self publishers hit the jackpot

Every day, people plunk down wads of cash on lottery tickets, and plan how thy will spend their winnings. They are actually disappointed when their tickets don't win, as if they actually had a chance.

Self publishing has a slightly better win potential than buying lottery tickets. But like buying Powerball tickets, it requires no skill, just a handful of lettuce.

 

Not disputing either statement. But what I said was writers shouldn't use these 'wild successes' as reasons to self-publish. Most writers I know/have spoken with who are going the trade publishing route are very much aware of their chances of selling their book and of the kind of money they might make - ie, they're realists. Most (not all) self-publishers-to-be are very naive when it comes to their chances of making any kind of money - ie, they buy into the gurus' self-promoting fairy tales. If they're thinking writing is the way to riches, they're sadly mistaken - and that is by any kind of publishing.

 

I agree with all of that.

And if you approach self-publishing as a shortcut around producing professional quality material, then I think the chances of being successful are limited (though I do know at least one author who is selling well self-published whose work wouldn't have stood a chance with traditional publishers).

The thing writers should keep in mind, however, is that the self-publishing route is viable these days, but takes as much or more work as going the other route. I think on Amazon, eBook sales have passed print sales, and something like 30% of sales are indie or self-published. It's like 25% through B&N, and I saw a report a few weeks ago that 12% of eBook sales in the UK are self-published. Those numbers have grown over the last four years or so, and I expect they will continue to for a while. But, for self-published authors to compete with traditional publishing, they need to have a professional cover, quality writing, good editing, and so on. In other words, you can't use self-publishing as an excuse to rush to publication when you're not ready, or to try to put out sub-par material and expect to be successful (there are always exceptions, but in general I think this holds true).

I don't think most people buying books directly from their Kindle or other eReader even know or care whether a book is self-published much of the time, which may partly account for the fact that sales are good. I've done informal polling at my workplace and among family just to see what their habits are (not scientific but anecdotal, of course). If you look at my secretary, for example, she buys on her Kindle all the time. The number 1 factor is recognizing an author's name that she knows she likes. Beyond that, she browses. If a title and cover catches her eye, she'll download the sample. If she likes the sample, she'll buy the book. I doubt very much she ever glances at the publisher for even a second to see if it is traditionally published or not. From the reader's point of view, particularly when buying from the reading device, it seems to me the lines between traditional publisher and self-publisher are blurred and readers rely on characteristics of the product itself - cover, samples, maybe the blurb or whatever. Oh, and I should add, reviews seem to make a difference to most people (another reason whether self-published or traditional, you need a professional product).

tldr: both routes are viable and there's no good reason to dissuade authors from one route versus the other, as they both have advantages; but you need a professional-quality product either way.

 

which is why they should be querying agents, not publishers... of course, if the books they're offering are poorly written and/or the plots aren't marketable, they won't find any takers... but if they're that bad, then the writers won't make much, if anything, by self-publishing them, either...

 

Sex typically sells, for better or for worse, just look at 50 shades...

That is reputedly low-grade, low-quality writing but it sells on the winds of the hysteria / mania it generates...

I see this on a lot of media these days.