100 to 4K copies

A thread of what I have done, good and bad during my self-publishing journey.

I don't usually share the amount of books I publish at a time, but I want aspiring authors to know that it's possible to make a living out of writing. When I published, The Harvard wife, December 2017, I was unemployed I had to borrow money to print the first 100 copies

1)Completing my manuscript
Before I even thought about which publishing route to take I had written and finished the manuscript. No one can offer you any help for the story that is just in your head. Write then you'll worry about the rest when you have penned down THE END.

2) Getting an audience for my work.
After I finished writing I had to test whether what I had written had a market. Opened a page on Facebook and shared a few chapters of The Harvard wife. Not only did I have to get an audience, but it also opened up a channel to market my work.

I'm still unemployed but i just deposited, without aid, money to print 4000 copies of my two upcoming books. Books are my sole source of income and here's a few things I've done right and wrong to get to this point.

What I've done right