Time to Throw in the Towel? Self-Publishing Success Stories

I bet you've heard of every single one of the following people! And I bet you had no idea that they started as self-published authors. 

Warning: Results not typical. Contact your doctor in you experience double vision, as this may be a sign of a more serious condition. Side effects may include obsessive writing, giddiness, frustration, and words not fit for print. 

John Grisham wrote his first novel, "A Time To Kill" in 1989. He received 28 rejection letter before self-publishing a mere 5,000 copies through a small private publisher. He was eventually picked up by Doubleday. After writing three more books ("The Firm," "The Pelican Brief" and "The Client"), Grisham sold Doubleday the rights to "A Time To Kill," and reissued it. Now his books are available in every grocery store, bookstore, and airport in the United States. According to Wikipedia, he has sold more than 275 million books worldwide! Not too shabby!

The innocent childhood favorite, "The Tales of Peter Rabbit," was rejected several times by publisher. But Beatrix Potter knew she had a great idea and wouldn’t give up. She self-published Peter Rabbit’s stories in 1901. Only a year later, one of the publishers who had initially rejected the manuscript published it (want to bet they were humble and apologetic?). They also published 22 more of her stories. Over two million Beatrix Potter books are sold every year. BAM! Pretty fantastic for bunnies and frogs dressed in waistcoats!

E.L. James (Erika Leonard) has sold more than 70 million copies of her "Fifty Shades" trilogy worldwide. She started out writing Twilight fan fiction (literally just felt you shudder. It’s ok. I understand) stories and posting them on her website. When she wrote "Fifty Shades of Grey," she self-published it through a small Australian publishing company. It was released it on eBook and print-on demand. After the world discovered that a bunch of middle aged women enjoy BDSM erotica, the rights were acquired by Vintage Books.

William P. Young’s self-published Christian fiction book, “The Shack,” became a USA Time Bestseller, selling over a million copies. Before it was successful however, it was rejected by both secular and Christian publishing companies. In fact, Young and his friends created their own publishing company for the sole purpose of publishing that book. Marketing, for the first year, was simply word of mouth and a $300 website they paid someone to put together for them. In 2008, the book’s popularity exploded, and spent 70+ weeks on the New York Times Paperback Best Seller’s List.

There are more out there. And, with social media being what it is, there are more success stories coming! Hang in there, friends! You could be next!

Did any of this surprise you? What other self-publishing success stories are out there?

6 Reasons to Self-Publish: Take the Leap

You might just enjoy the ride!

 I’ve never done things the traditional route. I’m not sure if it’s a strength or a weakness of mine, but bucking tradition is practically my own tradition. There’s just something about making my own way, about doing things a little different than the rest that appeals to me. Because of this, self-publishing, even with all its challenges appeals to me far more than traditional publishing. Here are six reasons that I find self-publishing to be a better fit for me than traditional publishing:

1.       You own what you produce. In traditional publishing, often the publishing company owns the rights. If they decide they no longer wish to produce your book, you have to buy the rights back to change that. However, when you own what you produce, you can keep printing as many copies as you need for as long as you need.

2.       Control. Not only can you control designs and illustrations, you can control the content of your book, the sale price, and where it is marketed. The only thing holding you back is yourself (or possibly, what your mom might say). Typeface, title, and the cover will all be what you want, not what someone else wants. Your book reflects your vision, no one else’s.

3.       Timing. Not only do you get the advantage of working at your own pace, but once you make the move toward self-publishing, the time from submission to published work is far shorter than a traditional publishing company (sometimes as little as one week!).

4.       Profit potential. You have the potential to earn higher royalties. A traditional publisher gives you 5-20%, but because you can set the price yourself, your royalties are up to you. You have the potential of making far higher royalties (into the 70% range is not uncommon), and you’ll get paid faster. And, if your book does “make it big,” you might find yourself receiving calls from traditional publishers anyway.  

5.       Niche. Is your book fairly subject specific? This is more true for non-fiction, but it’s possible that publishers may not be interested in a book on tying dry flies for fishing the Gallatin River. However, if you live near the Gallatin River where fly tying and fly fishing is not only popular but has major economic influence; your tiny little market might be where you make it big.

6.       You are Your Own Boss. You can decide when to write more, what to write about, and what your deadlines are. There’s no one tell you when to jump and how high.

What reasons did I miss? Anything else that inspires you to self-publish rather than traditionally publish?

5 Reasons Not to Self-Publish Your Book

There’s literally over a thousand articles out there on why you should never-ever-in-a-hundred-million-years (probably not an industry-specific term) self-publish a book. I’ve read a fair number of them before launching into the adventure of self-publishing because I like to be informed and love I a good challenge. Here’s the general consensus among the naysayers:

1.       It’s A LOT of work. Lucky you, you’re on the hook for all of it. You have to find an editor, your own cover artist/illustrator, your own proofreader (and it shouldn’t be your mom… Though I still love you, Mom!), and do your own marketing. Remember all that time you used to spend writing? Swallowed up in the immense amount of time spent doing everything else associated with publishing.

2.       The cost. Unless you can find a way to do this on a budget, you will pay for, at a minimum, a quality cover (because a tacky cover does little to attract readers), editing (I tend to be quite “comma happy”), proofreading (editors miss things too), marketing/promotion, and a website (unless you’re also an internet guru. Some of you are. Color me jealous).

3.       The quality. Its only as good as you can afford up front, and sometimes, it’s not very much. I’ve seen some pretty fantastic stuff and also some pretty poor quality books. There’s not quality control with self-publishing; printing companies will print whatever you send them. Also, traditional publishers know the ins and outs of proper book layout, which increases a book’s appeal.

 

Its perfect, right?

4.       Lower distribution. Unless you are incredibly good, incredibly lucky, and incredibly talented, you won’t get bookstore or library distribution, and you’ll just been that sad person selling your books at an otherwise empty table at the local farmer’s market.

5.       The perception. We all know someone who has self-published something that my British friends refer to as “rubbish” (thank you, British friends, for being worlds more polite than Americans). Many people think all self-published books are the same sub-par, unprofessional drivel. That stigma is fading, but not nearly fast enough. We know it’s not true, but we’re on the inside.

Those are the top 5 reasons, according to the “experts.” What are your thoughts on these? Do these arguments hold any water?

Tomorrow I’ll give you the top reasons to self-publish, so don’t tar and feather me yet!