Paper Tiger | Indie/Self-publishing does NOT require financial privilege | Response to UNPOPULAR WRITING OPINIONS @PaperTigerProductions | Uploaded August 2021 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
It's running a business. And *shockhorror* running a business requires...investment! Please save the term "privilege" for referring to actual privilege.
This is a response video to the following videos on "UNPOPULAR WRITING OPINIONS" by:
@Kate Cavanaugh on "YOUR UNPOPULAR WRITING, PUBLISHING, & AUTHORTUBE OPINIONS!" → youtube.com/watch?v=PGVf4LhgqFE
@Alexa Donne on "Reacting to Your Unpopular Writing Opinions (from Kate Cavanaugh!)" → youtube.com/watch?v=kYP8D7iq2ZA
@Michelle Schusterman on "Let's talk about YOUR UNPOPULAR WRITING OPINIONS (from Kate Cavanaugh and Alexa Donne!)" → youtube.com/watch?v=uaR0Ejd1WMg
👇 Timestamps further down in the description.
Publishing is a business, but not everyone who self-publishes is going to treat self-publishing as their business–for many, it's just a hobby or personal project (but they are in denial about it).
Here's the thing: if you DON'T treat self-publishing as your business, don't expect to make your money back, because publishing is basically gambling, and you're actually doing this:
1. Write a book
2. Throw it up on KDP
3. ???
4. Profit!
That's cool if you're self-publishing to have a few copies of your book/s for you and your friends and family, but be honest about what you're doing: you're engaging in a (potentially very expensive) hobby (which has no ceiling on the amount of money you can spend on it).
For the rest of us, self-publishing is a BUSINESS. Businesses require...*gasp* investment!
Who would have thought that you'd need some form of equity or other method of funding in order to start a business?!
And if you skimp on the investment and DON'T put in the effort, the time or the resources in your business, you're going to end up with...a terrible product that no one wants to buy.
Shocker, that.
// JUMP TO
0:00 Introduction
0:43 Kate's video and the responses from Alexa and Michelle
1:08 WORD COUNT GOALS: on point, but incomplete
2:26 What word counts are actually for
2:40 Alternative metrics
3:20 INDIE PUBLISHING FINANCIAL PRIVILEGE: just no
3:46 Publishing is a BUSINESS
4:14 Publishing has SUPER LOW barriers to entry
4:34 Reality check: publishing is CHEAP
5:53 Publishing is FAST
6:08 It is EASIER to have a positive ROI in publishing
6:26 There are MULTIPLE ways of financing a book
7:34 ALL publishing is "pay to play"
7:44 Do beware of scams
8:17 Get the FULL picture
9:32 Is self-publishing your BUSINESS or your HOBBY?
10:07 Learn how to budget PROPERLY
10:59 FUTURE OF PUBLISHING: It will evolve
11:35 Ooook, but HOW?
#authortube #selfpublishing #business
// WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
If you enjoyed this video, I think you'll enjoy these other videos:
How to set effective KPIs → youtu.be/kaArOrc-B4M
The entire publishing industry, explained → youtu.be/TrgRWJvhLjw
How much you SHOULD spend on publishing → youtu.be/fOnh3qsoJUk
What a title P&L is and why you need one → youtu.be/gy6VGPtzKqA
How to create a title P&L (with free template) → youtu.be/lHXdFCiMmXg
The future of ebooks → youtu.be/6dxQ4Ivy6zg
// REFERENCES
Beware of scams targeting self-publishing:
@SAVY Writes Books → youtube.com/watch?v=VLGeDS4QPa0
@The Drip → youtu.be/dCfaodGiBK0
Research on reading in paper vs on screen:
Clinton, V. (2019). Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Reading, Vol 42, Issue 2.
→ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9817.12269
Alexander, P.A., Singer, L.M. (2017). Reading on Paper and Digitally: What the Past Decades of Empirical Research Reveal. Review of Education Research, Vol 87, Issue 2.
→ journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0034654317722961
Ackerman, R., Delgado, P., Salmerón, L., Vargas, C. (2018). Don't throw away your printed books: A meta-analysis on the effects of reading media on reading comprehension. Educational Research Review, Vol 25, November 2018, Pages 23-38.
Bus, A.G., Furenes, M.I., Kucirkova, N. (2021). A Comparison of Children’s Reading on Paper Versus Screen: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research, Vol 91, Issue 4.
→ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0034654321998074
// REGULAR "GET STUFF DONE!" LIVESTREAM EVERY WEEK
Writing the book was hard. Revising is harder and marketing is the hardest of all. That's why I've decided to start streaming every Tuesday 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM AEST so I'll actually get stuff done. BYO work or just come hang out and chat with me while I do self-published author stuff. Check out my channel page for the next livestream: → youtube.com/channel/UC5KfSLtFfjCDGRuIxBX5ifg
// CHECK OUT
My Cantonese/English bilingual rhyming picture story book for kids aged 2-6:
→ bit.ly/3cmpHqz
It's running a business. And *shockhorror* running a business requires...investment! Please save the term "privilege" for referring to actual privilege.
This is a response video to the following videos on "UNPOPULAR WRITING OPINIONS" by:
@Kate Cavanaugh on "YOUR UNPOPULAR WRITING, PUBLISHING, & AUTHORTUBE OPINIONS!" → youtube.com/watch?v=PGVf4LhgqFE
@Alexa Donne on "Reacting to Your Unpopular Writing Opinions (from Kate Cavanaugh!)" → youtube.com/watch?v=kYP8D7iq2ZA
@Michelle Schusterman on "Let's talk about YOUR UNPOPULAR WRITING OPINIONS (from Kate Cavanaugh and Alexa Donne!)" → youtube.com/watch?v=uaR0Ejd1WMg
👇 Timestamps further down in the description.
Publishing is a business, but not everyone who self-publishes is going to treat self-publishing as their business–for many, it's just a hobby or personal project (but they are in denial about it).
Here's the thing: if you DON'T treat self-publishing as your business, don't expect to make your money back, because publishing is basically gambling, and you're actually doing this:
1. Write a book
2. Throw it up on KDP
3. ???
4. Profit!
That's cool if you're self-publishing to have a few copies of your book/s for you and your friends and family, but be honest about what you're doing: you're engaging in a (potentially very expensive) hobby (which has no ceiling on the amount of money you can spend on it).
For the rest of us, self-publishing is a BUSINESS. Businesses require...*gasp* investment!
Who would have thought that you'd need some form of equity or other method of funding in order to start a business?!
And if you skimp on the investment and DON'T put in the effort, the time or the resources in your business, you're going to end up with...a terrible product that no one wants to buy.
Shocker, that.
// JUMP TO
0:00 Introduction
0:43 Kate's video and the responses from Alexa and Michelle
1:08 WORD COUNT GOALS: on point, but incomplete
2:26 What word counts are actually for
2:40 Alternative metrics
3:20 INDIE PUBLISHING FINANCIAL PRIVILEGE: just no
3:46 Publishing is a BUSINESS
4:14 Publishing has SUPER LOW barriers to entry
4:34 Reality check: publishing is CHEAP
5:53 Publishing is FAST
6:08 It is EASIER to have a positive ROI in publishing
6:26 There are MULTIPLE ways of financing a book
7:34 ALL publishing is "pay to play"
7:44 Do beware of scams
8:17 Get the FULL picture
9:32 Is self-publishing your BUSINESS or your HOBBY?
10:07 Learn how to budget PROPERLY
10:59 FUTURE OF PUBLISHING: It will evolve
11:35 Ooook, but HOW?
#authortube #selfpublishing #business
// WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
If you enjoyed this video, I think you'll enjoy these other videos:
How to set effective KPIs → youtu.be/kaArOrc-B4M
The entire publishing industry, explained → youtu.be/TrgRWJvhLjw
How much you SHOULD spend on publishing → youtu.be/fOnh3qsoJUk
What a title P&L is and why you need one → youtu.be/gy6VGPtzKqA
How to create a title P&L (with free template) → youtu.be/lHXdFCiMmXg
The future of ebooks → youtu.be/6dxQ4Ivy6zg
// REFERENCES
Beware of scams targeting self-publishing:
@SAVY Writes Books → youtube.com/watch?v=VLGeDS4QPa0
@The Drip → youtu.be/dCfaodGiBK0
Research on reading in paper vs on screen:
Clinton, V. (2019). Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Reading, Vol 42, Issue 2.
→ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9817.12269
Alexander, P.A., Singer, L.M. (2017). Reading on Paper and Digitally: What the Past Decades of Empirical Research Reveal. Review of Education Research, Vol 87, Issue 2.
→ journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0034654317722961
Ackerman, R., Delgado, P., Salmerón, L., Vargas, C. (2018). Don't throw away your printed books: A meta-analysis on the effects of reading media on reading comprehension. Educational Research Review, Vol 25, November 2018, Pages 23-38.
Bus, A.G., Furenes, M.I., Kucirkova, N. (2021). A Comparison of Children’s Reading on Paper Versus Screen: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research, Vol 91, Issue 4.
→ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0034654321998074
// REGULAR "GET STUFF DONE!" LIVESTREAM EVERY WEEK
Writing the book was hard. Revising is harder and marketing is the hardest of all. That's why I've decided to start streaming every Tuesday 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM AEST so I'll actually get stuff done. BYO work or just come hang out and chat with me while I do self-published author stuff. Check out my channel page for the next livestream: → youtube.com/channel/UC5KfSLtFfjCDGRuIxBX5ifg
// CHECK OUT
My Cantonese/English bilingual rhyming picture story book for kids aged 2-6:
→ bit.ly/3cmpHqz
