I have always wanted to write and publish my own book. About six years ago, I use to write essay competition organized by the Daily Graphic.
I have been a writer for years and I professionally became a writer in 2012, when I started as a volunteer writer for the new independent and today newspapers.
In 2019, I released my first book and it is available on Amazon kindle. My second book was also published a year after the first one, thus in 2020.
On your journey to becoming a self-published author, you need to learn how to become a professional writer first.
Writing is a form of art. I have a talent to write on any topic of my choice. Give me a topic, and you will have your article or story within hours. I can write different articles based on one topic. That is how talented I am with my writing skill.
Becoming a professional writer today is easier than years ago. All you need is your, laptop and internet, and you can publish your book without any investment or capital. I self published my books with no capital.
Just like any other skill, writing may seem difficult for someone who is not a writer. I love reading and writing, hence writing come naturally to me. I use to participate in essay competition in the Ashanti Region and other regions in Ghana. I was also one of the best debate writers in High Schools. My diary was full of articles, stories and essays for future publications in a newspaper, magazine or book.
I continued to write personally until 2012, when I began writing professionally as a volunteer writer or journalist for the New Independent Newspaper and Today’s Newspaper. Writing for a newspaper was a vision come true and I was very good at it.
You can become a professional writer in many forms or ways.
Firstly, you can become a professional writer by becoming a reporter or journalist for a newspaper company. Contact a local or national newspaper that you know and submit an application of employment. In your letter, first ask to be a volunteer writer without pay or salary. This will increase your chances of being selected. Once the company hires you as a volunteer writer or journalist, you can use the platform to showcase your talent and they will give you a permanent contract after some months or years.
Secondly, another way to become a professional writer is to be a freelancer or remote worker. I have being a freelancer and remote worker for the past ten years. As a freelance writer or journalist, you get the chance to work for multiple companies at the same time, and you get to create your own website or online platform where you also post your write-ups.
Also, you can be on a professional writer by joining writers websites where you get paid for every article written or opinion shared.
After you become a professional writer, you can then plan on how to become a self-published author.
Firstly, type your article or novel on your laptop and save it. You can use weeks or months to finish this step depending on your ideas. I normally use few days to come up with my complete book.
Secondly, decide which platform that you want to publish your e-book on. Amazon Kindle is the most popular and utilized platform for many self-published authors. About ninety-nine percent of self-published authors have their books on Amazon Kindle. As a beginner, I would advise you to go to Amazon Kindle’s website and sign up. After creating an account, follow the steps on publishing your book. The process takes less than an hour.
Thirdly, after publishing your book on Amazon Kindle, make it live for people or visitors to see and buy if interested. Promotion is a big step in selling your books to people.
Lastly, promote your book through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, etc. Social media has become a very powerful tool for business men and women across the world. Every business person is currently utilizing the space of social media to their benefit by promoting their products on these platforms to generate sales.