Self-publishing - to do/not to do

[TellMeAboutItStud]

Hi all

I have written a couple of novels - both of them had a fair bit of agent interest but ultimately were not taken forward and I am now considering self-publishing. However, everything I have read seems to either say a) you’ll fail so don’t bother unless you want to lose money and spend 14 hours a day on Twitter marketing or b) it’s super-easy, here are all these successful published authors on six-figure incomes from their writing alone.

I’d be very interested to know whether anyone here has experience in self-publishing and how they found it? And what tips or advice you would have found useful when you were starting out?

thank you in advance!

As a reader, I often try new authors on Amazon who offer their first book for free when they have a series. I probably go on to buy the whole series (and others by the same author) in about 1/3 of the cases.

That's specifically in the science fiction/fantasy genre though. I don't know if it works as well with other genres.

Hello, I'm late to the party but I have a similar experience. I wrote 3 novels and got reasonable agent interest but ultimately got nowhere. I got so discouraged (rejection is hard!) that I gave up writing for a few years but then 2 years ago, I made the decision to self-publish which is what I did last August (just about the time you first posted this question).
Firstly, I have to say that I am thrilled that I did it. I would have had regrets if none of my novels ever saw the light of day, even if that means just having one for my bookshelf.
There are a couple of points I want to make about the publishing/selfpublishing process.

1. I found a huge difference between the reactions of agents/publishers and readers. Professional middlepeople are considering where it fits on the shelf (lack of specific genre was a frequent negative I received) and how they might market it. They go into the assessment with a critical mindset, they have a huge pile of submissions and they can only take one or two so they are quick to fault and reject even based on one page. Readers on the other hand don't care about where it fits and how it's marketed, they just want a good story. They start out with a positive frame of mind, they want to like the book and will give it a fair shot. I have been overwhelmed by the positive reaction to my book by readers, both known to me and unknown. LoveReading.co.uk gave it a hugely positive review and are featuring it on their website as an 'Indie Book We Love' in April 2024. And this is for a book for which I received over 100 rejections.
2. Quality. The quality standards that apply in self-publishing are only those applied by the writer herself. In traditional publishing, there's a whole team who will pore over the book and make sure that it is the best it can possibly be and will only release it when they are happy with it. When you self-publish, you get so thoroughly sick of reading your book that you might let it go before it is good enough and, although readers are more willing to find the good, that doesn't mean that they are blind to the bad. It's a fine balance between permanently tinkering and holding yourself to a high standard. This applies also to the cover and the blurb which are the first contacts any potential reader will have with your book.
3. Progress in the self-publishing industry. Self-publishing has changed so much in recent years. One of the best things is Print on Demand which makes self-publishing more accessible, democratic and environmentally sound. You only print the number of copies you need so that there is no wastage. My author copies cost around 3.80 GBP but this can vary depending on the size of the book.
4. Sales. One of the biggest problems with self-publishing is distribution. I had an additional problem in that Amazon.co.uk doesn't deliver paperbacks to Ireland (where I live) (another Brexit problem). My readers can buy it from Germany or France but it's not intuitive to buy an English book from a French or German website and the delivery cost is high. Several independent bookshops have taken it on and sales are doing ok. The other issue with self-publishing is that you don't have the marketing resources that large publishers have and when you promote your own book, people assume that you are totally biased. (which you are but so are traditional publishers but their word is taken to be more impartial) You can organise book events in your local bookshops or library and this definitely helps to spread the word. My total sales to date are around 300 copies with about 30 audiobook versions.
5. Taking the long-term view. It is now 8 months or so since I published 'Homesick' and I am coming to realise that I will never make money via the self-publishing route. The limitations of distribution and marketing are too great. Maybe being based in the UK, you have a better chance. However, I still think that it was well worth doing. I think it has improved my chances of being traditionally published. I have an appointment with an agent at a literary event next month and I think having the back-up of readers' support as well as independent reviewers in LoveReading (I have 55 reviews on Amazon, almost all of them very positive) definitely puts me in a much better position than if I hadn't published.
6. Finally, even if this is as far as my publishing journey goes, I am still so glad that I did it. I haven't made any money but the lovely comments and positive reactions that I have received mean that, as a writer, I have connected with readers which is what I have always wanted. Instead of mumbling away in a monologue, I am now in a conversation with people about my writing.

I hope this is useful and I wish you best of luck! My 2p worth is that you should go for it!

@MaryMinnock Thank you for this insightful and detailed post, it's really useful.