Self-publishing success doesn’t require hitting bestseller list

Jun 07 2009

In this tight economy, the gatekeepers of the publishing world (i.e. agents and large publishing houses) are keeping their gates closed a little more. This is sad news for unpublished writers who have dreams of seeing their words in print. Is the system fair? No, not by a long shot. Even in a good economy, the chances of getting your book published aren’t good. Just the sheer number of writers out there ensure that most of us will live in obscurity.

However, this doesn’t mean there is no hope. Advancing technology and a number of high-profile success stories have really lit a fire under the world of self-publishing. Being a successful author doesn’t mean hitting the New York Times bestselling list, or even selling millions of copies of your latest masterpiece. By self-publishing your writing, you can be a successful author and also make a tidy profit.

Today I was reading my Google Alerts email which sends me literary news and current blog posts that Google feels I should be reading. And I was pleasantly surprised to come across this article How I became a ‘Bestselling’ Author by Richmond Shreve.

The story is a familiar one: The author writes away for the sheer love of writing, never expecting much to come of it. Then, at the advice of a life coach named Marguerite Chandler, Richmond self-published a collection of short fiction. Richmond still had no illusions of success, even as a self-published author:

I had reconciled myself to being obscure. The year before, I set a goal of collecting the best of my stories and self-publishing them for friends and relatives as a short paperback. I had no illusions that I would sell hundreds of copies. I would content myself with the satisfaction of having a book on my shelf that I had produced. My daughter and sons would get copies and thus I would become a published author in the eyes of those closest to me.

After getting the book together, Richmond and Marguerite hatched a plan to have 2 parties with a lot of friends and family as a way of selling the book. They also decided to give the book profits to local charities, and in the end raised about $3000. Not too shabby for a self-published author. You can buy his book Lost River Anthology: Rites of Passage (aff link) on Amazon.

Some simple truths about self-publishing

Even a decade or so ago, self-publishing was very much in the same ballpark as vanity publishing, where the author paid for the publishing of his/her book, then bought a large number of copies to distribute. Unfortunately, most never sold even half the copies they purchased and the books ended up collecting dust in a garage or basement.

Now, with print-on-demand technology, authors don’t need to spend all that money for a print run of their book. Someone wants to buy the book, it’s printed up, shipped to the customer, and everyone is happy.Near the end of the above article, I found two very insightful thoughts from Richmond:

The book does not need to be commercially successful to be profitable to the author and the on-demand publisher.

A self-published book is very much geared towards a niche market of readers – one probably too small for a large publishing house to even notice. But there are profits to be made and success to be found in niche markets. As Richmond says:

It is no longer a vanity to self publish. It allows writers to exploit the niche markets close to home.

Self-publishing no longer means the author is simply a crappy writer who can’t get published anywhere else. Unfortunatley, this is a stereotype that still permeates through the publishing world, and even with the general reading public. If you look at it from a purely economic view, traditional publishing could never sustain the sheer number of good writers out there looking to publish a book. The supply is just too much.

As technology improves and the nature of publishing changes, I have a feeling we’ll see more and more self-published authors see success that would be unheard of a decade or two ago. And, we’ll also see a number of small, niche publishing companies popping up that will serve these smaller markets. There will always be the need for the large traditional publishers because of their large distribution networks, but I have a feeling that their influence will decrease significantly in the next couple of years.

Where do you see publishing going? Have you self-published a book? If so, leave a comment and describe your experience. I’m interested in hearing from those authors ‘in the trenches.’

One Response

Well, I decide to write an online dating guide for men, called INTERNET PIMPIN and I did n’t want to go through the whole hassle of dealing with agents AND publishing companies. I was also very excited when I received my book in the mail. It’s a very rewarding feeling to create something of value.

JACK FAAL 12/1/2009 11:58 am