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?

Getting the Word Out: Increasing Your Blog Audience in 5 Easy Steps

I’m fairly new to blogging, but I love connecting with people all over the world. It’s amazingly fascinating to read about what other people are doing and how it works for them (when you’re a kid, that’s being nosey. When you’re an adult, it’s “networking.”)

But how to increase my audience? I mean, if I didn’t want people to read what I was writing, I’d write a diary, not a blog. After reading several articles and arduously combing the web for answers, these seem to be the keys to unlocking the door to your intended audience.

 

That's a pretty loyal blog follower right there!

1.       Interact with, read and intelligently comment on other people’s blogs. Other people are writing to be read too, and there is some FANTASTIC stuff out there. But the key is intelligent comments. Tell people why you agree or disagree, what you liked or didn’t like (but be nice! I know you’re pretty anonymous behind a computer, but gently pointing out that the wrong “there” was used is different than lambasting someone for being an idiot because they used the wrong “there,” you know).

2.       Use social media, discover engines, forums, etc to get the word out. Your Facebook page is a good spot for this. But please, dear sweet lord, DO NOT spam your blog address everywhere. For the love of all that is decent and holy, have some restraint.

3.       Use eye-catching great blog titles. I’m far more likely to read “The Top 10 Things a Publisher Looks For: Make Your Manuscript Shine!” than I am “What Publishers Care About.” I know, if feels sensationalist, especially if the same information is contained in your post, but we are a world that’s constantly distracted. You have to grab people’s attention (But don’t lie in your title about the content of your post. That’s tricksy and not very nice).

4.       Keep posting consistently! If you haven’t posted anything other than pictures of your kids (but yes, they’re adorable. And when did they get so big?!) since 2012 on your writing blog, people will lose interest. I know your kids are the most important thing in your life (OMG! Look at their little chunky cheeks! I just want to squeeze them!), but unless your entire audience has baby fever or is a bunch of weirdos, they probably aren’t going to stick around.

5.       Be objective, for just a moment. Does your font really work in yellow on a white background? Does your blog look well put together? Is your spelling atrocious? Does the comic sans font reallymake you look like you know what you’re talking about?

These are the tips that I think are the most helpful. Did I miss anything? How do you increase your blog following?

The Top 10 Books Every Adventurous, Can-Do Kid Will Enjoy Reading

Think this girl will be satisfied reading something because she "should" read it?

 There are mountains of books out there highly recommended (they'd require it if they could!) by all sorts of experts. As a kid, I found most of the books on those lists incredibly dull, especially the list of books that girls should read (Coming of age stories? Blehhhh!). I wanted books that were exciting adventurous, funny, and just a tiny bit scary. So, what about a list of books that smart, funny children will enjoy reading, rather than “should read?”

1.       The Great Brain by John Dennis Fitzgerald: A smartly-written book about a boy, John, whose older brother Tom (nicknamed The Great Brain), is both a genius and a swindler, finding crafty ways to bilk the neighborhood kids—and occasionally adults—out of money. My four grade teacher read this to us (thanks Mr. T!), and it was laugh out loud funny for the entire classroom.

2.       Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix: An edge-of-your-seat novel about a girl, Jessie, who thinks she lives in a tiny rural village in the 1840s, only to find that’s she’s actually living in 1996, in a replica of a historical village that’s actually a tourist attraction. A deadly disease is running rampant through the village, and Jessie must go into a world with technology 150 years past her understanding to get modern medicine, without alert the people who are desperately trying to keep the inhabitants inside “history.” I must have read this two dozen times.

3.       The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner: This series focuses on four orphaned children (Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden) who solve mysteries. The mysteries range from simple to complex as the series goes along. These were my go-to books in second grade, and there are well over a hundred of them.

4.       Mossflower by Brian Jacques: Despite the name sounding somewhat feminine, this is chronologically the first book in a fantasy series about animal warriors who live in the Mossflower Wood. Martin the Warrior (a mouse), is traveling through the Wood and is captured and imprisoned by a tyrannical wildcat. After escaping, Martin must rally the peaceful residents of Mossflower (moles, mice, hedgehogs, etc) to fight back against the evil ruler. Not only is the storyline captivating, I love the chivalry and honor that pervades the story!

5.       Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt: All about the consequences of immortality, this fantasy book is about a girl named Winnie and the family she meets, who have drank water from a hidden stream and become immortal. This book accelerates without warning, and become a wild adventure trying to find the correct choice between deception and doing the right thing.

6.       James and the Giant Peach by Ronald Dahl: This adventure follows a young boy named James who lives with his horrible aunts. Through an accident of magic, a peach grows massive in the garden. Some bugs (including a worm, ladybug, and grasshopper) are also affected; growing not only larger, but also developing the ability to speak. James and his new friends end up using the peach as a boat, and float away to some great adventures. This book is absolutely full of goofy and ridiculous fun. Please don’t judge it by the movie of the same title.

7.       A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickett: Three Baudelaire orphans (Violet, Klaus, and Sunny) are placed in the custody of Count Olaf, a truly terrible human being. Olaf has every intent to steal the Baudelaire’s immense inheritance. Throughout the series, the children must work together to escape his evil clutches again and again, as many of the adults in the series are oblivious to the children’s plight. These books are darker than most children’s books, but if your kiddo (or you) likes impossible adventures, bizarre twists, and unique villains, these are great!

8.       Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson: An imaginative story about two lonely kids who together create an imaginary kingdom and who are transformed by friendship. This book starts out very light and fun, but becomes much more serious. Warning: this was the first book to ever make me cry. I still cry every time I read it. This may lead to serious conversations about death with your children.

9.       My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George: Sam Gribley runs away from his parents’ cramped apartment that he shares with too many siblings and forges out a living for himself in the Catskill Mountains. This book is all about the difficulties of survival, courage, independence, and loneliness. This may have been required reading in 3^rd or 4^th grade… And it made me want to live off the land in the middle of nowhere. My husband love this one as a kid too.

10.   Purple, Green, and Yellow by Robert Munsch: By the author of The Paper Bag Princess comes a story about Brigid, who wants the latest and greatest markers. First, she gets regular markers, then markers that wash off with water, then markers that smell, then the holy grail of markers: the super-indelible-never-comes-off-till-you’re-dead markers. I must have read this to my cousins about 100 times, and we always laughed like crazy at the end.

Those are the book I would recommend to your adventurous, can-do kid. Anything I missed? What would you recommend?