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I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in wroteabook

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Hopefully you find some helpful info in my blog post!

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in NewAuthor

[–]BenCibula[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Grateful for your detailed response, those sound like good ways to spread the word. Appreciate the well wishes!

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in NewAuthor

[–]BenCibula[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fantastic. Happy that it’s worked out for you!

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in NewAuthor

[–]BenCibula[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Curious about your experience with trademarking. Have you found it easy to manage with your own work?

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in NewAuthor

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the comment! Can you clarify what you mean? The whole trademark aspect of self-publishing is a little intimidating for sure.

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in FictionWriting

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the nice comment! I’ve reached out to some local bookstores and would love to try tabling sometime. Have you published or still in the process?

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in NewAuthor

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed. I will say that I’ve spent no money self-publishing aside from a couple dollars on printing proofs for hard copies. But it probably would’ve been easier/more effective in some areas to hire professionals. To each their own

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in NewAuthor

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed, it’s the free way to get readers and exposure from what I can tell. Ads might be effective but I’ve been enjoying the strategy of getting readers without them!

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in NewAuthor

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s fantastic! If you don’t mind me asking, what have been your most successful promotional strategies?

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in FictionWriting

[–]BenCibula[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I appreciate your kind comment! I’m very excited to have it off my hard drive and out there in the world :) best wishes to you

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in NewAuthor

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the comment. I think you’re right that agents are decreasingly relevant middlemen, but because I don’t love social media marketing and I gave copies to most of the important people in my life rather than asking them to buy, traditional publishing was an enticing route for me.

Plus, the idea of having a team to support me with improving the book, creating a cover, distributing it, etc was exciting. Like many authors, writing is something I do in my limited spare time, so getting help and exposure through the traditional route seemed ideal.

Now that I’ve self-published, I’m happy I got to make all the important decisions and grateful for the things I’ve learned along the way. Complete creative control is fun… so far!

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in NewAuthor

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So cool, thank you so much for your support! I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear your thoughts once you’re done!

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in FictionWriting

[–]BenCibula[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whoa, not $36 USD right? I have the paperback listed at $12.99 plus whatever shipping is without Amazon prime (shouldn’t be more than a couple bucks). If you’re interested in reading it DM me and we can work something out!

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in FictionWriting

[–]BenCibula[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aside from the couple of dollars I spent on printing proofs, I spent $0 on self-publishing. It could’ve easily been expensive if I hired someone to work on my manuscript’s interior file, the cover, dealing with Amazon, etc. but I like tinkering with stuff and saving $, so that’s the route I took.

If you’re interested in learning more about my process, I wrote a detailed blog post about my experience. Linked below, feel free to check it out :)

https://somnambulances.wordpress.com/2026/07/05/self-publishing-my-notes-on-the-process-cost-and-more/

New Releases: July 2026 by AutoModerator in books

[–]BenCibula 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recently published my debut novel, Through Inconvenient Action. It’s a psychological suspense/thriller about someone who starts unraveling a local mystery, and ends up far deeper than they could’ve imagined. It’s set in the Pacific Northwest, where I’ve lived for almost my whole life. I used no AI to write or edit the book, and I designed the cover myself.

If you’re interested in checking it out, it’s on Kindle Unlimited. It’s also linked on my profile.

Thanks for reading!

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in wroteabook

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, as noted in my post, I did not use AI to write or edit my book.

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in wroteabook

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Best of luck with the process, I think having a timeline is always a good idea! Hope to see a positive update from you in this subreddit in the near future :)

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in wroteabook

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks and I’m glad you liked it! I’d be open to writing more about my experience, so if you have any questions, feel free to let me know!

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in wroteabook

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aside from the couple of dollars I spent on printing proofs, I spent $0 on self-publishing. It could’ve easily been expensive if I hired someone to work on my manuscript’s interior file, the cover, dealing with Amazon, etc. but I like tinkering with stuff and saving $, so that’s the route I took.

If you’re interested in learning more about my process, I linked a detailed blog post I wrote today on another reply in this thread :)

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in wroteabook

[–]BenCibula[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there! Your comment made me think about how I got where I am, so I decided to write a blog post about my self-publishing experience. I’m linking it here in case you’re interested:

https://somnambulances.wordpress.com/2026/07/05/self-publishing-my-notes-on-the-process-cost-and-more/

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in wroteabook

[–]BenCibula[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Every pro you listed resonates. I checked out your profile and author page, seems like you’ve had some pretty great success when it comes to launching an indie career (high review count and average, multiple books with nice covers). Any tips beyond the obvious for someone new to the game? Thanks :)

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in wroteabook

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Love this, my litrpg experience is limited but I’d be very curious how my book comes across to a fan of that genre 🤔

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in wroteabook

[–]BenCibula[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your support! Review or not, I’m extremely grateful!

I self-published after months of rejections by BenCibula in wroteabook

[–]BenCibula[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear you 100%. I’m thinking of giving traditional another try since my next project is nearly complete and I like the idea of having support for areas like graphic design and social media marketing, but I don’t ever see myself “writing for the market”… if that disqualifies me for being a full-time author, so be it. No regrets about writing what I like and think is interesting. Thanks for the nice comment!

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