Self Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing

Welcome to Serpent’s Kiss is my first venture in self-publishing. The first part of the process wasn’t all that different from what I was used to. After publishing nine books through a publishing house, I was familiar with the writing and editing process. Just because I was self-publishing didn’t mean I wanted the quality of my books to decrease so I stuck to what I was used to. I was able to freelance with the same editor who has worked on my last six books.

The first thing that did change for me with self-publishing this book was my cover. I decided to have a custom cover made rather than use a stock photo. The entire process was a lot of fun. I was able to work with the photographer to pick a model and the props that would be used. This gave me a unique cover that was able to look exactly the way I wanted it to.

My biggest challenge came when I went to create an IBSN for my book, and then upload it to Amazon. Since I’d never done it before, it took me a while to read through everything and make sure I was filling things out correctly. All in all, I think those two things took me upwards of six hours. It will get easier, I’m sure. The first time is always the hardest.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed my self-publishing experience. It has, however, made me appreciate some of the behind the scenes stuff publishers do for authors. 

(Originally posted 12/13/14 on Author Lisa Bilbrey's Blog)

Author Bio 

Sherri spent most of her childhood detesting English class. It was one of her least favorite subjects because she never seemed to fit into the standard mold. She wasn't good at spelling, or following grammar rules, and outlines made her head spin. For that reason, Sherri never imagined becoming an author.

At the age of thirty, all of that changed. After getting frustrated with the direction a television show was taking two of its characters, Sherri decided to try her hand at writing an alternate ending, and give the characters their happily ever after. By the time the story finished, it was one of the top ten read stories on the site, and her readers were encouraging her to write more.

Nearly eight years later, Sherri is the author of eight full-length novels, and two short stories. Writing has become a creative outlet that allows her to explore a wide range of emotions, while having fun taking her characters through all the twists and turns she can create. You can find a current list of all of Sherri’s books and sign up for her monthly newsletter at www.sherrihayesauthor.com.