Managing Your Expectations If You Self Publish

One of the most important lessons I learned as a branch leader in the CIA was to manage the expectations of our customers and never promise them things we could not deliver. The White House did not like it when I told them we not able to provide first-hand reporting on certain intelligence issues; however, when we did provide information they accepted it as our best unbiased assessment and realized we were not pushing an agenda.

The same can also be said about publishing, except that it is our expectations as writers that need to be managed. Although every writer or aspiring writer I've ever talked with knows the reality of the industry, we all know deep down that if we work hard we'll be the next George R.R. Martin or J.K. Rowling; we'll never be the writer who struggles for years until he/she measure their success by finally becoming a thousandaire. Yet it happens, and every writer needs to understand that the odds are greater they'll have an Amazon ranking down around 900,000 rather than being on a top ten list. It's similar to soldiers who go off to war knowing the risks involved but feeling that they will come back safely; there are numerous military cemeteries across the world testifying to the harsh reality.

I'm no different from any other writer. I'm preparing to self-publish my first novel in the next several weeks, and in the lead up to that have been reading up on the subject and taking courses to hone my marketing skills. Everything I've read or taken always touts the success stories. Which is only natural. We all want to be successful at writing. No one wants to read a blog posting that says "do this and fail anyway." Yet this creates in writers, especially aspiring writers, a sense that following these guidelines means you cannot fail. We go into our next publishing venture with high expectations of success and, if things don't pan out as planned, wind up depressed and wondering if all the effort is really worth it.

This is why I found Amazon Pays $450,000 a Year to This Self-Published Writer to be one of the best postings about the self-publishing industry I have seen in a while. As expected, the posting stresses the success of independent writers such as Mark Dawson and Mel Sherratt, but it also discusses the more realistic results achieved by writers such as Phil Harper and Jack Burroughs. I strongly urge any writer considering self-publishing to read this posting carefully, and not because it will give you any insights into how to succeed in the industry. It will accurately lay out for you what to expect, and will provide a reality check to anyone smart enough to heed it.

Interesting Posts From Other Websites: Writer's Edition

I've contemplated for a while the possibility of self publishing my young adult post-apocalypse saga. If I do go ahead with this, rather than release Hell Gate as an annual novel, I will publish it as a series of inexpensive novellas put out every few months. Even the mainstream publishers are moving toward this direction. If you want to know more about this method of publication, be sure to read Tor.com Explains Why Novellas Are the Future of Publishing.

As any writer or potential writer knows, obtaining a good contract is one of the most important aspects of your career. Unfortunately, no matter how careful you are in negotiating a deal, there are some pitfalls that can not be avoided, especially if the other party is more interested in following the letter of the law than the spirit of it. Once such example is discussed in Wheel of Time is the sad lesson of what can happen when you sell the rights to your book in which the movie rights to Robert Jordan's 13-book series are being held hostage by a studio more interested in maintaining their rights to the novels than faithfully fulfilling their contractual obligations.

I've always joked that bad publicity is still publicity. Even better than bad publicity is to have something you posted go viral, bringing an avalanche of attention to yourself and your book(s). However, Should You Push To Go Viral offers sounds advice on focusing your energies on steadily building your fan base rather than trying to go viral, which is a long shot at best.

On Writing: Traditional Publishing or Self-Publish?

"Self publishing? I thought that was the kiss of death for writers?"

When I originally drafted this blog series, it was. I never would have recommended that a writer self-publish their work, for it entailed going to a vanity press to print and distribute their novel, which screamed of desperation. Rightly or wrongly, readers and industry professionals looked down on those writers who went solo, either wondering how bad the book must be if no one wanted to publish it, or assuming the writer to be an amateur who just wanted to see their name in print. Back then, self publishing carried a stigma for writers, and those who went that route felt as though they wore a scarlet SP on their chest.

Then a revolutionary new technology was introduced that changed the publishing industry much the same way that the invention of moveable type did back in the 15th Century. Although this new technology has fundamentally altered the way writers and publishers conduct business, its potential has not yet been fully explored, nor the repercussions it will ultimately have on the industry.

Of course, I'm talking about the introduction of electronic publishing.

Electronic publishing made possible the expansion of independent publishing houses which, in turn, provided thousands of aspiring writers opportunities closed off to them when the mainstream publishers dominated the industry.

Ironically, the technology that generated the expansion of independent publishing now threatens the very industry itself. As the technology becomes increasingly user friendly, and as writers become more proficient in its use, both parties will be able to publish a product of equal quality. Among the services provided by an independent publisher are the editing and proof reading of a manuscript, arranging the cover art, and formatting both the print and e-book versions prior to release. Writers can obtain these same services from freelancers, many of whom perform these functions for the publishers. With regards to getting your books into brick and mortar stores, unless an independent publisher has an arrangement with one of the major distributors, then your books will be published as print on demand (POD) from the company's website or from Amazon. The same holds true for marketing. With the exception of a few independent publishers whose names are synonymous with their respective genre, and thus the brand name brings potential readers to the website, your marketing efforts will be little different from theirs. [NOTE: I'll be covering marketing efforts in future blog posts.]

So what can an independent publisher provide that a writer can't do for themselves?

The answer is nothing.

So why contract with an independent publisher rather than release the book yourself? The main reason is convenience. For the publisher, providing the above services is part of the routine of doing business, and they either have the in-house expertise or a cache of experts on retention. The publisher agrees to undertake all this in return for keeping most of the profit, providing the writer with royalties (on average, 10% for print books and 30% for e-books). For most writers, it's a convenient arrangement.

However, an increasing number of writers are turning to self publishing. While this requires a considerable expenditure of financial resources and time, there are distinct advantages. First and foremost, the writer keeps most of the profit. For example, if a writer publishes an e-book on Amazon's Kindle Select program and prices it between $2.99 and $9.99, they earns a royalty of 75%. This is double what the average contract will offer. The second biggest advantage is that the writer has full creative control over their work, especially the cover art, which is a major issue for many of us.

So the decision is up to each individual writer as to which method they feel most comfortable with. I've already tried it with one of my novellas and maintained my sanity through the process, so I'm going to attempt to self publish my next novel.

"That sounds like an awful lot of work. I don't think I'm ready to try self publishing yet."

Not a problem. It's not for everyone. Although I do think self publishing will become the next trend in the industry.

So let's work on finding someone to publish your manuscript.

NEXT BLOG: Finding a Publisher or Literary Agent, Part I