as my career developed, the publishing industry contracted. Publishing companies acquired smaller publishers, profit margins shrank, and publishers became even more risk averse. While I continued getting books published, it was getting harder, and I saw so many amazing authors falling by the wayside. I re-branded myself a few times and went from a young adult author to a romance novelist, to a memoirist, and while I made gains and received recognition, it was getting harder to get traction and I felt my muse withering and dying.
At the same time, there was a thriving independent publishing scene developing with authors re-imagining themselves as small businesses and writing and publishing their own books. One of my favourite self-publishing podcasts, Self Publishing Formula, has a tagline that says, ‘It’s never been a better time to be a self-published author’ and that is true. As my books finished their cycle with publishers and publishing rights reverted to me, I had a robust backlist that was just sitting on my hard drive, not doing anything. I embarked on a deep dive into self-publishing and realised that this was the path forward for me.
Book publishing has costs associated with it: from cover design to book formatting, to purchasing of ISBNs, paying for proof copies and paying to upload files to Ingram Spark, not to mention editing and proofreading. I have approached my new career by exploring the ‘independent’ aspect to its fullest by upskilling myself so that I can undertake as many of these tasks as possible for myself and purchasing software and products that will support this.
So I’ve learnt how to create covers, social media assets, format books, research categories and keywords, optimise my metadata and market my books through advertising. And have found cost-effective ways to undertake editing and proofreading and create a team of professionals I work with. The most exciting aspect of self-publishing has been exploiting my intellectual property and producing various formats, so each of my books is available in ebook, paperback, dyslexic font, hardcover, large print and audiobooks.
Receiving government grants was a vital step in transforming my business, but the greatest reward has been reclaiming the creative reins of my career. Every aspect of self-publishing, from financial management to international marketing, has expanded my horizons and reignited my passion. Now, as both a writer and an entrepreneur, I know that my success isn’t just about the words I write — it’s about the freedom to shape my journey on my own terms.
Amra Pajalic is offering a self-publishing course at the Hunt Club Community Arts Centre 775 Ballarat Road, Deer Park. Saturday 9th & 16th November 2024
1–3pm — $30
View information here.
