Is It Ever Right to Self-Publish?
January 17th, 2008 by Ray Rhamey
Like many of you, I’ve been hacking away at the world of publishing for a bunch of years now. I’ve written five novels, three of which I think truly are publishable, and one of which is on the desks of three agents as I write this. And I’ve been doing my Flogging the Quill blog about the craft of storytelling for three years, and have an Internet platform and many e-friends. I’m putting together a book of the best of the lessons and critiques from the blog.
I’ve had an agent before, who was new and perhaps pitched my novels to the wrong editors—or maybe they were just too out-of-the-box for them to take on. I do know from editorial feedback that the writing was seen as professional.
My urge to self-publish is rising in regard to two of my works, and it would be good to get your thoughts. Like you, I believe in them, and think I have enough evidence and experience (via many beta readers and critique partners) to think that they are publishable. So let me think out loud at you and solicit your thoughts.
The first book would be one on writing based on the blog, titled “Jump-start Your Novel with Kitty-cats in Action.” I’ve shopped a proposal to publishers, and came very close with Writers Digest Books. One editor wanted to take it on, another one couldn’t quite get there. After four months of chewing it over, they passed, but said come back when you’re also a published author—they sell better in the book how-to world.
But I do have this Internet platform, and get hundreds and hundreds of hits per month by people looking for advice and instruction on how to better write their novels, plus a consistent audience of regular readers who are writers. My “lessons” have drawn praise from publishing editors and published authors. So this seems like a viable project.
The second book I want to publish is a novel of ideas. I wrote it to address the problems of guns, crime, justice and social fragmentation that weigh down our lives. It’s also a near-future/speculative thriller. An early self-published version and revisions been read by enough people that I know it has strong appeal on the “ideas” level for women and for college students— after reading it, one woman in her 40s bought two more copies to share with her college-age daughter and a friend. Since the whole idea was to stimulate thinking about issues, it seems to me I’m almost obligated to get it into print some way.
Not POD
I’m thinking of “traditional” publishing—printed books that can be distributed to bookstores (POD books are not generally acceptable to bookstores, and distribution is hard to get). The books will be copyedited (not by me) before publishing, and the novel will go under the eyes of an independent substantive editor. So they should be truly professional. I’m also taking M.J. Rose/s “Buzz Your Book” online class to further explore the possibilities.
So . . . I have this growing itch, and am trying my best to be rational about it. It all makes sense to me but, based on the little you know, could this be one of those circumstances where it makes sense to self-publish?
Best,
Ray
Photo by aspotlessmindx.
Ray, I think we’re all tempted at one time or another to self-publish, rather than continue the interminable wait for the traditional publishers to knock on our doors. A man who has made his living as a novelist once told me that as a writer, he’s a big believer in money coming toward him, not the other way around. I guess to me it would depend on whether you are more interested in seeing your name on a book than you are in a career in publishing. There’s nothing wrong with the former. Everyone has different ideas of what would make their dream come true. I’m glad I waited because my first book will be out this fall and my editor is interested in the rest of my unpublished stuff. I’m not sure she’d still be interested if I had self-published any of them. Good luck with your decision.
Marie, it’s not a matter of a desire to see my name on a book. That’s far too shallow a motive for the kind of work and money that we’re talking about here, and that’s not the kind of thing that drives me.
For these two books there are personal motives, to be sure. For the writing book, it’s dual: to generate editing business (eventually) and to help other writers. For the novel, it’s to stimulate thought that might lead people to solutions for some of our society’s ills. If it weren’t my name on the novel, I’d still want to have that book available to the public. In fact, one of the things I’ll do is offer free e-versions.
My best-of-all-worlds is, like you, to be published by a real publisher, and work with an editor. But the question is, if my work could actually do some good out there (and I know you can’t judge that, although I know I’ve helped writers via my blog), is it right to keep it parked in a room called hope?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Ray, I didn’t mean to imply any shallowness when I said that about having your name on a book. For many people—some I’m sure we both know—that is MORE than enough for them. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Some people just don’t have the stomach to go the distance with traditional publishing, and after having gone this far myself, I understand that! If your book is nonfiction and has the valuable platform you mention in your comment, that might make for a better self-publishing candidate than fiction that’s intended to be entertainment. Either way, it’s a tough decision. If you are still interested in working with a publisher/editor, do you feel you’ve exhausted all conventional means?
I could be talking out my *ss here (and frequently do–on this blog, no less) but if you’ve explored all avenues of “real” publishing, can afford to self-pub, and have explored all the headaches involved with distributing it DIY, then I’d select one of those two projects and do it.
In fact, for the FtQ-affiliated book, it might even be a better solution. You’ve gained your street-cred online. Your readers know that if they buy the book, they’ll get value for money. Then they’ll tell others. That’s the magic of the online community.
You might find that success with this book might make the traditional world view your other projects more seriously.
But it’s going to be a lot of work. Do you want to give over your valuable time to it rather than on the next project? Only you can say.
Ray, totally my opinion here, but I’d hold on for a trad publisher for your FtQ book; I think you could have a larger audience going that way. (Though if you exhaust all methods, then go for the e-pub, because there would certainly be people interested in that book!)
The second book idea, though, is different. It feels more like a good-karma thing to get it out there to stimulate discussion. Having it e-published and then giving away free books could be a great way to go. And, like Kath suggested, maybe trying it with one book first is a good way to test the e-book waters?
Anyway, my 2 cents. Good luck!
Thanks, Teri, but the possibilities for the FtQ book have pretty much been exhausted. Only if I have a published (by a real publisher) novel will Writers Digest reconsider it, and all other possible publishers in the area have been queried with the proposal and have declined.
If I do publish the FtQ book myself, it might add to the platform that would enable novels to gain some foothold, so it’s definitely first up.
There’s no doubt self-publishing can work sometimes, and can also help to bring a book to the notice of ‘’mainstream'’ publishers. There are a few famous local examples I can think of right here in Australia–authors who were fed up of the constant ‘’maybe–perhaps–one day'’ attitude of traditional publishers, and who went ahead and published their books anyway. One was Matthew Reilly, who self-published his first thriller because no publisher would take him on–he worked tirelessly to get the book into all sorts of shops, got lots of publicity–pestering radio and so on–had a website–and lo and behold, the book took off like a rocket and a few months later, here’s Pan Macmillan on the line, offering him a contract for his next thriller and offering to republish the first one–he’s become really famous now. Another guy was Jacob Rosenberg, a survivor of the holocaust who wanted to write a memoir of his family and his life, and who not finding any interest from publishers(who thought the Holocaust had been too written about perhaps)self-published his memoir himself. Same thing–suddenly not only does the book sell, but it also starts winning umpteen literary prizes–Lo and behold, here come the publishers, cap in hand, to publish the second part of his memoirs!
Another guy I learnt of recently is an Italian-australian called Peter de Maio who wanted to preserve the recipes and anecdotes of his family–he didn’t think any publisher would be interested, so he published it himself. It was taken up by lots of specialist bookstores–and lo and behold, a book he thought might sell only 100 copies has sold more than 4,000! He said he didn’t want to go the traditional publishing route at all–he prefeered to keep his book in-house.
Those are great success stories, of course. It does not work for everyone. But i think what was common to all of these writers was that not only did they have a strong belief in the quality of their work, but they had a fairly shrewd idea as to their likely audience–as you seem to. THey KNEW there was a market. And they were prepared to do the hard yards to promote the book..
I’ve never self-published–the closest I’ve come is a POD book of my essays done by a tiny publisher–i knew no traditional publisher would touch a collection of essays and short stories)but like most established writers there have been numerous occasions when certain of my books have been rejected, for no apparently good reason. I’ve been sorely tempted then to go into business for myself–but have been put off by the amount of work involved. But if you’re prepared to take that on, why not? I wish you the very best of luck with it!
I think it’s a question of whether or not you want to do the work of the publisher.
I, for one, do not think those services account for 85% of the profits. At that price, you should be able to hire a few assistants to help you keep the wheels O’ business turning.
But again, it’s a question of whether or not you want to get wrapped up in that kind of work, or just let a publisher do it for you.
To clarifiy, I’m not talking as much about the profit motive as I am about the tradeoffs of the 85/15 arrangement. You’re paying 85 for what? Printing? UPC and bar code registration? A cover design? Type-setting? Shipping? That is, if you don’t hire a 3rd party shipping company to handle inventory for you.
Obviously it’s not about profit, but it is about money so far as how far that gets you and what you can purchase with it, expense-wise.
Do you think a publisher will re-invest that 85% into publishing your next book?
I’m biased in favor of self-publishing just as I’m in favor of entrepreneurial spirit. I think the individual knows best, and if you’re quite happy without a metaphorical Big Brother handling your book and think you can step up to the workload, go for it!
Ray, my advice would be to hold out a little longer for a ‘real’ publisher to accept your novel, after which you should have less difficulty getting a publisher to take on the craft book.
My reason for suggesting this path is that readers may well question your credentials as an expert on writing if you don’t have a body of work in print. Note: I’m not saying here that I have any doubts about your expertise - I have a high opinion of your posts on the craft of writing. But the public can be quick to judge.
Of course, if what happened to Matthew Reilly happened to you, self-publishing your novel could lead to mainstream acceptance / success. If you decide you really want to self-publish one or the other project, I’d go for the novel first.
Well, Ray, I enjoy Flogging the Quill. And I think that a book based on that blog could sell relatively well; you have more of a platform than lots of other published writers… Of course, profit would depend on the amount of time and energy you’re willing to put into it. But you’d have to do that with a traditional publisher, wouldn’t you? I think what this really comes down to is whether you’ll regret it if you don’t publish.
So if you can truly afford it, and self-pubbing with a professional, reputable company is possible, what have you really got to lose? I mean, besides your regrets…
Ray,
Guess I’ll have to join in here. Looking back, I realize that the publication of my non-fiction book by a royalty publisher was truly the result of the “right person, right time” hook-up of proposal and publisher. Just lucky.
On the other hand, I’ve been knocking on the door for three years with a total of three novels, several times close enough to have the full manuscript get all the way to the pub board, only to be told “It’s good, but it just won’t sell.”
The advice I’ve received (and, reluctantly, taken) is that for every book that’s self-pubbed and skyrockets to success there are probably a couple of hundred others that end up as dusty cartons sitting in a garage. So, my advice (for what it’s worth) is to hang on a bit longer and hope for that serendipitous meeting of manuscript and publisher that ends up with your name on a contract.
Best of luck. I really enjoy FtQ and your posts here at WU.
Hi Ray,
I feel your pain. Self-publishing is a double-edged sword. The biggest problem is promotion and sales. You just can’t compete with the large marketing and promotional engines of the major publishers. I interviewed MJ Rose, who is the exception to self publishing. She self-published a book and promoted it herself. Sales were so good, a traditional publisher picked up her book. Here is what she says about self-publishing:
“Self-publishing is overcrowded. With over 100,000 books being churned out a year and no viable way to get the attention of readers or booksellers and competing with the 75,000 books being published by traditional houses that have distribution muscle and sales forces that the stores listen to, it’s daunting.
Yes, there are success stories. About 20 of those 100,000 get noticed by the big houses a year, but there are better ways.”
You can read the rest of my interview at http://www.algonkianconferences.com/literarylife-rose.htm
The other side of the sword in self publishing is that it could harm the sale of your next book. A traditional publisher will look at the sales of the self-published book and decide not to take your next book because sales were poor. Once you purchase your ISBN number that serves as the ultimate tracking number for the sales of your book. Publishers can instantly see how your book sold through BookScan and other book tracking services so all the promotion in the world may not attract a traditional publisher. It could be the scarlet letter of your writing career.
The logic here is that if your self-published book is doing well, why would you want a traditional publisher who will eat into your profit-per-book? And if the book is not doing well, why would a publisher want to take on a poorly-selling product?
They have enough of their own. They consider it damaged goods. Of course, none of this is written in stone and there are exceptions.
It’s a strange business and I wish you the best of luck in whatever you do.
Ray,
Last Sunday, the Boston Globe featured an article about Brunonia Barry who self-published her novel, “The Lace Reader” with tremendous results. After it was published, traditional publishers came knocking and the work (plus a future novel) finally sold for $2mil at literary auction. While this is exceptionally rare, it should give hope to authors such as yourself, that it can happen. I’m a Virtual Assistant and Author’s Assistant and work primarily with self-publishing, non-fiction authors (who typically make up the largest group of self publishers), but more and more fiction authors are also making it work for them. The self-publishing process can be complex and there are pitfalls, but if do your homework and produce a bookstore quality book, it’s very possible traditional publishers may take notice of you and your work. Good luck!
Ray, in your case, with the kind of books you want to publish, with the blog attention you already have, with the knowledge you have of the business, I think I would say go for it.
For most others, I would be more cautious. My own publishing history tells me that patience and persistence and hard work pays off - I obtained an agent in Jan 1991 with a book that wasn’t published until 2003 by HarperCollins Voyager, and which was then shortlisted for the best fantasy of the year in Australia. My first published book, however, was in 1999 in the UK, and was the third that my agent had been shopping for me. And she is a well-known, well-respected agent too…
I now have 7 books published in 4 languages and 6 countries - and I have been shortlisted for national prizes 4 times. It was worth the wait and the work and the heartbreak along the way. But oh, do I sympathise with good writers who just never seem to quite get there.
One fault of some such writers is that they keep trying with the same book, when they should be scrapping the early book(s) and starting afresh - now with more experience.
Check out Simon Haynes for another “do-it-yourself” success story: http://www.spacejock.com.au/
The biggest questions are:
- do you want to spend your own time and resources (money) in order to generate every single ounce of marketing, distribution, sales and promotion?
- does it matter to you that the book won’t be reviewed in traditional media?
- how would self-publishing affect your future writing/publishing career pro & con?
Only YOU can answer these questions for yourself.
Good luck.
Does posting original fiction on a personal blog count as “self-publishing?” I started writing blog-length fiction posts to cure myself from obsessive rewriting. The idea stalling me was that if I wrote something great, an agent and then a publisher might read it. But I wasn’t getting past the same ten pages for months at a time. Then, too, no agent or publisher was ever interested, no matter what I did.
The blog, committed to online fiction written in real time, has worked for me. My posts seemed almost organically to develop into serial stories that usually run novella length. At the year’s end, I polished the best four, cutting episodes as needed. Each of the four ran about 100 mss. pages. An unpublishable, unmarketable length, perhaps, I’m proud of my “blogvellas,” nonetheless. They’re available for downloading on my sidebar.
Of course, not everything worked. I scrapped plenty of stuff and feel discouraged that my most popular posts are invariably the odd nonfiction piece. Still, I can claim a changing number of regular fiction readers.
I don’t make money from my writing, but I don’t spend money on it, either. Half of why I write is for an audience, small or not. The blog, for me, is better than nothing.
Kathleen, I don’t think “blogwork” counts as self-publishing. I wrote a novel online in blog form, one post per week for 58 weeks. The full manuscript is now on the desks of three literary agents–I’ve mentioned the blog origin to two of them, and haven’t heard anything back. Also, on the excellent The Rejecter blog by an agent’s assistant, I found this:
“I would not lose any sleep over having your novel on the internet prior to signing a contract with a publishing company. After you sign, if they’ve bought the digital rights, you have to take it down.”
If you’re curious, my “blovel” or “blook” is still online at www.vampirekittycat.com.