This is an update to previous blogs about the current state of self-publishing, particularly in the UK.
I thought at first, it may be worth reiterating some of the things Lee and I had learnt since we first met.
No matter what age group you are targeting, e-books, are now so much more popular than print books.
We are in an era where self-publishing is seriously threatening the traditional publishing business. I have recently advised a popular crime fiction author who wishes to take control of his writing and pubishing as he is so disillusioned with the traditional process.
Many traditionally published authors still have expenses and are expected to do their own marketing, so like us, there is never any guarantee of sales.
Persistence in finding the right advertising strategy for you will eventually result in sales.
The reading audience does not distinguish between traditionally published and self-published authors.
If you are in quite a narrow genre (for instance, mine is Tudor fiction/mystery) you will have to compete with the most famous authors within that genre. And, it can be done.
The future is looking very healthy for self-published authors.
Collaboration seems to be a key issue in becoming successful as a self-published author.
There is an excellent data sheet from the Alliance of Independent Authors which is encouraging. I have put a link below.
Rob 😊
Click here:
One of my readers...
Couldn't be more spot on. I've self-published all eighteen of my books, and working on my 19th. There are so many advantages to self-publishing over trad pubs, but you really do need to treat your authoring like a business and not a hobby. Make sure you are prepared to commit to the journey and treat expenses like investments, focus on the long game, etc.. I actually wrote (and self-published, ha!) a book entitled "How to successfully self-publish & promote your independent book: "A Self-Publishing & Business Marketing Guide for the Independent Author." I felt so strongly about putting SOMETHING out there that would equip people like you and me to really focus on the long game and on marketin…
Speaking as a reader, the trouble with self-publishing is that anyone can do it. This means that it is difficult to know whether a self-published book is any good or not. You can look at the reviews but it is sometimes apparent that these have been gathered from family and friends. At least with traditionally published books you know that someone likes it so much that they are prepared to risk quite a lot of money in publishing it.
I have read a whole spectrum of self-published novels from brilliant to truly awful. I would dearly love some sort of quality mark for self-published novels.