Second thoughts on self publishing

So I've self published my first book, intending it to be my only work, ticking it off as a bucket list item.

It's been really well received, getting 5* reviews off everyone who reads it, and calls for a sequel off many.

The problem I'm having is actually getting people to read it in the first place. I'm pushing it on all the facebook groups, and trying to get as many amazon reviews as possible. I've had it professionally reviewed on book viral but it's just got no chance of getting out there to the masses.

So have you ever taken a book down from self publishing and attempted to get it picked up by a publisher?

My work is clearly better than I initially gave myself credit for, and if I could get past the newbie no chance stigma that haunts unpublished authors I actually think the story would stand half a chance.

Would the fact it's already been out there harm my chances? Or would the glowing reviews back up my case?

 

Wait a minute. Didn't you say in your other post (on when does Amazon pay) that you've only had your book up since July, and have already sold more than 200 copies? Sounds to me that people are reading your book. Why the cold feet now?

And what will a trad publishing company do for you that you aren't already doing for yourself? It's not like they're going to put a boatload of money into promoting an unknown mid-list author. Any advance you get, they expect you to spend it on promotion.

And let's not get into the low royalty rates and the fact that your trad publisher will own the rights to your work and maybe even the rights to all further books in that series. To get some idea of the situation, read this January 2019 blog post by Kristine Kathryn Rusch: "The Growing Importance of Intellectual Property."

In fact, go to Kriswrites.com and read all her Business Musings articles, even the older ones. Nothing has changed; it has only gotten worse.

Buck up. You've made a good start. Keep going.

 

Doesn’t sound like it is selling poorly, considering the experience of many self-publishers. A sequel should help sales of the original. Traditional publishers are less likely than in the past to pass on a book just because it has been self-published, but in my experience speaking with editors and agents the sales of the self-published book is a factor that goes into their calculus. If the book does extremely well through sef-publishing you’re more likely to place it with a traditional publisher than if it is languishing among the many other self-published titles.

 

You can spend your advance on anything you want. The publisher doesn't expect you to promote with it. And your advance is going to likely be more than you will make self publishing. There are more benefits like working with an in-house editor. I don't think anything really compares to that. And the money. You can spin it however you want, but you WILL almost definitely make more money with a trade publisher.

 

Even considering all the licensing rights one is giving up? And the short shelf life of a trad pubbed book? Sure, in the short term the typical 4-figure advance will be more, but over a whole writing career, likely not. Especially if one fails to earn out the advance and the publishing house loses interest.

That's assuming the writer gets an honest agent and a good contract after landing representation in the first place, and the payments get sent on time.

And sure, an advance can be spent on anything, but the author will still need money to pick up the slack in promoting the book. (Here's an article by Jane Friedman that takes an open-eyed and even-handed view on what trad publishers will and won't do for B-list authors.) At the least, a trad pubbed author needs to take an active role in promoting his or her book and not let himself be carried away by a pretty dream of the publishers doing it all themselves. (See this article here.)

You yourself have worked hard and have finally broken in. That's good. But for someone like the OP who's doing well a little way down the indie road, getting cold feet now makes no sense.

 

A four-figureadvance is quite small. I was given a four-figure advance to write something for a publication, not a book. I mean the least for a book is probably 5k, but that would come from a small press. Still, even those small presses can nominate your book for prizes and awards that you can't self publishing. You are going to make more money with a trade publisher. That is almost sure. It's a lot more likely than being an exception in self publishing. The big magazines my four-figures for pieces. Of course, you would make more publishing a book that a magazine story in trade publishing.

You can list all the advantages you want. I'm not saying there aren't any, but you will make more money trade publishing. It will be harder, and it's not going to be an option for everyone, but is is always going to be the better option when we're talk money. I'm leaving out the exceptions. But good for you if you are the exception.

 

But it's not always about the money. It's about the business acumen, teams of people behind promoting your work and the money that goes into it, and the connections. However small the budget a publishing houses assigns your debut, it's probably still gonna be bigger than your own budget, and whatever little effort the publishing house puts behind promoting your work, it's probably going to the right places and gonna be a hell of a lot more effective than your own marketing. Don't get me wrong, anyone can learn, of course, but most writers don't - either they don't want to learn, don't have the time, or aren't astute enough to see where they're lacking. Or, one more, they might not have the budget for it. All in all, it's certainly easier with a publishing house.

So to the OP, I think it depends on whether that's how he wants to spend his time. When you self-publish, you're an entrepreneur and your product is your book. You're not just a writer. And if you enjoy that side of the business, have the drive and money, then it makes sense to remain self-published. But if this is not how you'd like to spend your time, then getting a publisher makes more sense. Self-publishing is running your own business. Creating the product is just one tiny facet of this.

As for how to get more readers, I've heard actually just writing more helps. Because then your other books pop up when someone looks up one of your books or your name, and more of your books will pop up in "related items" on Amazon.

 

I think @Mckk said it better than I did. Or what he said makes more sense.

 

Well, yes . . . but those who sign with traditional publishers are business people, too. Not saying that to discourage anyone who takes that route. Rather that no matter how we choose to publish, we are all doing business. Those who forget that are in for disaster.

 

Of course, the OP said they've already self-published and they'll probably never write another book. It's a little too late to worry about it now. You really can't take a book that's already out there to traditional publishing, nobody is going to be interested. The time to ask these questions is before you self-publish, not after. Once you're done, you're done.

 

I think a trade publisher could be interested in the second novel, proved that second novel can also stand on it's own as a story without having needed to read the fist.

 

He already said he doesn't necessarily want to write a second novel.

 

Perhaps a relaunch? I see your reviews mention errors in editing. If you want to spend some money you can get it reedited and buy a new cover. You could even add another chapter if you want something new. Use ARC reviewers the second time around. Booksprout offers a free membership option and you should be able to get Amazon reviews on your title that way.

Here is a podcast about relaunching on Amazon: https://www.novelmarketing.com/134/

 

Since those reviews I've Had it edited and proof read so it looks much better in your hand now.
I don't think I'm going to take it to trad publishers after reading these comments. It has sold upwards of 200 copies but maybe my expectations are a little too high.

 

Most first books on Amazon sell less than 10 copies, ever. You did fine. Success comes from continuing to write, not from doing it once.

 

@Catrin Lewis - while the trad-published author is also in business, that person is running one facet of a whole business. You're one person operating in one team. You write, and do some promotional work. You will also get good tips, I assume, for how and where to do it, again making success more likely. Whereas the self-published author is running the entire business. I don't think that's a difference that can be underestimated. Doing one part of the business is far easier than having to do everything in the business. The author with an agent essentially has a business partner with market expertise and connections. The trad route is simply a mutually beneficial relationship.

That publishers obviously want something in return for all that work is reasonable. Of course, if an author decides they are happy and willing to pull the weight instead and go for self-publishing, that's a valid choice.

But I do not remotely think the business aspect can be compared between the two routes because the weight you got to pull is so vastly different, as well as the simple fact that someone with experience, money and connections pointing you down a straighter path obviously makes your life incomparably easier than doing it on your own and learning everything from scratch. It simply boils down to whether the author thinks these benefits are worth paying for in the form of book profits and limited rights to your work. (I seem to think publishers do not hold the rights forever - there should be a clause in the contract about rights reverting if such and such conditions were met - or at least a good agent would negotiate for such a clause to be included)

Also the scale of success is vastly different - you see it just in this post. Selling upwards of 200 copies by self-publishing standards is fine - it's celebrated and considered success. Take that figure to any agent or publisher and you'd be laughed out of the office.

@Cephus - it isn't true that once you've self-published, that's the end for that book. Assuming a success rate that would interest agents and publishers, it's possible to still sell it down the trad route. Some agents are happy to acquire books that had been previously published but need to be remarketed. However some research will need to be done on what sort of sale figures and reach of readership the professional market is looking for. But I mean, 50 Shades was initially self-published. Of course it's probably more the exception than the rule, but it's clearly possible.

I am not too sure how "unpublishing" works regarding this, because of course it's always possible to take a book down.

 

Only if it sells exceptionally well and the author is going to continue to write for the publisher, neither of which is the case here. 50 Shades was originally Twilight fanfic and I think the success of those books says something pretty unflattering about many of the readers of that genre.

 

I've not read this gentleman's book, but his self-publishing story is a good lesson:

https://monsterhunternation.com/2008/08/28/on-self-publishing/

"I think POD (print on demand) publishing is a good tool, but it is just one tool in the tool box. The main thing is that it still has to be a good book. POD worked for me, but only because I’m a self-promoting, guerilla marketing son of a gun. If you write a bad book and self publish, it is still going to suck. If you write a good book, and you self publish, nobody is going to read it, unless you convince them to read it. Even traditionally published writers have to self promote. POD writers just have to do it on their own."

 

This isn’t true. I had an agent interested in my self-published book. While it sold ok and I was happy with that, it sold nowhere near exceptionally well.

 

To follow up on my own post--a friend of mine had her first novel published through Harper Collins. It was a self-published novel prior to Harper Collins picking it up. It did OK, but was not among those self-published books that sell exceptionally well. She has now written additional books in the series, also published by Harper Collins.

In my case, the agent was interested in whether I was going to continue a series. I was not--I just wanted the agent to represent the single book. That was less attractive to her. What she told me, however, and what seems to me to be true in talking to others, is that if you find an agent or editor who really likes the book you can still sell it traditionally even though it has been self-published. The idea that it forecloses one from ever traditionally publishing that book is a myth (at least, it's a myth today--it probably had some veracity years ago).

In the case of my friend who went with Harper Collins, they did of course ask her to take down her self-published version of the novel. She did. The agent I was talking to told me the same thing, and I did briefly delist my book while I was talking to her about potential representation.

People hear assertion that you can't traditionally publish a self-published book on writers forums like these, or sometimes from speakers, and they believe it. It's empirically false, but the only exceptions people ever hear about are the phenomenal success stories, so they assume that those are the only exceptions possible. They're not.

Which is not to say it will be easy to traditionally publish your book, self-published or not. It won't.