After reading Jennifer Armentrout’s news this week I began to think a lot about self publishing. The stigma of writing a book and publishing it yourself is gone. The need for acceptance by the big five houses in NYC is irrelevant. The big five need you. They need your self published books like the one in the story above. And this is one of those reasons that everyone is saying it is a great time to be an author.
These stories inspire us. They make us all consider self publishing. There is a simple fact that remains. You are more likely to sell more copies with a traditional publisher than you are publishing it yourself. That’s not to say that you can’t publish your book yourself and have a breakout hit. Obviously this happens. For the majority of self published writers it does not. Jennie Nash says she overestimated her ability to sell her own books.
The average self published author makes less than $500 on their book. This post by one of my favorite agents Janet Reid says you need to sell 20,000 copies to get noticed by NYC if that big advance is your goal. I say that number has gone up to at least 50,000 copies just to be considered by an agent/publisher.
Digital Book World says ebook growth is slowing. Only 15% of people who buy an e-reader stop buying print books all together. Konrath, Eisler, and the story that started off this article make it all seem so easy. I’m here to remind you that it isn’t at all easy. All three of the authors mentioned in this article started out with the support of a traditional house and took their fanbase with them when they self published.
We obviously love self publishing. One of my authors Jeanette Battista is a self published client that I found in an odd way. A few of my book blogger pals I trust kept talking about Leopard Moon so I went and bought a copy for myself and read it. I got in touch with Jeanette thereafter. I loved the book, it sold a TON of copies (which I didn’t even know or care about when I called), and we’re working together on placing a different title traditionally. This is the very essence of the hybrid author. A finger in all pies. And the very reason why agencies like us will continue to be relevant. We can help you realize these goals. We have an in house publicist and the beginnings of our very own online street team. We want you to succeed in every way possible.
One of my dear friends Catherine Ryan Hyde is working with her agency to repackage her backlist. It seems to be going great with her and their marketing plans have been fun and I love seeing Catherine succeed at this.
Bottom line, anything is possible. As soon as you press publish you are setting yourself up to test market your book. Set your mind to your goal and create a plan to get there that involves as many helpmeets as you need. Here’s a list of 25 things you need to know to get started on your self publishing journey.
