Hybridization--Self Pubbing as a Promotional Tool

I've just started hybrid publishing. I've had two books published in the small press already. The sales were modest--nothing to write home about. There was some critical acclaim, but that, as we all know, doesn't = bonanza. I love the small press--I think that there's a lot of good work being produced there, and, in fact, my third book is going to be published by a small press later this year. But small presses have little or, in some cases, no budget for advertisement. So a small press author must do the legwork themselves.

So I came up with an idea: self pubbing some short stories for .99 and build an audience for the trad/small press book.

The results have been pretty satisfying. (It helps that I have a good friend who designs my covers for free! And, I'm kind of in a niche market--gay fantasy and horror) Time will tell if these little bursts of self published fiction will drive my traditionally published work!

Laer Carroll said:

Your idea is not new, as you probably know. By all means try it.

Be aware though that many others have done it and found that you usually only begin to have success when you have a good many books available. Also, shorter works don’t sell well at all.

On the plus side, you will have a very useful learning experience. You will learn how to create a web site that is readable, easily navigated, and attractive (in both the generic and literal sense). You’ll learn how to format your work for the web. Work with a publisher to help publicize your work. And so on.

Good luck.

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Thank you.
My main purpose in self publishing some short stories was to get some eyes on my fiction. I tried the "free" promotion that Kindle Direct Publishing offers this week.
The download numbers have more than exceeded my expectations.
I don't know if that will translate into actual sales yet, but at least I've got quite a few readers!

I assumed that the short story wouldn't sell that much; I was just looking for a place to point people to who wanted a taste of my fiction. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the M/M fans were willing to give me a chance.