It’s official. I’ve stopped looking for a replacement literary agent (mine left the biz before we got the chance to sell my novel in 2013). This has caused an internal tug-of-war on what to do publishing-wise for about 16 months now. It’s wonderful to have clarity at last and to feel good about it.
I’m still scared to death, but I believe I’m making the right choice for my career. I plan to follow my own advice and take small steps.
What about you? If you want to publish, will you take the traditional route (agent – publisher – etc.)? Or, will you go indie and Do-It-Yourself?
Each path has its own pros and cons. Let’s explore both, so you can make an informed decision.
Traditional Publishing: Advantages
* Still the more prestigious route, hands down.
* Pays the author an advance (average payment for a first novel is $5,000). Many indie authors would love to earn that much for their book.
* The publisher does all the dirty work once the book is complete: editing, formatting and distribution.
Traditional Publishing – Disadvantages
* On average, authors only receive 7.5% of the income for their books (assuming the advance earns out), even though the author does the majority of the work (the writing, most of the marketing, etc.).
* The author might maintain foreign and film rights for each book, but rarely keeps eBook rights. This is where publishers are making the majority of their profits these days – eBooks are the future. Don’t worry, print sales are still just fine.
Here’s an interesting post that discusses that very topic. It’s by former Writer’s Digest editor, Jane Friedman: How eBooks Have Changed the Print Marketplace.
*Authors have no control over vital elements of their own book: pricing, cover design, sales, keywords, etc., but are expected to accept all these decisions, then create a successful marketing plan.
Self-Publishing: Advantages
* The potential to earn more money, much faster (30 – 70% of the income for your work).
* Complete control of everything: editing, formatting, book cover design and the marketing.
* Author can publish much quicker (a traditional book takes six to eighteen months to publish). It’s also easier to implement changes.
Self-Publishing: Disadvantages
* The burden of everything falls on the author’s shoulders (writing, editing, formatting, marketing, distribution). Do you notice this is also on the self-pub advantages list, too? Even if you pay someone else to handle these tasks, the results still fall on your shoulders. That’s a lot of responsibility and devours your precious writing time, which should be your #1 priority.
* Exponentially higher volume of poor quality writing. Because anyone can publish these days, there’s complete junk out there.
* Sole responsibility for success or failure. How do you stand out among millions of other choices?
Why I’m Choosing to Go Indie
My debut novel, Pennies from Burger Heaven, does not easily fit on a bookshelf. Here’s the premise: Eleven-year old Copper Daniels sleeps each night beneath the Warrior Angel statue at the cemetery for protection, then spends her days battling the mean streets, hell-bent to discover what happened the night her mama disappeared.
* I have a child narrator, but the mature themes still makes this adult fiction. Some agents wanted me to rewrite my entire novel to make her older, so it’s a YA. Others wanted me to remove all the dark parts to be a middle-grade reader. Others told me to rewrite it from an adult perspective. To me, these ideas ruin what makes this book so special. I’m no longer willing to compromise the integrity of my novel to please a publisher.
* Most readers do not care where the book is published, they care about the story and the quality of the writing.
* Since I’ll do all of the writing and most of the marketing anyway, why shouldn’t I keep most of the money?
* I’m tired of waiting for permission from someone else to become a published novelist. I’ve been working towards this for years. I’m ready.
Mind you, I’m still very much an advocate of traditional publishing, but I’ve decided to take an alternative route. I’ll never know if this works unless I try it.
I had a flashes of this insight during the Creative Monsters Challenge, but needed more time to accept it. I journaled volumes about this, then just woke up one day and knew the answer for me.
My Plan
I write fiction and nonfiction and want to publish both, so here’s what I’m thinking:
1. Publish an expanded version of Creative Monsters first. It’s the eBook I gave you in January. I’m changing the title, adding other writers’ stories to it, as well as including several exercises for each writing struggle. It’s sort of a Do-It-Yourself Guide to overcome your fears. This will teach me the ropes of self-publishing, but the stakes don’t feel as high.
2. Publish Pennies from Burger Heaven second.
The only problem is I want to publish Pennies NOW! I’ve waited so long and since I have my answer, I’m ready to act. I’m about to revise both books, so my answer will come, but I WILL self-publish in 2015!
What About You?
If you intend to publish, what’s your plan? It’s okay if you don’t know yet.
The best advice I can give you is do not rush it. The market has been so saturated with self-published books sent out into the world too early, rushed and in need of polishing — if not a complete rewrite.
Here’s an insightful post from The Write Life: 5 Reasons You’re Not Ready to Self-Publish Your Book.
From here on out, the quality of your writing will make or break your book’s success. Do not jump ahead in your excitement to be published to share less than quality work.
Take writing classes (online or in person), read writing books, enter contests, hire a writing coach, attend workshops and conferences.
Practice.
Whatever you decide, Mudpie Writing is here for you with suggestions, encouragement, and if need be – a swift kick in the arse. Good luck!
Which publication path do you think is best for you? And, if you have any publishing advice for the rest of us, definitely share it!
Please leave a comment. I’d love to chat.
Pick up your FREE copy today of the mystery, The Moon Rises at Dawn (SkipJack Publishing). Read, enjoy, repeat.
Congratulations on making a decision Marcy – I am certain you will make self-publishing work. You won’t be depending on anyone else.
The big trouble with traditional publishing is that nobody can afford to take a risk, which is why cross-genre books are so rare.
Your community is here for you. If you need a proofreader or anything else just ask . . .
You’re as gracious as always, Phil. Thanks for the awesomeness. And my book IS a cross-genre and I got tired of their fear. I’ll keep you posted as both books progress. 🙂
For the book I started to write first, my gut tells me that when I think it’s ready, I should give traditional publishing a go. The subject and characters is from a well loved classic and although there are many other variations on it already, mine is a little different.
Given that there is such a urge potential audience for it, traditional would offer more of a guarantee that it will be “seen”.
On the other hand, as you point out, the publisher then takes the lion share of the $ and the decision making.
One thing I read was that given the glut of books now, publishers are more reluctant to give a chance to new writers. This is one reason why I started book number two. It is all my imagination and fits nicely in the genre, which if it is already self published when I approach a publisher it might just make then notice me.
If it’s not accepted then I will go ahead and self publish, just to say I did. Then if it gets noticed all well and good.
Glad you’ve made a decision for yourself Marcy, now you can move ahead with it! Congratulations and “here’s mud in your eye!” (Hope you get my meaning
You’ve got a solid plan there, Ann. I say keep doing what you’re doing and thanks for making me smile about the mud in my eye. HA!
I applaud your decision, Marcy. Self-publishing is not a simple matter, nor is the marketing of your work. I’ve read numerous excellent works by indie authors that never would have been published if they had to wait for traditional publishing houses simply because they aren’t the flavour of the day. As such they would be considered less marketable. For publishers, the bottom line weighs heavily in their choices.
I self-published my novel, From Thine Own Well, because it’s a piece that fits with the political and environmental issues of today’s world. It’s about a dystopian society that evolved from today’s issues that is set in 2036. Should I have tried the traditional route, I’d be moving the date on a regular basis.
http://fromthineownwell.normhamilton.ca
I wish you well in your publishing adventure, Marcy.
Thanks for stopping by Norm. You definitely sound like you’ve learned a thing or two about self-publishing and I like that you still sound confident in your decision to go that route. Good luck with From Thine Own Well (cool title, btw).
I’ve self-published a few books m’self, and the problem with me is formatting. Crazy hard to get it “just right”, but other than that, I haven’t found an agent… perhaps I should….
Bleh on formatting. I know how much I struggle when technology with this website, etc. Thanks for the heads-up and for stopping by MPW.
Congratulations! This post should be required reading for every writer who is making the decision. It shows you carefully considered both sides, all the pros and cons, and chose what felt right for you and your work at this time and for your vision of your long-term career. I also think your strategy is smart by starting with Monsters (although I certainly understand that desire to want to publish Pennies NOW…It’s been 3.5 long years since I self-pubbed my last book, but it’s important to get my current WIP in the best shape). Your patience will pay off! Can’t wait to read it! 🙂
I appreciate you sharing in my joy, Robyn. I really did think long and hard about this. It now takes makes perfect sense for me to self-publish, but I had to do what it took to reach my decision.
I REALLY enjoyed What Happened in Granite Creek, so I can’t wait for your latest novel. XO!
This is great news. Have you considered going with a company like Koehler Books, which is a hybrid company? They have done a great job editing and formatting and placing my book in the various formats. They love well written fiction. To negotiate your contract, hire someone to help with that piece. You might find the costs are similar to putting those self publishing pieces together.
Hi Katie,
Thank YOU so much for sharing about Koehler Books with us all. I’ve heard of them and will definitely check them out. I’ll keep you posted.
You’re welcome. They seem to have great customer service. My publisher forwarded me an email a woman sent me last night. When I didn’t sell many books at my event, he said, yes but you shared your experience about writing, and that’s priceless.
They produce a high quality product. Yes there are thing they can improve, but most authors would say that about any publisher.
But I’d also recommend strongly, that you and others have someone vet the contract. Author Guild will do this. I got the name of an author consultant, Anne Anderson (I think) Anneconsults@verizon.net who helped me sort it out.
Thank you again, Katie, in your generosity of this information. I really do plan to look into them more thoroughly. This is GREAT!
Well, them I sent you!!! Glad I could help!
WOOOOHOOOOOOOOO – I haven’t read the article yet (will do so in a minute), but the title had me screaming in glee! #HUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Marcy’s book is going to be out soon – woohoo
Ha, the book(s) won’t be out SOON, but they WILL be published in 2015. THANK YOU for sharing in my delight! xo – m3
Read and loved and going to share the article – I can’t WAIT for your extended CREATIVE MONSTERS book. Can I get a digitally signed copy? 😛
As for your fiction, I want to read it NOW 😀
LOVE YOU
Kitto
Kitto – you’re just a funny, sweet and adorable as usual. I’ll work on autographing eBooks for all of MPW. Actually, I want to have both print copies and eBooks of everything that I publish. I prefer to hold the actual book in my hands, but want to give folks the option.
xo – Marcy
Good for you, Marcy! You already have an audience for your writing. The hardest part for many of us self-
publish authors is getting the feel for what works and what is a waste of time to get ourselves and our books out there and noticed by the right people. I think maybe you are several steps ahead on many already.
I follow an author, Nick Stephenson, who does this free video training thing, to tell us how he got his first 10,000 readers (I think that’s the number). It has what sounds like some pretty solid advice. Here’s the link to it, in case any of you are interested: http://yourfirst10kreaders.com/
I’m still working on a good website for both my books, and other fantasy author friends books that are pretty good. My hope is that we’ll all get more notice by joining forces. I’m having fun stretching my ‘I can do this!’ muscles, just getting my first site set up, all by myself. So if it doesn’t do what I hope it will, at least I’m learning to do something I was too chicken to do before!
Thanks for sharing that link, Lisa. VERY insightful. I’ll definitely look into it more. It’s funny, because at first I thought I wanted a HUGE blog: 10K, 100K, 500K, but now I’m not so sure.
I’m quite happy with MPW at 1,000 people strong. It’s big enough that there’s a LOT of diverse writers here, but small enough that I’m getting to know you…I like that I actually answer all my own emails. I guess in terms of Goldilocks and The Three Bears, MPW feel, “Just right.” 🙂
Thanks for sharing the link to Nick’s material Lisa. Looking forward to taking a look at it 🙂
Awesome Marcy!! I’m so excited for you!
I’ll be going the self-publishing route and my plan is similar to yours. I’ll start with a nonfiction e-book first. I’ve already enrolled in a course that will take me through the steps and the book will tie in with the themes of my blog (I’m still working details out).
And then, after I’ve had that experience, I’ll take a step back and make an educated judgement call.
Yowza, T.O.!
How brilliant to take a course to tie in the themes of your blog to a book. That’s what I did with Creative Monsters, but I was sort of just going on intuition alone. Bravo for you in following a more concrete methodology.
Good luck on your publishing journey. Keep us posted!
A question I asked myself a long time ago, indie or traditional? I’ve just published a post today
https://robertjepson.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/the-beginnings-of-uncertainty
on my reasons for going down the traditional route at the present time. I’m on the fence at the moment and originally intended to indie publish, that may come later in the year. All is explained in my post 🙂
Hi Robert,
Great minds think alike. I like how we both shared our publishing journeys today. I enjoyed your post and appreciate you sharing. Good luck!
Great to enjoy each others posts on the same subject, great minds indeed 🙂 Good luck to you too Marcie!
Excellent, Robert. Thanks again.
So happy to read this, Marcy. The biggest advantage to self publishing it seems to me is that it let’s you take control of your own future. Best of luck to you!
Bullseye, Stephen. That’s how I feel the more Mudpie Writing grows. I started it just because I didn’t know what to do with myself after I lost my literary agent and wanted to share with others what I’d learned writing-wise over the years to save you wasted time and trouble.
The funny thing is…in helping others, it changed me. I feel more confident and in control about my writing career than I EVER have.
Self-publishing feels like it will be a quantum leap in that “taking control.”
Good luck on your adventure!! I’m so excited for you. Your story sounds so interesting and I love that it’s adult fiction from a child’s pov. Good on you for sticking to your guns and not changing anything.
I’ve always thought I’d go the traditional route because you aren’t alone. You have someone there to help you with the process. Also like you said aandmy biggest hang up with self publishing is how do you stand out? Everything solely depends on how you market and you don’t even have much of a base to work with (unless you run/guest post a popular blog) With traditional publishing you have to convince a publishing house to take on your book. With self publishing you have to convince the world and if you’re an up and coming
then that’s pretty hard to do.
Yea, Sarah. I’m thrilled you think Pennies from Burger Heaven sounds interesting. And you’re right — it’s hard to stand out on either platform, but traditional does at least feel like you folks in your corner. We’ll see….
I think you’d do fine especially since you are so active in the community but I’ll be crossing my fingers anyway!
Ha, Sarah. I plan on crossing my fingers, toes and many other body parts for good luck!
I’m so happy that you’ve decided to self-publish your novel, Marcy! Congratulations! I can’t wait to read it, in time 🙂
I too have been following Nick Stephenson’s videos, as Lisa recommended, and they are great: practical information on how to make your book visible. Another great site I discovered late last year was http://www.thecreativepenn.com/ Joanna Penn writes dark thriller fiction and also books on the business side of being an indie author – marketing, self-publishing, managing as a business. Her site is overflowing with podcasts, blog posts and videos – it really is worth a look, and she’d infectiously enthusiastic – I can’t recommend her enough. Her book ‘How To Market A Book’ was in an Indie Author Power Pack last autumn, but seems to have vanished now, though the books can be bought separately. The others were ‘Write. Publish. Repeat.’ by Sean Platt and Johnny B Truant, and ‘Let’s Get Digital’ by David Gaughran, both excellent. It was reading these that finally lit a fire under me. So near to publishing my first.
Congratulations again, Marcy!
Thanks, Marie. I appreciate you sharing such great resources. I’m well aware of the awesomeness that is Joanna Penn and Sean Platt et al. They are all dynamos.
How cool is that you’re about to publish your first. CONGRATS!
Go for it!! I have a picture book that is meant for older children that I’ve been working for two years. I sent it out and got the reply that they almost took it, but they wanted the main character to be expanded and more details. So, over two years, (life gets in the way sometimes) I did research and rewrote it, and now I’m going to resubmit it. Good luck with your book. It sounds like one I would love to read. Once it’s published let us know where we can find it.
Thanks, Elizabeth. I’m so aware of life getting in the way, but GOOD FOR YOU that you kept it).
Good luck on resubmitting it and I’m thrilled you think Pennies from Burger Heaven sounds compelling. I’ll definitely let you know where it is once is ready to greet the world! 🙂
I self-published my first book and went traditional publishing on my second. Since I have a traditional publisher, this might (or admittedly) might not give me an advantage. Since I have “broken through,” in a manner of speaking, I’ll continue with traditional publishing, knowing further acceptance just on the basis of one is never guaranteed. Like most writers probably realize, I’ll need to be ready to shift my plan. But the number one priority for me is to get something DONE! Until then, if I have nothing polished and written to the best of my ability, publishing isn’t an issue.
Wow, Jack. I’m sure you’re a wealth of knowledge since you’ve travelled down both publishing paths. Thanks for telling us in case we have questions for you.
And, you’re so right completing something worthy of being published is key. There’s really no point in building a platform until you have something to share.
Thanks, Jack!
Sure thing, Marcy! I think what it boils down to is having faith in ones work! I wasn’t going to give up until I published traditionally. I believe as I suspect you do, events in our lives occur which will often guide us to take a certain path, and you sound like you know (at least at this point in your writing career) self-publishing is the right way to go. Not every decision results in expected or hoped outcome, but people (in their right mind) do not make conscious wrong decisions – they make a decision with the data available to them and nobody should every regret a decision. Now, if you came to a fork in the road and knew taking a left plunges you off a cliff and taking a right leads you to your desired destination – taking a left would obviously be a wrong decision. Enough of the soapbox . . . 🙂
Exactly, Jack. We’re all making the best choices we can for our writing. Take care.
a few local bookstores won’t allow authors to do a book release/book reading in their stores if they are self-published. It can make it harder to market. one bookstore nearby won’t accept self-published books at all. something worth checking out.
Hey BeBold,
You bring up an important point about bookstores. Thanks. Because of this, I’m considering contacting a hybrid publisher (don’t know which one yet), so my book have an ISBN number.
First, I have to get my nonfiction book in shape to even need a publisher! Thanks for stopping by.
I put together a memory book for a friend. A collection of poetry, short stories etc—her life’s work. I did this after her passing. We wanted to be able to sell it in a local bookstore that does allow local authors who self-publish. We just bought our own isbn number. It was a bit over $120 I think. I forget exactly but easily done and placed on the back cover. That allows the book to be sold on Amazon.
Btw, we didn’t post it on Amazon but it showed up just
because we bought the number. Interesting? We didn’t upload any to sell. Maybe we should. As a graphic designer, I did all the layout,
cover creation, chose title, picked the stories/poems, photoshopped all the personal pictures we also used, all the design elements. A friend did the editing. It didn’t cost us except for the isbn and printing. We gave it out at her memorial. Sadly, this didn’t get done while she was alive. But here is the terrible truth, and something for us control freaks to think about. If she had been in control of the project, it probably would never had happened. The book came out pretty good but she would never have been satisfied with it enough to send it to the printer. At some point, we have to let go of our manuscript and trust that someone else will get the job done.
So, this was self-printed instead of self-published? Can someone spell out the difference except for cost? There was no middleman
at all. It was full color, 50 pages, glossy high quality paper, 8 by 8
picture book style and printing was $11/each I think? We printed 100.
How WONDERFUL that you did this for your friend and I do believe this officially makes you self-published. Congrats! This is what I found in the Oxford dictionary:
self-publish (VERB)
past tense: self-published · past participle: self-published
(of a writer) publish (a piece of one’s work) independently and at one’s own expense:
“Eighteen months ago, he was an unknown writer who self-published his book with a minuscule print run of 20.”
Speaking from experience, I can say self-publishing is HARD, but worth it. I particularly like not having to “ask permission” from anyone else. I have worked with two boutique publishing companies. I broke off relations with both of them and took my rights back, which I was fortunate to be able to do. I’ve had good success with self-publishing and I don’t ever intend to go back to a publisher. I see the value in traditional publishing for the people it’s right for, but I’m not one of those people.
Thanks so much for an insider’s point-of-view, Angie. I appreciate it. I know it’s going to be hard, but I’m glad to hear it’s worth it.
I enjoyed your article, Marcy. I’m a reader, not a writer. Comments from my perspective:
I have followed ebooks since I owned Kindle generation one (yea, I was one of the suckers at four hundred bucks when only 100k titles were offered!) and once followed the famous (infamous) Newbie’s Guide To Publishing blog, by J. Konrath, which touts self-pubbing as if it was a ticket to the moon. Well, the commentors on his blog that “drink the Kool-Aid” toss a book or two out there and then, a year later, they are no longer a web presence. No longer even comment on his blog. Poof…gone! Why? No sales.
So, my comment as a reader is that rubbish dominates self-pubbed titles and makes it dreadfully hard to find a quality book to read. It doesn’t matter that Joe Smith wrote a novel every bit as lovely as Of Mice And Men; the readers will never see it in the garbage pile of one-off hobbyists or human press-mill, book-a-month authors like Mr Konrath himself. This is not as much disparaging self-pub process as it is making a statement, as a reader and book buyer, that we do need some form of gatekeeper to sort out the wheat. I do not have the answer for who that gatekeeper should be, but reading an “author’s” wet dream for $1.99 on my Kindle is not 1/100th as satisfying as paying $9.99 to read a work of fiction so superbly edited and vetted, highly reviewed and respected, perhaps even awarded, that may be cherished and re-read infinitely on my virtual bookshelf. Frankly, I have not discovered one single work such as this in the self-pubbed, 100-story garbage pile. Not saying it isn’t in there, just saying that, unlike cream in coffee, the best does not rise to the top.
I hope you will view my opinion as a paying reader as it is intended: commentary and opinion, nothing more or less. Authors, keep pen to pulp–there are still readers who appreciate fantastic writing out here. Thank you, Marcy.
You bring up excellent points and I appreciate an avid reader’s perspective, Sven.
Marcy, thank you for this post. I am traditionally posted, and now editing my second non-fiction book, but the thought of all the proposal / query / months involved in the traditional scenario wear me out, so I’m interested to read all you have to say. I live in South Africa, so trying to make contact with the publishers is even more difficult. I sold my last one when I met the editor at a writing conference in the USA. But that’s not likely to happen again. So yes, I’m seriously looking at self-publishing.
Hi Shirley,
I hear you the querying process being a total beat down. However, do not think for a moment that self-publishing is easier. It’s not by any means. It’s just a different kind of hard: uploading and proofing your book yourself, the technology never goes right the first time. Having to repeat that process over and over again with each new vendor (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc.). Trying to make your book stand out in the crowd with marketing.
The best book I’ve found on self-publishing is, “What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes (and How Can I be One, too?) by my publisher, Pamela Fagan Hutchins. Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_18?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=what+kind+of+loser+indie+publishes+and+how+can+i+be+one+too&sprefix=What+kind+of+loser%2Caps%2C196
Good luck to you!