How To Publish My Urdu Novel Online?

This discussion is pretty pointless, in that all I ever want from a reader is the story itself. Whether or not Ilqa publishes it, or whether HarperCollins publishes it, is quite beside the point. And how wonderful it is that ebooks have brought such accessibility to the published word. I bought ‘Mere Humdum Mere Dost’ by Bilal Tanweer on Kindle a few days ago. Within five minutes, this had downloaded and I was reading the wonderful words of this US-published book within minutes. Publisher listed, and I assume they will get their cut. A triumph, and the institutional ‘who’ rather less important than the functional ‘how can I read this?’

If you have an original story that you want to self-publish as a PDF book, here’s how I would approach things. First, make sure your story is the best it can be. Get it beta read or send it to critique partners. Once you have a solid story, focus on presentation. Your book’s cover can look amazing even if you don’t have design experience. Many free online tools, including Canva, have easy-to-use templates to create great-looking covers. Don’t under-estimate the power of proper formatting. A self-published PDF can look a real mess if you haven’t got the font, spacing and margins on your story just right. For a cheap alternative to Microsoft Office, LibreOffice or Google Docs are great. For selling PDFs, there are plenty of self-publishing platforms that make it easy, like Gumroad or Sellfy. Just set your price, and upload your book. Consider offering a free sample to any potential customers to give them a taster of your work. Then, promote your book on places like TikTok or Tumblr. Share plenty of visual snippets to engage your followers, and don’t give up. Keep posting and interacting with your followers.

I remember the excitement when the first novel was released. The original 'TharnType: The Series' novel was published in 2017, marking the beginning of a phenomenal BL (Boys' Love) story that would later captivate audiences worldwide. The novel, written by Mame, introduced us to the complex and passionate relationship between Tharn and Type, setting the stage for the beloved Thai drama adaptation in 2019. The novel's raw and emotional portrayal of love, identity, and personal growth resonated deeply with fans, making it a cornerstone of modern BL literature. Its success paved the way for sequels and spin-offs, further expanding the universe. The 2017 release date is a significant milestone for fans, as it represents the birth of a story that continues to inspire and entertain.

Note to self: Marketing is everything. Write a great blurb first. This is mine: ‘When the local florist turns up dead clutching a rare orchid, amateur sleuth Emma Rose must dig up secrets buried deeper than her prize-winning tulips.’ It’s all about vibes. Try to network early on by joining about 10 Discord Servers for people who like Cozy-style books. Post a ‘sneak peak’ or two from your manuscript to get people interested. Use your new found network of keen readers to get some much needed beta reading. Help to beta read for others in your network too – I found I was able to pick up on a few pacing issues in the manuscript of a friend for example. Launch your book for a soft release week, discount it for a week or so and call on your friends from your network to act as your ARC readers and help promote your book on Goodreads via giveaways (which are a bit of a hassle but lots of exposure for your book). Print books count for lots with readers of this genre. So, author copies of your book can be sold in cafes, at book fairs etc. They can even be given away at such events. Amazon’s KDP Print service is very cost-effective for printing books. So, even though my author copies are printed locally, the printed books that I sell through Amazon are sent out at very low cost. My BookReport dashboard is amazing for seeing reader data – recently it told me that 70% of my readers are women over 40 and so I’ve been adjusting my online advertising images to include more midlife protagonists. These small changes have had a huge impact – I am now three series in and still going strong.

Books by Faber: While considering books published by Faber, some prominent novels include The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. The Bell Jar is one of the most famous novels written by Sylvia Plath, the iconic American novelist. Her portrayal of her struggles with mental illness in the novel has influenced many women all over the world, and the novel remains relevant to this day. The Goldfinch, on the other hand, is known for its intricate storyline and beautiful language. It is a novel that explores the themes of loss and search for beauty in the darkest of times. Both the novels are so immersive that the reader can get lost in them. Each of the novels by Faber has a distinct position in literary world.

If you're looking to publish 'short sex stories', you'll want platforms that cater to adult content while offering a mix of visibility and community engagement. Literotica is a classic choice—it’s been around for ages and has a massive audience. The site is user-friendly, and stories are organized by categories, making it easy for readers to find your work. It’s also free to publish, though monetization options are limited. Another solid option is Smashwords, which distributes erotica to major retailers like Apple Books and Barnes & Noble. You can set your own prices, and the platform is indie-author friendly. For a more modern approach, consider Medium’s adult sections or even Patreon if you want to build a subscription-based audience. Just be mindful of each platform’s content guidelines—some are stricter than others.

I’m a big supporter of author-run collectives or micro-presses. While ‘Heartspell Media’ (founded by authors for authors) and ‘Snowy Wings Publishing’ (a cooperative) are by no means perfect, they’re operating on a different ethos than the bigger conglomerates. For the most part, they’re much more collaborative, transparent, and responsive to feedback than their larger counterparts. As many are written by and for people within the genre of supernatural romance, they get the particular struggles of this genre too. They may not have the same marketing budget as the bigger companies, but they more than make up for it with their passion for the genre and their community-oriented spirit. Not only are the covers for books published by these presses frequently stunning because they hire from within the supernatural romance fan art community, but also the release dates for new books are generally coordinated so that authors are supporting each other. It feels much more like you’re buying from a family-run business than a large corporation. For those who want to be able to feel connected to the creative process of a particular author, these are the best place to go to find new voices. You’re not just buying a book; you’re supporting an entire ecosystem of artists and writers who are writing because they love the genre as much as you do. That emotional connection is powerful.

Many original fiction platforms have ad revenue and/or tip jars for writers, and most of these sites have terms of service that prohibit writers from earning money from derivative work (i.e. fiction based on someone else’s intellectual property). Yes, some authors are very, very tolerant of fan fiction written by their fans, but even they don’t typically allow that to be sold. Monetizing fan fiction would generally be considered to be commodifying tribute, which is a very different thing from just writing stories for fun. This is to say that some writers publish “original stories” on Patreon while simultaneously posting vast amounts of fanfic online. Their original work is always contained in a completely separate fictional universe from their fanfic. The safest way to build an audience of readers is to use that audience as a springboard to richer pickings from your own intellectual property, which you can then sell. Monetizing the fanfic itself is a very tightrope act and most sites will quickly pull your work should they sense even the slightest attempt to monetize it.

So long as you understand what you mean by “best,” Amazon’s KDP is still by far the largest audience and the greatest profit potential. We publish directly to Kindle Unlimited. Note, however, that Amazon’s rules for content are notoriously vague and that books can be “deleted” at any time for no clear reason. Smashwords is a great way to get into distribution with a writer-friendly platform that has a good scope of distribution to retailers such as Apple’s iBookstore, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and more. They charge 10-15% for ebooks that are non-epub (which means they convert your work for you). The largest trick to consider when it comes to publishing adult content is how each platform considers it in terms of promotion. While many platforms allow adult content, some of them refuse to promote it. As a result, it ends up getting lost in the puddle of all of the other content. So, be sure to consider this when deciding on a platform to publish your work.

You can also use Bing Search.