“You mean it still might not get published? Or it might be published in a way that doesn’t maximize its chance of success, even in my own eyes?” you ask.
Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.
Shee-yut.
And working with a major house doesn’t guarantee your financial success, either. Herman Melville sold only fifty copies of Moby-Dick before his death. In fact, most authors with major houses never earn out their advances, meaning they never get another cent after their initial advance check. The average debut novelist with a major house, according to Gary Smailes of The Proactive Writer (http://proactivewriter.com/blog/), sells about 2,000 books in the first year. If he sells 10,000 in the first year, chances are the house feels he is doing quite well. If he sells 14,000 or more in the debut year, the book will probably be deemed a big success to the house, but likely not earn the author much more than a pat on the back.
A few years ago, I stood at a crossroads in my own writing journey. I had three novels out with three great agents. I had their cell phone numbers on my iPhone. I didn’t have offers of representation, but I did have phone dialogues going and requests to see rewrites. I wasn’t there, but I was this close.
At the same time, the publishing industry was at a crossroads of its own. E-books seemed poised to take over the world. Profit margins were tight. Major authors like Stephen King (gasp, the moneymakers) were discovering self-publishing. And it wasn’t just them. There were the indie authors. Amazon was offering 70% Kindle royalties. E-commerce was truly accessible, and print on demand (POD) had become almost easy. Gone were the days when a writer’s only alternative to traditional publishing was an expensive vanity press. Amanda Hocking had burst onto the scene, making millions off books spurned by agents and editors. J.A. Konrath had shown that a middle-of-the-pack author could turn his backlist (backlist = all an author’s books but the newest one) released from contract by his publisher and future indie-published writing into a more than respectable income.
A steady stream of authors began making their way over to Amazon. Their dribs and drabs of sales plus the sales of self-publishing rock stars summed up to something significant that the publishers felt in their wallets and in the deepest, darkest, most scared places in their hearts. The indie sales didn’t, however, make much money for the self-published authors themselves, who tend to have trouble selling a copy outside of their immediate families. And 70% of nothing is, well, nothing. Or rather, it’s nothing in terms of money, but if your goal is to share your words and your worlds, it’s a whole heck of a lot of
something—and to the major houses, all of that something started taking a bigger and bigger toll.
The publishers needed to figure out how all this change would impact their business model, but frankly, at the time that I was deciding whether to indie publish, they hadn’t yet. Writers discovered the concept of disintermediation, where the only truly necessary players in the game of book sales were author and reader, save possibly a freelance editor, a digital artist, a publicist, and a business consultant, all of whom an author could retain for herself if she chose to.
Slim publishing-company profits narrowed further while I went back and forth over many months in dialogue with agents, and I had a decision to make: Should I keep chasing after a possibility that kept getting less likely and would cost me control of my work? I mean, who really knew what return I would get on my three novel rewrites? I certainly wasn’t guaranteed representation, and even if I got it, a book sale was not an automatic. Until I signed a sales contract, the size of my potential advance would be shrinking daily, and the other terms of my deal would be growing less favorable as well, because this was business, and a business on the rocks. That potential deal would still require me to promote and market my own book on my own dime and my own time. Bottom line: I had no guarantee of a return, or even of ever traditionally publishing.
I started seriously considering throwing my hat into the ring of indie publishing. I’d still have no guarantee of a return, and I could lose my own money, at that. But the rewards were huge. I’d get the chance to share my works with whoever wanted to read it. I’d retain control—beautiful, blessed control—and publish the book of my heart, not the book of someone else’s balance sheet. And that was the crux of it to me: control. I’d been an entrepreneur for nearly twenty years. I knew how to run a successful business. And promotion was a wash; I’d be doing it whether I went indie or stuck to traditional. How big a stretch was it, really, to move from entrepreneur to authorpreneur? Bottom line: I had no guarantee of a return on my investment as an indie, but I did have a guarantee of publishing, and I could do it my way, which is what really drove me.
You’re in control
“You can make no money with someone telling you what to do, or you can make no money calling your own shots. Which one would give you more joy?” my husband asked. “And don’t answer that, because I already know. So I’ll help you.”
And he did.
I’d love to say the result was a gusher, but I’d be lying. It was a smashing success to us, but modest by major house standards. I sold 5,000 copies of my debut novel in the first six months, and almost half of those sales were of paperbacks. Combined with Kindle giveaways during that time period, 50,000 people got a copy of Saving Grace. It was picked up nationwide by Hastings Entertainment for their 137 stores, and regionally by Barnes and Noble. It led to greater exposure and sales of my backlist of relationship humor books. It paved the way for my future books. It beat the performance of most debut novelists with major houses. For all of that, I am grateful and excited, but not rolling in money. What I am rich in, however, is information, tons and tons of information on indie-publishing successes and failures, good moves and missteps.
You’re not alone
So here’s something I know: if you indie publish, you are a needle in a haystack. In 2012 alone, 235,000 indie titles were published, representing about 43% of books published that year, according to Bowker, a company that provides bibliographic information on published works to the industry. There are more than one million Kindle e-books in publication as I type this manuscript, and that number is growing quickly. According to Penguin-owned Author Solutions (not my top choice as a service provider for indie authors, but a valid source of data), its average indie title sells 150 copies. That’s not an annual number, folks, that’s a forever number.
The number of competing titles is growing exponentially. Not only are individuals indie publishing, but so are businesses like AskMen magazine, which has launched a line of books to meet the perceived needs of its customers. And successful traditionally published authors like James Patterson are turning their brands into title-churning franchises, handing over writing duties to flocks of co-authors. So you’re competing with an incredible volume of titles, traditional and indie, individual and business, and it’s increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd.
Be careful basing your “go indie” decision too heavily on widely touted indie-riches stories. For instance, Fifty Shades of Gray was originally indie published, but it became a massive commercial success only after Random House picked it up. From my perspective, it was still a huge coup that Random House discovered it.
Before you decide whether to indie publish, ask yourself:
—Can I deliver the quality needed to make sales?
—Do I have the necessary business skills?
—Can I promote my books to the point of recognition and sales?
—Will I still have time to keep writing my next books?
And, most importantly,
—Why am I choosing to indie publish?
If you only want copies of your book for yourself, your friends, and your family, and you don’t care about making money, it may not matter to you if you ever sell a single book.
For some of us, despite the odds and the cons, our goals reflect our desire for independence. If you’re one of those intrepid souls, stubborn to the bone and yearning to work like
a pack mule, then you’re just the kind of loser who’s right for indie publishing.
If that’s a “hell, yeah” or even a “hmmm, maybe,” read on.
To continue reading Loser, click here.
Acknowledgments
My editor is a goddess. Thank you, Meghan Pinson, for making me sound like me, only better.
To my dear darling baby brother: thanks for all advice aero and nautical.
The beta readers who enthusiastically devote their time—gratis—to helping us rid my books of flaws blow me away. The love this time goes to Ginger, Hanna, Rebecca, Rene, Rhonda, Sandy, Sonja, Staci, Stephanie, and Susie.
The biggest thanks, once again, go to my Crucians: husband Eric, friend Natalie, and house Annaly. They are the ones who inspired me to dream up stories in the islands.
Eric gets an extra helping of thanks for plotting, critiquing, editing, listening, holding, encouraging, supporting, browbeating, and playing miscellaneous other roles, some of which aren’t appropriate for publication.
Kisses and a pageant wave to princess of the universe Heidi Dorey for fantastic cover art. I love each one more than the last.
To each and every blessed one of you who have read, reviewed, rated, and emailed/Facebooked/Tweeted/commented about the Katie & Annalise books, I appreciate you more than I can say. Stephanie, Rhonda, Liz, and Rebecca stand above the rest here. It is the readers who move mountains for me and for other authors, and I humbly ask for the honor of your honest reviews and recommendations.
Ashley Ulery Snyder, you gorgeous creature, thank you for giving voice to Katie and friends in the audiobooks.
Finally, my eternal gratitude to Eric, Marie, Stephanie, Heidi, Liz, Clark, Susanne, Allie, and Susie for keeping me alive and reasonably sane on the 60-Cities-in-60-Days book tour as we built the audience for Katie & Annalise one town and one reader at a time.
About the Author
Pamela Fagan Hutchins holds nothing back and writes award-winning and best-selling mysteries and hilarious nonfiction from Nowheresville, Texas, where she lives with her household hunks—husband, Eric, and their one-eyed Boston terrier, Petey—plus three rescue dogs, a herd of goats, a coupla cows, a flock of turkeys, and a peacock. She is the author of many books, including Saving Grace, Leaving Annalise, Finding Harmony, Going for Kona, Heaven to Betsy, Earth to Emily, How To Screw Up Your Kids, Hot Flashes and Half Ironmans, and What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes? to name just a few. In 2014, just two years after publication of her first book, the Houston Press named her as one of the Top 10 Houston Authors.
Pamela spends her non-writing time as the Chair of the Board of the Houston Writers Guild, a writing coach, a workplace investigator, and as an employment attorney and human resources professional, and she is the co-founder of a human resources consulting company. You can often find her with her husband—and a few grown kids from their blended brood of five—hiking, running, bicycling, and enjoying the great outdoors.
If you’d like Pamela to speak to your book club, women’s club, or writers group, by Skype or in person, shoot her an email. She’s very likely to say yes.
You can buy Pamela’s e-books, audiobooks, and paperbacks at most online retailers. You can also get her paperbacks from “brick and mortar” stores. If you want a signed copy, contact SkipJack Publishing: http://SkipJackPublishing.com. If your bookstore or library doesn’t carry a book you want, by Pamela or any other author, ask them to order it for you.
You can connect with Pamela all over creation, and you should:
Website http://pamelahutchins.com
Email [email protected]
New releases newsletter http://eepurl.com/iITR
Facebook http://facebook.com/pamela.fagan.hutchins.author
Twitter http://twitter.com/pameloth
Goodreads http://goodreads.com/pamelafaganhutchins
LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/pamelahutchins
Books by the Author
Fiction from SkipJack Publishing:
Saving Grace (Katie & Annalise #1)
Leaving Annalise (Katie & Annalise #2)
Finding Harmony (Katie & Annalise #3)
The Jumbie House (Katie & Annalise Outtake)
Going for Kona (Michele #1)
Heaven to Betsy (Emily #1)
Earth to Emily (Emily #2)
Hell to Pay (Emily #3), coming 2016
Nonfiction from SkipJack Publishing:
The Clark Kent Chronicles: A Mother’s Tale Of Life
With Her ADHD/Asperger’s Son
Hot Flashes and Half Ironmans: Middle-Aged Endurance
Athletics Meets the Hormonally Challenged
How to Screw Up Your Kids: Blended Families, Blendered Style
How to Screw Up Your Marriage: Do-Over Tips for First-Time Failures
Puppalicious and Beyond: Life Outside The Center Of The Universe
What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes, and How Can I Be One, Too?
Other Books by the Author:
Eve’s Requiem (anthology), Spider Road Press
OMG – That Woman! (anthology), Aakenbaaken & Kent
Ghosts (anthology), Aakenbaaken & Kent
Easy to Love, But Hard to Raise (2012) and Easy to Love, But Hard to Teach (coming soon) (anthologies), DRT Press, edited by Kay Marner & Adrienne Ehlert Bashista
Audiobook versions of the author’s books are available on
Audible, iTunes, and Amazon.
Other Books from SkipJack Publishing
The Closing, by Ken Oder
Old Wounds to the Heart, by Ken Oder
Deadly Thyme, by R. L. Nolen
The Dry, by Rebecca Nolen
Tides of Possibility, edited by K.J. Russell
Tides of Impossibility, edited by K.J. Russell and C. Stuart Hardwick
My Dream of Freedom: From Holocaust to My Beloved America, by Helen Colin
Finding Harmony (Katie & Annalise Book 3) Page 33