Four things you must have to self-publish

Every creative journey begins with a desire. Most are ended by judgement. Before one word is typed judgement shuts down the journey. You need to get permission for your project and you need to give that permission to yourself. We’re the person judging and we’re the person capable of taking permission. Call it creative suicide, self-defeat or wussing out, but we end most of our dreams ourselves. Most creative journeys end not because of someone else but because of the creator

A few years ago I switched my web site from AndyTraub.com to TakePermission.com because I needed to focus in on one idea. To self-publish you need to take permission and then do the work. (Tweet that) There’s no waiting in line anymore. You’re not going to wait to get picked. You’re taking permission to move forward, to invest in yourself and to create something from nothing.

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For three and half hours I sat in this chair knowing that I needed to write these words. I’ve done something else for the last 210 minutes. You don’t know how to twiddle your thumbs. I don’t even know if twiddle is a word. You’re not bored because you’re busy. Doing things isn’t our problem. Doing the right things is our problem. (Click to tweet that) If you want to write a book and publish it yourself you need to make time. You can get up earlier or you can stay up later. You can blog your way to a book or you can take an on-line course that helps you get the audience your writing deserves. No matter what you do you have to stop doing something else to write. If you had enough time and desire you’d have already finished your book.

Here’s where to find time.

• Get up earlier…then write
• Turn off the television…then write
• Lock yourself in a room, even if it’s the bathroom…then write. (There’s a seat in there, I guarantee it.)
• While you’re waiting for your kids to get done with practice, leave school or come home at night…then write
• Tell your spouse to take the kids out of the house and feed them…then write

If you feel like you’re writing too slow spend $11 on yourself and buy Accidental Genius by Mark Levy. It will help you write more and truer words. Trust me, please trust me.

The first time my son tried to walk he fell down so I yelled at him. I told him he was a failure and needed to try harder.

Of course I didn’t do that! When he took his first step I cheered like crazy. Talent comes with practice so if you feel like all you’re capable of is crawling then stand up and take a wobbly step. Then you’ll fall. Tomorrow you’ll take two steps though, if you don’t give up. If you want to publish your own book then start writing and then start reading people who write well. I think I’m a lousy writer but my relaxed style lets me get away with some abuse of the English language. When you’re done with your book you can have someone who is more talented at the proper use of who and whom edit your document. You’ll get better if you write and if you let others see your work. Your talent will grow if you…

My wife made a big mistake when she threw away the scrubber that I used to clean the dishes with. I love tools and when she asked me to do the dishes I got excited because I got to use a tool. I don’t do dishes as much now because I miss my tool! Tools are important. I think tools are more important than we think. Would you rather cut down a tree with a butter knife or an axe?

Here are the tools I’ll never self-publish without. They’re non negotiable for me.

• Scrivener (20% off if you use the coupon code SELFPUBLISHING)
• Mac computer

That’s everything I need to go from an idea to Amazon.com. Sure there’s the cover art, but someone else can do that. I need to get my words from my heart, to my computer, to Amazon. Scrivener and my Macbook get me there without fail.

If you’re a PC person then there’s a Scrivener version for you too.

Self-publishing is much easier than you think and one of the reasons we make it complicated is that if it’s complicated we have an excuse for not doing it. What if self-publishing was easy? What if self-publishing was something you could master? I think you can and I’m excited to show you how.