Author and Self publishing in Indonesia, Panji Ramdana

Self-publishing is a writer who manages the process of publishing his book directly or independently. Starting from editing the script, layout, book design, working with the printing company, to determining prices and target markets to expand the target.

Self-publishing is often equated with Indie Publishing. In fact, they are very different. Indie Publisher is a publishing service with an easier and less complicated selection process, as well as providing design and layout services. Indie publishing in Indonesia is nothing new.  The presence of an Indie publisher in Indonesia provides a very big opportunity for novice writers or writers who have not successfully passed the selection in Major publishers to publish their books. One of the Indie publishers in Indonesia is Jejak Publisher which was founded in 2016. This publisher also has legal guarantees to protect the copyright of the author. So that it is safe as an alternative to publishing works.

The various conveniences offered by Indie publishers are numerous. Starting from affordable operational costs, the ease of publishing a book and no script / genre selection process. As long as the manuscript does not contain SARA elements, a book is suitable for publication. However, because the market scope is relatively small, writers or publishers have to do promotions frequently. All of this was done to attract public attention for the sake of introducing the news book.

It's different if we publish a book at Major Publisher. Major publishers are owned by large publishing companies, have names and have sufficient capital. This is what makes writers flock to send their manuscripts. Moreover, most of the books published have successfully occupied the best seller shelves in bookstores. In addition, the marketing strategy carried out is very supportive to elevate the degree of books published. But besides that, the script selection process was very strict. This is done so that the books published are in line with the Publisher's vision and mission.

But if you want to be experienced in the process of making books, being self-publishing is the right way.  Although all operations, marketing strategies and other things are the responsibility of self-publishing, it turns out that there are good things that come from self-publishing. we can choose the manuscripts to be published and can sell books indefinitely, determine the price of the books to be sold, choose and determine the marketing strategy that will be carried out, and save time and costs.

One of the self-publishing in Indonesia is Panji Ramdana.  Panji Ramdana is a writer who started his career through his Instagram account named @panjiramdanaofficial.  This account is now followed by 2.3 million people. Panji Ramdana has also published more than 4 book titles, including Ketetapan Terindah, Menuju Baik itu Baik , Agar Hatiku Menjadi Ikhlas, Tentang Rasa Mengikhlaskan, Menggapai Impian,You Are My Inspiration, Melody Dalam Puisi vol.2 which has been published in printed version and digital version.

Panji is often active on his Instagram account by always sharing quotes from his books. Of course this can make his followers curious to buy his work. In addition, he is also active in communicating with his followers, such as creating question and answer boxes on Instagram stories and providing space for followers to tell stories through direct Instagram messages. In addition, he also made a story by presenting pooling related to the books he published and other Islamic questions.

Although some of his Instagram followers do not know Panji because he hides his facial identity on Instagram, but his literacy and literary charms are able to tie the hearts of his followers. Panji took this opportunity to open a writing class where his work would then be published and marketed through his Instagram account. This writing class is attended by more than 1,000 people, but can only be followed by 30 people. Now the work has gone into print in both physical and electronic form with the title "Cinta Dalam Diam".

Among the three types of publishers above, authors can choose the type of publisher they will trust to publish their book.  Indie publishers or Major publishers are the same. On the one hand there are advantages as well as disadvantages. This is not without the consequences of a company. But if you want to start being a writer as well as a businessman, self-publishing is the answer. With the presence of these various types of publishing, the opportunity for writers to be in the industry is enormous and it can be said that they will last a long time. Moreover, technological advances are very supportive for publishing an electronic version.

Reference : 

GenSindo, 2020. Ingin Bikin Buku? Ini Bedanya Self Publishing dan Penerbit Indie. [online] Available at : <https://gensindo.sindonews.com/read/75564/700/ingin-bikin-buku-ini-bedanya-self-publishing-dan-penerbit-indie-1592582804>[Accessed March 7th 2021].

Deepublish.com , 2020. Mengenal Self Publishing Indonesia. [online] Available at: <https://penerbitdeepublish.com/self-publishing-indonesia/> [Accesed March 7th 2021].

Panji Ramdana, 2012. panjiramdanaofficial. [instagram]. Available at:<https://instagram.com/panjiramdanaofficial?igshid=x9lvz5z6n9t2> [Accesed March 7th 2021].