Building a Self-Publishing Team

When I published my first book, I didn't really know what I was doing. I read a lot of articles, talked to a lot of self-pub authors, and built my own plan. So much of it was trial and error. And I did it all virtually alone.

While I'm really proud of my first story and my first published book (A Thief Among Liars), I knew that with publishing Seiber, I wanted things to be different. I wanted to have a team of people who were experienced, who could celebrate with me and support my goals and visions.

I set out to build a team around me that would be just as excited as I was.

So how did I do it?

Understanding publishing needs

The first place I started was figuring out what areas I actually wanted help with. I'm definitely someone who enjoys having creative control. I also have the benefit of experience in marketing, graphic design, and sales. (A blessing or a curse! It means I know too much to relinquish execution so easily.)

Some areas I considered outsourcing were:

• Pitching

• Swag design

• ARC team management

• PR box design and management

• Social media

• General marketing

• Research

• Developmental and copy editing

• Cover design

• Proofreading

Looking over my list, I had a limited budget. While I always knew I was going to pay for editing, I was trying to decide where to put the rest of my funds. So I focused on the areas I knew that I was already severely burnt out on. Mainly, that meant marketing efforts, social media (which felt like a drag), and pitching my own work to libraries, bookstores, and influencers.

While that's what worked for me, some areas other authors have outsourced are:

• Project management

• Developmental editing

• Copy/Line editing

• Proofreading

• Interior formatting

• Cover design

• Marketing

• Publicity

• ARC/street team management

• Merchandise and special edition design and production

• Character art

• Copywriting (for blurb, author bios, and other small pieces)

Building the publishing team

As an editor myself, I have a wealth of excellent editors to choose from. That meant it wasn't hard for me to narrow down the ones I thought would be best for this project (and future projects). Still, I was careful to vet them through their social media presence, web presence, and reviews. It was also a matter of budget, timing, and project needs.

Coincidentally, my editor for Seiber also became my social media/marketer extraordinaire. As I'd already worked with her, I knew how she communicated and what her work ethic was like. It was easy to expand her role. (Also, as she'd edited the book I was releasing, it was nice to have someone so intimately familiar with the work they were helping me to share with the world.)

The final area I knew I wanted help with was in ARC support, management, and pitching to bookstores. All those little details leading up to release that take more time than I wanted to expend effort on. Budget constraints limited my options in this area, but I found a great author assistant who was just starting her business. She was the perfect balance for me to figure out what I needed and for her to refine her processes.

The biggest thing I will point out here is to vet your potential team carefully. The last thing we want is to risk our intellectual property falling into the wrong hands, or to misrepresent our work with a lack of care or attention to detail.

Things I decided to do myself

While there are plenty of things I hope to outsource eventually, the things I ended up doing myself were:

• Project management

• Cover art

• Line edits

• Interior formatting

• General publicity

• Copywriting

I searched for a cover artist, but ultimately couldn't find one within my budget with designs I was drawn toward. So I did Seiber's cover myself!

One day, I would love to pay someone to design the interiors of my novels, but for now, I'm okay with simple interiors for the sake of time and funds.

While it would be nice to hire a freelance publicist, I would rather spend my money on getting the books out there first, and then building a larger team to advertise once my first few series are completed.

Working with the team

One of the most important parts of establishing a team is also evaluating it. Just because someone is hired, doesn't mean they'll be part of the team for life (although we hope that's the case!). Sometimes, after working together for a bit, I may find that our styles don't align, or what I originally hired someone for is no longer something I need support with.

That's why it's so crucial to evaluate regularly to see how everyone is working out and if any adjustments need to be made (or even if your team is able to take on more work if necessary).

Establishing parameters

It's also important to set expectations and deadlines appropriately. Teams work best when everyone knows what's expected of them when. Communicating needs, deliverables (or tasks), and deadlines for each team member sets everyone up for the best outcomes.

Introduce each other

As the author, I was the only person who knew every member of my team. We realized early on that it would be helpful for my assistant and my social media manager to have direct contact, as so much of what they were doing separately tied into the other's workflow.

This introduction also meant that they could communicate on tasks without needing to involve me in every email. We now have a shared calendar between the three of us, so everyone knows important dates and deadlines for everyone.

Infinity and beyond

While self-publishing can be a weighty and lonely task, it doesn't have to be. Building a team that works for you, supporting your weaknesses or closing out tasks that you don't want to do, can make publishing all the more special.

Just because we're not going the traditional route doesn't mean that we can't have just as much encouragement and support as traditionally published authors!

Best of luck finding your teams.

Happy writing,

Erin