My journey through the publishing grinder is not much different than many other authors. I started out with learning the demands of the publishing community. That road took me from March of 2006 to October of 2007 where I went through 4 rewrites of my first book The Unwanted.
My goal, was to land an agent and publisher for my book. I thought my prayers had been answered when a small publisher picked me up in April of 2008 and I signed a contract. Great, now my books would get out into the public and I could work on book 2 in my G6 Chronicles series. How naive I was. The book took two years to get published. The Unwanted finally came out in May of 2010. So I thought now I could relax and finish my series, but that was not the case.
What every unpublished and published author needs to understand is that the publishing houses, big or small, are not going to promote you. Unless you are a big name author or celebrity, expect little to no publicity from your publisher. If you have a publisher, you have no say in the matter of pricing for your books. You have no say in the cover design of your books. You have no say on running promotions for your books. If you purchase your own copies from to sell, you must hike up your pricing if you don’t want to lose money. This is the conundrum many authors are facing and one that I’ve faced head on.
I was with my publisher for three and a half years. I got little response from them and was never given a publishing date for my books so I couldn’t even advertise ahead of time. I’d had enough and I told them I wanted out, which was part of my contract. I was free…and a little scared if I’m being honest.
Everything now fell on me but I had some things going in my favor. I am a computer geek and had learned over these several years how to format Kindle and every other form of e-book there is. Also I learned how to typeset my books. Also I create my own cover designs through my business Verve Graphics. All that I would need were proof readers for editing purposes. I dropped my publisher in October of 2011 and my second book Children of Anak was available in both paperback and e-book as of November 2011.
In one month I did what my publisher couldn’t do in a year and a half. The publishers can spare me their excuses and reasons. Under my arrangements with my publisher, I got approximately $1.80 for each e-book that sold at $7.89. The rest of the 70 % profit went to my publisher. That’s just e-books. On my paperbacks that they were selling for $18.98 I got about $2.00. The rest of that 75 % profit went to my publisher. If I wanted to buy books, I had to do it through my publisher at a so called discounted price. I paid a little over $10-11 a copy and received no royalties for them. That means that my publisher buys those copies from the printer for about $3-4 a copy and keeps the entire profit. My publisher was not working for my benefit even though they said they were.
If I can make one thing clear it is that we who publish our own books are not self-published or vanity publishers, we are POWER-PUBLISHED. I feel like breaking out in that song… “I did it MY WAY!” I’m in charge of my books and I’m not signing them away again. I’ve made more in the prior six weeks as a self publisher than half of what I made in the entire 3 and 1/2 years I was with my publisher. And the sales are coming in daily from both the US, UK and Germany.
Give your book to a couple of people who will be open and honest with you. If you get a positive response then you’re ready for self publishing. You do not need a publisher or agent to validate you. Start taking your hard work into your own hands. Don’t go through the hassle that many of us have been through. I’ve seen the light and it is good!!!
DANIEL L. CARTER, born and raised in New York State, has always enjoyed Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories. Some of his favorite authors include Robert Aspirin and Stephen R. Donaldson. The G-6 Chronicles opens up a new paranormal science fiction world that will appeal to many ages. He and his wife, Margo, reside in Western New York.
Check out Daniel’s books at his website and blog. Daniel is the administrator of the Facebook group Author Central. You can find him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
Queries:
How much impact did your mainstream publisher have on getting your name and books known to a wide audience?
Do you think you would still be making the same kind of sales you've made "in the prior six weeks as a self-publisher", if your had NOT had that mainstream distribution/exposure in the preceding three and a half years?
Hi Chris,
The publisher was a small publisher in the business for the last 4 or 5 years. So they had almost none, but then again they did promote other authors that had already made a name for themselves. I actually had made the comment to the publisher that they should think about doing Non-Fiction. I was told they were just not able to handle both at that time. Three months later they are signing on Non-Fiction authors with a following and getting publicity.
To answer your second question, I had a very small fan base and they were found by me, not my publisher. It was my hard work networking with people and finding the right audience. I just needed control over my first book to truly market the series. As of May 2011 I got copyrights back for The Unwanted, Book 1. I already had my cover design, had to do entire typesetting of the book, added artwork that they wouldn't add originally. So the answer is a definite no, however the time I spent waiting for my publisher on my books I learned the business because I could see the writing on the walls.
Dan,
Many thanks for answering my rather abrupt questions so comprehensively, much appreciated, and thanks for following up with the comments here as well!
Your questions didn't come across as abrupt. I appreciated the questions. I'm sorry if my post came off as I hate all publishers. I simply don't think they are worth the cost of what we authors have to give up to be published. I'd love to work with a publisher who helps promote my books and maybe takes 50% of the revenue. I would not have a problem with that at all, if they worked with me. But they don't. So until they change their ways I will self-publish. Again, I truly appreciated the questions.
Blessings,
Dan
I self-published through Lulu.com, and I wondered, how have you overcome the self-marketing hurdles? I'll be honest that I haven't sold very many books, and it's not because it wasn't well-received (I've been given positive reactions so far), but because I haven't been able to reach far enough to get an impact. You know the old phrase, "a prophet is not received in his own town" (my paraphrase)? I kind of feel that way. I've used Facebook, made my own video posted on YouTube, and linked to Facebook and other places, including my blog, but my sales have not been strong. How do you stretch out and sell your book on a budget?
Hi Christopher,
I will give you a couple things that are making an impact and it starts with Target Audience. I too had many people giving great feedback on my first book and a few glowing reviews on Amazon but little to no sales. I went months without a single sale of any kind. I know my book can be appreciated by so many different types of people but what I did was look at the people who already appreciated my book. This is my thought process I'll share, so take it for whatever it's worth.
My books were being read by mainly parents, single moms or dads, a good portion were Christian though my books are not preachy, conservatives not liberal folk, people family oriented, and of course those that love scifi,parnormaol or fantasy.
Once I had this figured out and I had narrowed my target audience I went to town on Twitter, not Facebook. I have several great author friends through the group Author Central on Facebook so I had many contacts already but I use Twitter to find that target audience. I went from 3500ish followers to almost 7000 within the last 7 weeks.(If you're wondering how I did that, Tweetadder. It's a program that does everything for the serious minded Twitterers. Yes I spent money $55. One time. Does everything for me. Tweets, followers, finding that target audience, everything…well not everything.
You next need to talk and retweet your followers that you find interesting or with the same types of books. Talk to them, don't try to sell to them. Sales just come. If they like you they will more than likely buy from you. No one likes a pushy salesperson. Turns me right off. You however tweet about your books regularly throughout the day for maximum exposure. Tweetadder will help you do this. It retweets daily whatever I want. It can even retweet your followers for you if you'd like. I personally like to do that myself.
I would recommend you purchase John Locke's ebook How I Sold a Million copies in 5 months. Not sure if I have the title exactly correct but just look up John Locke on Amazon and "how I" it will come up for you. Great advice and the system he uses is very similar to what I am doing right now. His book gave me the ideas and focus that has helped me tremendously.
What is getting people through the buying stage of my books is the fact that I am selling The Unwanted on Kindle for $.99. I'm not looking to make a lot of money off my first book. I want those that love my books to be ready to purchase Book 2, Children of Anak and I'm pricing that at $5.99. People are buying it and it's only been a month and a half since I started the marketing.
There are several other things I do but I already took up too much of your time. =)
Blessings,
Dan
Daniel, I too share your experience. Except for your name and the name of your book the scenario is the same.
For those who might read Daniel's input, give some thought to the following:
Would you want to buy a printed copy of an unknown author for around $20?
Would you want to have no control of the price of your book?
Would you want to have to wait for an e-book version, and pay the conversion expenses?
Would you want to pay over a thousand dollars to publish your novel?
Would you want to wait months for your royalty payments?
As new authors, we need to be discovered. Our works need to be read and reviewed. If our writing satisfies readers; they will tell others and want to read our other works.
Amazon is one source to publish your novel and that process is much less costly, more efficient, more timely and provides much faster and equitable royalty payments.
Don't make the mistake Daniel and I made. In the spirit of Indies Unlimited we are both trying to help other authors.
Wow Dick, you just summed up this entire post. Where were you when I needed you. LOL I couldn't agree with you more. You can get a decent if not great cover for your book for around $50, some less, but the cover needs to be catching. Editing is where you really need to focus on money wise. If you are already good at editing then just get a couple people to read through the story that can point out any irregularities or plot issues. I personally think you need to pay for a good editor and there are so many around. $200 to $500 you can get a really nice editor that will work to make your book stand out. Not needed but worth the money if you have it. Just make sure you go over that manuscript with a fine toothed comb. I believe it is $35 to copyright your book online and Createspace.com is free for publishing your book in paperback and I think for me my cost is around $3.80 a copy to purchase from Createspace. There may be a few other fees but yeah, compared to spending thousands on some self-publishing agency take the time to learn the business first. Worth it!
Thank you Dick, It's nice to know I'm not alone. =)
Great post about traditional v indie experience. I've published twice traditionally and finally decided that since I was doing all the work anyway I might as well have more control and do it ALL myself.
Your point about finding honest reviewers is perfect. Don't rely on friends and relatives. Get people who know how to zero in on the spots that are bad as well as good. Thanks for your post and good luck in this amazing and challenging book publishing business.
Yes, find someone who will be brutally honest with you. This made all the world of difference for me. I had a pastor friend who loved reading scifi books. He agreed to read it. Three weeks later I received an email that was approximately five pages long. He went through from beginning to end and was completely honest. If it was garbage, he told me. He gave me other advice but he was invaluable.
It's so cool to see so many others have gone through the ringer as well. Not that I'm happy for people's struggles but it's nice to know I'm not alone. =)
Thanks for the comment C. Lee.
Thanks for your post. I went with a small press for my first book, a memoir. It was a fun collaboration but there was no promotion. I sold less than 300 copies. But since I only had to buy them 10 at a time, I was never too stressed financially. I have since published a second edition with createspace along with three other books. I sell them at writing workshops where I'm the speaker. I don't expect to make it big, but I'm satisfied with the way things are going because there are no hassles, no broken trust. I'm the boss.
That's great Trish. What do you speak on?
Great article. Great way to put it. Power-publishing! I'm so happy for you that it's coming together for you.
Awe yes a familiar smiling face. So great to see you Rosie. =) Thank you so much for always being supportive. You Rock Rosie!
Blessings,
Dan
I've made the decision to self-publish already but it really helps to read articles and comments like these. Many thanks.
I'm so glad the posting was helpful Meeks. Thanks for stopping in and commenting. =)
Blessings,
Dan
Excellent post and certainly raises some questions for us all, as indicated by the lengthy detailed questions/comments.
We all want to make money from our books. Maybe it's not a driving factor but most authors want to achieve some level of success. But with this changing market it has been hard to find the right approach. I am learning things everyday when I'm trying to market. Thank you Jo-Anne for sharing.
Blessings,
Dan
I'm a science fiction author. This is where I began. "it starts with Target Audience." I know exactly who my audience are and the demographics.
I have always written specifically for e-publishing, and began in 1993. Understanding how corporate publishing, or any mega-corporation, works and the economics of printing and mass-market distribution, I knew that in 20 years, print publishing would be fading away. And that the big 6 would do everything they could to keep a lock on the market. So, I and a few others built the e-publishing 'cottage industry model' and established the royalty authors should receive. In 2000, when the big 6 stomped on e-pub, bought companies, took every e-reader off the market and smashed our print-on-demand contracts, it was exactly the time and method predicted.
I spent ten years writing and Amazon came out with the Kindle, right on time. They balked the agency model, which was expected, because it made business sense. Now I have 44 books published under 29 titles with more in beta reader hands.
Here are two things that will really help authors get their works moving. The best how-to book available and real help designing your covers.
http://www.amazon.com/Hours-Jump-Start-Career-ebook/dp/B0089H006A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341325049&sr=8-1&keywords=8+hours+to+jump+start+your+career
http://www.facebook.com/groups/194073034055128/
I have personally seen authors following this guide go from 2-3 sales a month to 10-a-day average in two to three weeks. I edited text books and instructional guides for years. I've never seen one more clearly written or better organized. And I've never endorsed one before.
Yes, I know Tammy Clark Gibbs. She is a member of Author Central on Facebook. Thank you so much Sharon for stopping in and sharing.
Blessings,
Dan
Great post Daniel,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I would second the shout out to John Locke's ebook. He has some great insights. Thanks also for your advice about tweetadder, I've been sitting on the fence about doing that lately and I think i've just gone over the fence.
LOL I hope I didn't hurt you Jim as you go over that fence. But, yeah, I truly can't say enough good things about the program. Doesn't mean you go completely automated but it helps you organize and interact with your followers. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Blessings,
Dan
Yesss! I am power-published. lol
You go Yvonne!!! Woohoo!!! =)
Daniel,
I love your phrase power-published! It really is all about keeping our power vs. giving it away, isn't it? Or, as you mentioned, whether we need to be validated by outsiders or whether we can validate ourselves.
For myself, the empowerment has been a journey that is at least as important as the financial returns on my creative investment.
I do have a question for you. How did you decide to produce the paperback version of book 2? I self-published thru a print-on-demand publisher and still feel as if their take per book is a rip-off.
Alix
Hi Alix,
I'm so glad you liked the article. It's a tough journey sometimes. As for the paperbacks, you can just go to createspace.com and get them printed. It's free and you only pay for the copies you want. It all depends on how many pages your book is. My books are roughly around 240-260 pages long. I pay per copy $3.87 for The Unwanted and $3.85 for Children of Anak. I sell them for $10.99 in paperback.
I don't know if this is helpful or not but I'm not sure what you're paying on a POD publishing house but I'm betting it's a lot more than that. Let me know if it isn't so that I can switch. =)
Blessings,
Dan
Hi Daniel you "followed" me on twitter last night. This post is very helpful and right at the facts. A couple things I am a little different on twitter- I don't use any auto service, it bugs me when I see people selling, repeating themselves and not being human. Twitter is good to just be yourself. There is no correct or wrong way to go about it, you find like kind people who will then also end up being readers who like not just you but your thoughts and voice. I read all the time. I'll read whatever a "follower"/buddy (I call them all friends) has put available to understand them. I just started using Pinterest and some of the images I find while lurking on a friend's links are timely and visual to share with a different audience- thereby growing more friends. What can I do to help you grow your possee?
HI Caroline. I'm so glad that we connected on Twitter. Thank you so much for commenting and sharing. I agree that a personal touch is soooo much nicer than automated. Unfortunately I am limited in time with how many personal connections I can make. Using the automation to find followers allows me to see them as they follow back and pick and choose folks that I feel I can connect with. I do have a list of people that I retweet regularly and talk with on a weekly basis. My heart is to promote others and not so much myself. However, I disagree with having a few automated messages. After you get up around 2 thousand or more followers, tweets get lost. So I set up tweets to post at all times of the day. I also do relevant news articles about movies, books and publishing so it's not all about me…. I hate it when people are all about themselves. As you said Caroline, you want to make those personal connections.
Blessings,
Dan