writing – Page 2 – Hayley Moon

Indie Publishing Expectations versus Reality-Part 4: Money Matters, the Hidden Cost of Self-Publishing

This is how my “go big or go home’ mentality drained an already strained budget. Let’s talk money.

A laptop on a desk displaying financial graphs and charts, alongside stacks of coins and a pen holder, suggesting a focus on budgeting and expenses.

Self-publishing isn’t easy, and it certainly isn’t cheap. I learned this lesson the hard way while publishing my debut novel, Taming Armand. What started as an exciting creative journey quickly became a financial wake-up call when my “go big or go home” mentality burned through my budget, one seemingly innocent expense at a time.

If you’re curious about the self-publishing journey and considering embarking on this wild ride, let me first walk you through some of my most costly mistakes—and how you can avoid making the same ones I did.

The Price of Indecision

My most expensive mistake wasn’t the result of a single purchase—it was due to lack of preparation. I made the cardinal sin of completing my entire manuscript without doing any research about the publishing process, whether traditional or self-publishing. I went in as ignorant as a newborn babe.

When I was finally ready to release my book into the world, my “research” consisted of watching several YouTube videos, and even those came embarrassingly late in the game.

This lack of preparation revealed itself in my publishing platform dilemma. From my limited research, I discovered Amazon KDP, Draft2Digital, and IngramSpark—three platforms consistently recommended by the content creators I followed. Instead of understanding the differences between them, I found myself paralyzed by choice, unsure which path would serve my book best.

The root of the problem was simple: I went into publishing with absolutely no plan. I had “pantsed” my novel (written without an outline), and I naively thought I could “pantser” my way through the publishing process too. But here’s what I learned the hard way—without direction, you have no aim. Without aim, you waste money on unnecessary expenses and miss opportunities to spend wisely on what actually matters.

Hidden Costs Add Up Fast

Let me break down where my money actually went. These costs cover both of my novels, Taming Armand and Bloody Endings, because the devil truly is in the details:

Professional Services

I went through Fiverr for book covers for both books, plus purchased a yearly subscription for a service that allows you to design your own book covers and create social media ads.

Fiverr covers: $150 (ebook and paperback versions)
Bookbrush yearly subscription: $246
Editing: $150 for developmental editing, $150 more for proofreading after making changes
Formatting: $120, then $80 more when I decided to add print versions

The “Just One More” Expenses

ISBN purchases: Started with one for $125 (Taming Armand), ended up buying a pack of 10 for $295 (during the publishing process for Bloody Endings)
Marketing materials: Business cards, bookmarks, banners—$200 total
Website and domain: $18/year that I forgot I was paying

What I Should Have Done Instead

Looking back, here’s the research-first approach I wish I’d taken:

Before Writing

Understand your genre’s market expectations
Research cover design trends in your category
Set a realistic total budget (including marketing)
Choose your publishing platform based on your goals, not popularity

During Writing

Build your author platform early (it’s never too early to start generating hype and an audience)
Connect with other authors in your genre
Start building an email list (this is something I’m currently working on—it’s a lot harder than people online make it seem)
Research editors and designers while you’re still writing

Before Publishing

Get quotes from multiple service providers
Understand the difference between developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, and beta reading (I hired a beta reader through Fiverr for Bloody Endings and it made a world of difference)
Plan for both ebook and print formats from the start
Create a marketing timeline and budget

The Emotional Cost of Financial Stress

What the YouTube videos don’t tell you is how financial stress affects your creative confidence. Every unexpected expense made me second-guess my decisions. Should I have gone with the cheaper cover designer? Was that developmental edit really necessary? These doubts crept into how I felt about the books themselves.

The financial pressure also rushed my timeline. Instead of taking time to make thoughtful decisions, I found myself throwing money at problems to meet unrealistic self-imposed deadlines because I was trying to have something ready for Noir at the Bar. This led to expensive rush fees and less-than-optimal choices.

Note: Don’t rush and risk putting out subpar work by publishing before you’re ready. Looking back, I wish I had listened to my gut on this one and waited.

Building a Sustainable Self-Publishing Budget

For your first book, I recommend this approach (please adjust as needed—if you have a large budget, go for it, but if you’re working with limited funds, stay in your lane):

Essential Expenses (Budget 60% here)

Professional editing
Cover design
Basic formatting
One set of ISBNs (this is where I suggest you splurge, especially if you plan to self-publish more than one book)

Marketing and Promotion (Budget 25% here)

Simple website
Basic promotional materials (some websites offer this fairly cheap—WordPress does)
Initial advertising budget

Contingency Fund (Budget 15% here)

Unexpected revisions
Additional promotional opportunities (I’d also factor in author events where you can set up a table and sell books etc.)
Learn from mistakes early and don’t be afraid to pivot

The Long-Term Perspective

Here’s what I wish someone had told me: your first book is an investment in learning the process, not making money. The real return on investment comes from applying what you learn to subsequent books. With each book you publish, you’ll get better.

My expensive mistakes with Taming Armand taught me valuable lessons that saved me a couple hundred dollars on Bloody Endings. With book two, I had direction and aim. I planned before I spent.

The Bottom Line

Self-publishing is challenging and fun, but it doesn’t have to break the bank—though it will cost more than you initially think. The key is channeling that “go big or go home” energy into strategic planning rather than reactive spending.

My advice? Start with research, not with writing. Understand the full journey before you begin, and your wallet (and sanity) will thank you later.

Have you had similar experiences with self-publishing costs? The Weirdo wants to know—I’d love to hear your stories and your money-saving tips in the comments.

Indie Publishing Expectations versus Reality- Part 3: The Editing Gauntlet

This is Part 3 of the “Indie Publishing Expectations vs. Reality” series. Be sure to check out Part 1: Book Covers and Part 2: Knowing the Difference Between Writing Alone and Going It Alone of the series.

I continue with this series on indie publishing, and tackle what I would consider one of the harder if not hardest aspects of writing—one that we’ve all either 1) struggled with, 2) thoroughly enjoyed, 3) hired someone else to tackle that messy piece, or 4) pointed two fingers (I think you know which ones) at the editing process and hit the publish button.

However you handle the arduous process of editing, I would highly encourage you to avoid number four at all costs. Even if you’re averse to the editing process or just anxious to get something published, I would advise—and beg—please give it at the bare minimum a once-over.

I cannot tell you have many fan fiction pieces and even some books that I’ve read where it was evident no one edited a darn thing.

I digress.

I remember the moment I typed “THE END” on the first manuscript I ever completed. The euphoria was intoxicating. I’d done it—I’d written a book! Finally. That one word summed up the initial four years of my path to publication.

In my mind, the hardest part was over, and in about one week (gross underestimation by the way) I would have it published. Only thing left to do was get a banging cover a quick pass through and BAM! I’d be holding my first book.

Now, I’ll jump into my battle with editing.

The Rush to Publish

The book was written and I was anxious to get it out and have copies ready for the 2024 Birmingham Noir at the Bar. All of the other authors had a book either out or coming out, and I needed one out too. (I will interject here, it is a bad, horrible idea to compare yourself to other authors-period! That is the quickest way to end up at depression’d door. Just trust me on this one).

Book cover for 'Taming Armand' by Hayley M. Moon, featuring a wolf under a full moon with a dark forest background.

That was over a year ago, and I have learned a tremendous amount since then. I will admit that with my first novel (Taming Armand Book 1 of the Coven Origins Series), it only went through one—yes, I will repeat that—one round of major edits, and those were done by… me.

Yep. If you’re a writer, teacher, blogger, etc., then I’m sure you chuckled and probably had to do a quick re-read. But no, your eyes are not deceiving you. I didn’t realize how much of a horror that book was until it was published.

If you’re new to indie publishing, let me save you some heartache: your first draft isn’t your book. Not even close. It’s the raw material your book will eventually be carved from. Understanding this distinction—and the editing gauntlet that transforms one into the other—might be the most important reality check you’ll face as an indie author. That was the case for me.

With Taming Armand, it was and still is my baby. It was the first testament that I could do it—that I had started carving away at my dream of becoming a bestselling author. It wasn’t until Taming Armand had been on the market and I had that first copy in my hands and started to read it that I began to understand where I went wrong—and I had gone wrong way before I even completed the manuscript.

I Was a Victim of the First Draft Fantasy

Even before I began to take my writing seriously, I had a romanticized view of the writing process with little to no thought given to the editing process. But what little thought I did give to editing was something like this:

Start the book, finish the book. Celebrate.
Take a brief breather. Read through what you have written. Fix the obvious typos and sentence structure.
Adjust a few sentences for flow. Maybe even add a few here and there to spice things up a bit.
Take another breather. Proofread it yourself. Send to a proofreader for final polish (ended up not doing this because I was in a rush to GET IT OUT!).
Add the finishing touches and voilà! Sit back and watch the five-star reviews (and the royalties) roll in!

A book cover for 'Bloody Endings', Book 2 of the Coven Origins Series by Hayley M. Moon, featuring a dark forest backdrop and a howling wolf.

I thought editing was like washing a car—a quick rinse to make something good look shiny and new. I had no idea with Bloody Endings: Book 2 of the Coven Origins Series that I was about to enter what I would call “the editing gauntlet”—a grueling but essential process that would completely transform my work into a final form that I was very proud of.

Learning from Mistakes

Several months after Taming Armand was on the market, it had to undergo some serious rework. The first release was what it looks like when you rush to publish—when you release your baby into the world before she or he is ready. I was sure not to repeat that with the second one.

Going into manuscript two, the first draft fantasy was over and I went in knowing there was some seriousness that needed to be taken with not just the writing but the editing portion as well.

Book two underwent multiple rounds of edits but I still felt like more could have been done and at some point I had to call it or else the plot would have been lost.

Another difference between book one and book two was I actually took joy in the entire process. I was able to give the attention to book 2 that frankly I should have given to book one. I outsourced what I didn’t know how to do. I hired someone for the cover. I hired an editor and a beta reader.

What I will say in a nutshell about the editing process is that it’s tough. It’s necessary, and it is one process that no writer should go through alone. After the first pass-through by you, get someone else (I would recommend a professional—yes, indie publishing can be a bit pricey, but I learned to cut corners where possible and budget accordingly).

Your Turn

What are some mistakes you have made during the editing portion of your manuscript? Did you rush it? Put both middle fingers up to the process altogether? Or were you blessed to have a team to help guide you through the editing trenches?

Sound off in the comments—the Weirdo wants to know.

Until next time!

Indie Publishing Part 2: Expectations versus Reality – Knowing the Difference Between Writing Alone and Going It Alone

When I first decided to become an author, I thought I understood what I was signing up for and that it would be fun, and in no time I would be rich!

I’d write my book in solitude (which is something that appealed to me. The lonely genius burning the midnight oil with a beloved pet as their only companion has been something that I have inspired to for a long time. (Haven’t decided whether this is an unhealthy aspiration or not but I digress.)

I thought, “I’ll publish the book myself—how hard could it be?” The plan was simple: build my author career on my own terms and, most importantly, maintain control over my own destiny. After all, who doesn’t crave that sense of control, or at least the comforting illusion of it?

I was ready to embrace what I imagined would be the writer’s life: peaceful isolation paired with creative independence. Little did I know what lay ahead.

What I didn’t realize was that there’s a massive difference between “writing alone” and “going it alone”. I believe as an indie authors and/or publishers this is something we all contend with at some point on the journey. Confusing the two nearly derailed my entire writing journey.

Writing Alone: Beautiful Solitude

Writing alone is exactly what it sounds like—the quiet, focused act of putting words on the page. It’s you, your thoughts, and the story unfolding in your mind. This part of indie publishing lived up to every expectation I had. There was pure creative flow. There were no meetings, no compromise, no committee decision about character motivations and no debates on whether is this or that too much.

I had complete control.

I decide when my protagonist and antagonists speak. I shape the world and whether a plot twist stays or goes. Then there’s the flexible schedule. Whether I write at 5am or midnight, in bed or at the local overpriced coffee shop is of no one’s concern but my own.

Mostly importantly there are no deadlines, except the ones that I set. Then there’s the authentic voice; the story emerges exactly as it has been envisioned without outside influence (which can be for the good or the bad; at times a fresh set of eyes are helpful, I am willing to admit).

This solitude isn’t just pleasant—it’s essential. The best writing happens in that quiet space where you can hear your characters’ voices and feel the rhythm of your prose. I protect this time fiercely, and it remains my favorite part of the entire writing journey.

But here’s the thing about illusions, especially the beautiful ones, is that it lures you in and before you know it the hooks are embedded deep.

Going It Alone: The Isolation Trap

Now here’s where expectations and reality collided. I thought the entire indie publishing journey would be this peaceful, solitary experience. I thought the process would be ordered and all I had to do was hit each step along the way and end up at this fabulous destination. I imagined myself as a lone wolf, handling everything from manuscript to marketing with quiet confidence and complete self-reliance.

The reality? Going it completely alone is not just lonely—it’s counterproductive and dare I say, devastating.

The Learning Curve

When you go it alone, every mistake becomes a costly lesson learned the hard way:

– I spent a week playing around on BookBrush, designing a cover that looked cute, artistic but didn’t signal the urban fantasy genre.

-My back cover blurb was lacking.

-I chose keywords based on what I thought sounded impressive, not what readers actually searched for when looking for books.

Each of these mistakes could have been avoided with input from other indie authors and publishers who’d already navigated these waters.

Lesson learned.

I now have a tribe (albeit small) of writers and authors that have undergone a similar journey or that have taken a different path (more traditional route) or write purely to submit to anthologies.

So, I want to know, can you relate?