Self Releasing Your Art: Essential Steps You Need To Take

Photo comes from Pixabay

There are many creative people out there who will never have their work seen by the public. Sometimes that's because they don't want to show anyone, but often it's because they're waiting for the right person's approval. They need someone in a suit to say that their art is worthy of being produced for people to see. However, if you truly love what you do, you don't have to wait for someone else's approval. Self-publishing or releasing your work makes it tough to get attention, but it can work out. If you're thinking of doing it, this is what you need to do.

Find Out What It Takes

Before you decide to do anything, you should find out how you can self-release your work. Whether you want to print your art, release your music or publish a book, there is a process for you to follow. You might have a few options for how to approach it. Taking a book as an example, some websites will help you crowdfund and publish your book. Other people might choose to print their book from Steuben Press here or using a similar service. Then you would be in charge of marketing and finding buyers. But before you get to the production and sales stage, you need to put the book together. That requires proofreaders and editors to help you.

Get the Funds Together

Once you understand what you need to do, you can think about the money. Self-releasing your work will have expenses, no matter what you're aiming for. If you want to release your music, you may need to hire a recording studio. If you want to create prints of your artwork, you will need your own printer or to pay for a professional service. Don't forget you will need funds for marketing too. If you don't have the cash, many people use crowdfunding. This works best if you already have a fanbase you can motivate using incentives.

Hire Help

You can try to do everything on your own, but you're probably going to need help. For example, it's not a great idea to publish a book without using a proofreader or editor. You need someone to check it for errors and make suggestions. You might not be going through professional channels to publish your work, but it should still look professional. The same goes for anything else. If you're releasing music, consider hiring a producer when you record in a studio. You can only benefit from professional advice, even if it will make your project more expensive.

Make a Sales and Marketing Plan

Once you've made what you want to make, you can't expect people to just stumble upon it. Having a plan to market and sell your work is essential. You need to think about the different channels you can use and methods that will help you. You might have places where you can sell your product physically. For example, as a musician, you can sell CDs at gigs or as an artist you could go to art fairs. The internet should also be useful, offering places you can have downloads or sell physical products, as well as marketing channels.

Self-releasing your art is hard, so you need to prepare for the realities of it. If you have the right skills, you can have some success with it.