What are the Reasons Why You *Can* Self-Publish?

Williebee said:

I do think the vast amount of "noise" being made online and elsewhere is about the profits, whether talking about a self-published book or something from a trade house.

That may be a reason why a self-pubbed book "can" succeed, if the author doesn't define success that way.

Uncle Jim's very much correct about each person defining their own goals, and being objective about both those goals, and the measuring of them. I'd take that to the next step and say "define what success means to you".

If my measure of success is X percentage of new readers read my work this year over last year; then that is what I have to build my tracking around. That may mean new page views on a website, or new customers sold to.

If success to me is "This month I want it to pay for itself." "Pay for itself" might mean cost of labor/time to market the work, or it may come to include a fair hourly wage applied to the writing time itself. Either way, you get into success becoming units sold, and from that, net profits.

Self publishing can succeed. So, to can the more traditional route. Either way the "can" requires knowing the goals, knowing the obstacles, and being realistic about both.

But first you have to define for yourself what "succeed" means, and at the end of the day, anyone else's definition has to take a backseat to that.

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I agree. Another measure of success can simply be having some readers -- a small core of people who like your work and buy it. It's very gratifying for a writer to have someone who's listening and who appreciates what you have to say.

Many writers will never get a trade publishing deal, but they can get some satisfaction out of having that small reader base. For those people, writing's really more a hobby than a profession, but if it makes them happy, why not?

Other writers may work for years to improve their skills before they become good enough to land a deal with a trade publisher. Having that little bit of income and encouragement from self-publishing sales can keep you going during the rough times.

It's hard to keep up the faith in yourself as a writer, year after year, when you're not getting any love from editors and agents, or when your hopes are raised and dashed over and over. It was tiny band of fans on Inkpop.com that kept me going during the bad times. The fact that they had faith in my book helped me have faith, too.

So those small sales numbers, while not impressive to some, can be extremely meaningful to us writers, who sit alone in our caves most of the time, thumbing through our rejection slips! And even if those readers are deluded fools who don't know a bad book from a good one, if some writers are encouraged to keep working and get better because of this, as I've been, then it's a good thing.

annetpfeffer said:

It's hard to keep up the faith in yourself as a writer, year after year, when you're not getting any love from editors and agents, or when your hopes are raised and dashed over and over ... So those small sales numbers, while not impressive to some, can be extremely meaningful to us writers, who sit alone in our caves most of the time, thumbing through our rejection slips!

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I agree with this so strongly. Writing is so solitary, and writing a novel takes so very long: to make all that effort and then get only knock-backs can be devastating to some writers and that's when they're most vulnerable to scammy nasty vanity publishers. One of the hugely great things about self-publishing is that it has great potential to take customers away from vanity publishers, and to empower the writers who make that choice.

And even if those readers are deluded fools who don't know a bad book from a good one, if some writers are encouraged to keep working and get better because of this, as I've been, then it's a good thing.

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I don't think readers who like one sort of book and not another are deluded fools. Similarly, a lot of books aren't necessarily bad books: they're just books that you or I don't like because we prefer other genres.

annetpfeffer said:

And even if those readers are deluded fools who don't know a bad book from a good one, if some writers are encouraged to keep working and get better because of this, as I've been, then it's a good thing.

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Any reader who likes a book is a blessed reader, and never ever a deluded fool.

I don't care if the reader is your mom; she's a blessed reader and not deluded.

Because ultimately, for readers, finding a good book is the goal. Doesn't matter if the person next to you hates the book; when you read it's your experience that matters.

annetpfeffer said:

And even if those readers are deluded fools who don't know a bad book from a good one, if some writers are encouraged to keep working and get better because of this, as I've been, then it's a good thing.

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I misspoke when I used the words "deluded fools." That was an error and I appreciate your calling me on that. Every reader is to be cherished -- I certainly cherish my small band of them.

I was only trying to say, in a misguided way, that even if readers are buying and loving a book that would not ever be acquired by an editor --- because those readers are looking for very different things in a book than the editor is -- it could still motivate the writer to work harder and improve his writing skills. Knowing he's able to write something that speaks to people, that people want to read, might give a writer hope and the desire to keep working at his craft.

Sorry for that misstep -- I hope I did better this time!

Good topic! And, I get to talk all about me. My favorite subject!



I can succeed because:

1 - I like writing serials. Serials seem to do very well with self-pubbing.
2 - I write quickly. Four books a year is me working hard. Three books a year is me slacking off.
3 - I'm good with quality control, and spare no expense in my editing. Plus I'm a computer guy. Formatting is a snap.
4 - I'm patient with every stage.
5 - I learned from some of the best in my genre, and keep learning more with every title.
6 - I'm aware of (some of) my shortcomings, and battle against them daily.

Hmm. Odd. Talking about myself in a positive light is not something I usually do. Strange sensation! I'm much more used to reminding myself why I won't succeed.

(Side note, does the term 'self-pubbing' seem odd to anyone else? Sounds like something you'd get arrested for in England.)

I've long been of the opinion that every writer since time immemorial has self-pubbed something during the course of his/her life.

I'm morally certain that, from this time forward, every writer will electronically self-publish something.

I'm morally certain that, from this time forward, every writer will electronically self-publish something.

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What with blogs, writer's sites, online 'zines, and the ever increasing varieties of ways to get to print? I'm sure you are correct (yet again) sir.

Any reader who likes a book is a blessed reader,

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