Exploring the Three Paths, Part 1: Five Truths About Self-Publishing

Let's break things down, shall we?

I want to start by saying that I love self-publishing. I have bought and read many self-published books. I have edited great books by self-published authors, have included self-published titles in my “best of the year” essays at Locus Magazine, and wrote for BlueInk Review for a couple years because I got tired of pitching reviews of self-published books to other venues and getting turned down. I’ve also helped every single student of mine who has chosen self-publishing as their path to publication. So yeah, this isn’t an essay attacking self-publishing. Much like going with a small press and publishing with a Big Four, self-publishing is a valid path to publication that, for some people, is absolutely perfect.

Unfortunately, most people get online to figure out what to do when they’re thinking about self-publishing, and the internet is full of misinformation. When it comes to self-publishing, the misinformation comes from people who have never done it or, even worse, from self-published authors who are convinced their way of doing things is the only acceptable way. It irks me every time someone says something like “I’m still waiting for my second box of galleys from my publisher” and a self-published author immediately chimes in with “That’s why I self-published! Trad publishing has nothing to offer!” No, you didn't self-publish because you didn’t want to wait for you second box of galleys. Shut the fuck up and let people enjoy whatever path they have chosen.

So yeah, I wanted to clarify things a bit. In fact, I want to help clarify things for every path, which is why I’ll be writing essays like this about small publishers and Big Four as well. But let’s kick things off with self-publishing. Here are some truths about it:

• Self-publishing is not easy, fast, or free. Sure, you can write a shitty book, slap a free image on the cover, and call it a day, but if you’re reading this, my guess is you want to do things right. To self-publish a decent book, you’ll have to work on it for a while, edit mercilessly, work with an editor (“But I don’t believe in editing! I want to have complete control!” Well, you can stop reading now and come back when you’re serious about this), and get a great cover. You can also hire pros to do your interior design. Self-publishing a great book that looks amazing takes time, effort, and money. That said, self-publishing can be a LOT faster than traditional publishing, so if your main concern is speed, then self-publishing is definitely the right path for you.

• The stigma is still there. We can’t pretend it’s not. Are there many great self-published books? Yup. Are there tons of shitty ones? Sure, but the same could be said about small press books and even Big Four books. The big difference here is that these last two don’t carry the same stigma. That stigma is why you don’t see self-published books reviewed in the big venues and very rarely in those lists published by magazines and newspapers. And a lot of self-published writer don’t help the cause because they write shitty books, don’t edit, and give their books awful covers. All of that helps to perpetuate the stigma. Oh, and then you have all the self-published “writers” using AI to “write” books and then again for the cover. Is this a problem all around? Sure, but it’s a much more common problem in self-publishing. That’s why it’s so hard to convince folks that many self-published books are great. I don’t see the stigma vanishing any time soon, so if this is the path you’re choosing, be ready for that.

• Everyone is struggling to sell books. Remember: publishing a book is one thing, but selling that book to readers is an entirely different thing. I don’t want to turn this into a piece full of numbers, but almost three million self-published books are published every year. My guess is that this number will only increase (for more on this, you can check out last year’s Bowker report). However, according to a bunch of sources (I recommend looking at places that aren’t trying to sell you their services), self-published authors usually make anywhere between $0 and $500 dollars per year. On the other hand, some folks trying to sell you their systems will claim you can make $10,000 per month. And then some folks hit it big and make high six figures every year. Truth is, it’s impossible to know how much you will make every year as a self-published author, so when folks recommend it to you as the best path, ask them if they’re paying their bills with book money. That’s a perfect place to start that very serious conversation. Also, you should know that there are a lot of other books out there and that marketing is hard as fuck. The “you should definitely self-publish!”crowd rarely talk about money or marketing or any of those difficult things. I see self-published authors on social media complaining about sales all the time. Ask them questions. Oh, and the whole “you get to keep all your money!” is a lie if you’re using Amazon to self-publish, so don’t believe that for a second.

• Distribution is still a big issue. Yes, ebooks and audiobooks are awesome, but don’t expect indie bookstores to fill up your inbox with requests to carry your book. Setting up events will also be a bit harder because of the stigma we talked about earlier and the fact that getting a bunch of preorders at a bookstore for a self-published title is no easy feat. Also, I’ve heard B&N is carrying less and less small press books, so you can imagine where self-published books fall on their list of priorities.

• Unless you spend money to do it all yourself, forget about an advance, galleys, reaching out to media outlets, going on tour, etc. This one and the previous one are huge for me. That’s why I’m always telling folks to think about what they want and then develop a plan so they can work toward that goal. Want a book published your way with the cover you bought and on the week you picked? Self-publish it! Want to publish a new book in your series every three or four months? Self-publish them! In my case, I always wanted to be a writer. That’s the dream we all share, right? As a student of publishing, I knew I wanted some very specific things. That list was very long and it took me 14 years to get to where I wanted to be. I won’t give you the whole list here, but some of the things at the top of it were an agent to take care of things I couldn't do myself and help me sell foreign rights, a big advance that allowed me to be a full-time writer, my novels in bookstores across the country, and for my publisher to pay for galleys, reach out to reviewers for me, and pay for my tour. I got all that. I don’t want to control my publishing date. I don’t want to publish without having anyone else having seen my work first. I don’t want to carry my own books when I traveled (I already did that shit for more than a decade!). I don’t want to publish every three or six months. Every writer wants different things, so every writer needs a different plan of action. Before you decided which path is right for you, think about everything. Also, before you make your decision, make sure you do your own research. Maybe they don’t mean wrong, but a lot of people online might steer you wrong because they don’t know what you want for your career.

If you read all this and still think self-publishing is for you, awesome! Seriously, it’s great, Keep me posted on your projects, keep an eye on the #FridayReads thing I do on Twitter so you can get some free promo every week, and good luck with the writing, my friend! Go kick ass.

Okay, so hopefully that didn’t make too many people angry. Expect for the AI folks. They’ll get angry, but I don’t give a fuck about them, so whatever. Anyway, thank you very much for reading. And stay tuned because we’re tackling small presses next, and after 14 years, four books, and countless anthologies with small/indie presses, I got a lot to say…