Depending on where you’ve been keeping yourself over the past couple of months you may have heard rumblings that the market for self-published literature has bottomed out. Kindle Unlimited has reduced earnings for Indie authors and forced many to return to their day jobs, there are too many traditionally-published books on the market at lower prices, or insert any other complaint here that shows Amazon slighting indie authors. As with everything we hear, whether it’s online or in the realer world, we should examine the sources and try to determine their motivation. Once we’ve done that, we often discover that the sky isn’t really falling and there is no reason to get fitted for a tinfoil hat. Not yet anyway.
The quality of the content and product presentation of self-published literature is improving at a staggering rate. I had no idea that there were so many talented, creative writers out there. And, many authors are connecting with readers and selling books by the truckload every day. If you’re still not convinced I’d like to present you with some reasons why self-publishing may be the route for you. Continue reading “5 Reasons Why You Should STILL Be Self-Publishing”
I believe there are three possible scenarios that can take place when you release a book. Firstly, (and I hope this happens to you), you do very little to promote your book yet based on the phenomenal content – and readers spreading the word – your book hits the upper plateaus of the bestseller rankings. And, it stays there for a considerable amount of time. Yes, this does happen. Consider Andy Weir’s (originally self-published) The Martian, Hugh Howey’s Wool, etc.
I have never read a blog post where Stephen King claimed to sell 20,000 e-books in a week. Nor have I read a post where Nora Roberts reported selling 37,000 e-books and hitting number one in seven of Amazon’s sub categories. I did not read any of those things. But, I did post that I had 30,000 freeloads over a three day period. And, when one of my novels hit #46 overall a couple of months ago I shared that too. Amazon even mentioned my earning numbers a couple of years back in one of their press releases. And I’ve posted when I’ve hit the top rankings too, and if I make the Movers and Shakers or Hot New Releases list I post that information. Because you guys all want to know. You have to know. Don’t you? 
I teach self-publishing workshops. Some of them are facilitated by writers’ organizations or festivals, and some of them I organize myself or with my business partner. Usually, they sell out. Late last year I had a major event planned. I was at half capacity with six weeks to go, and sign-ups stalled. So, I posted on Facebook, tweeted on Twitter, and wrote an article detailing the content and posted it on LinkedIn. No matter what I did I couldn’t fill any more seats. My workshops aren’t expensive. They’re priced so that authors can afford to attend. My goal is to spread the word that many of the tools needed to self-publish are readily available to authors and it isn’t necessary to hire outside agencies in order to publish your work. I didn’t think cost was a problem and I was offering valuable information. Vancouver is a city of last-minute decision-makers, but I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to sell out before the day of the event.