In 2014 I made the decision to become an independent writer/publisher, or indie for short. Two factors weighed heavily in my decision. One was the difficulty of going the traditional route. The other being freedom.
I don’t write much on the writing life, because I don’t have much, if anything, to add to the veritable mountain of information that’s out already. Nor is my personal journey all that unique. I’ve made plenty of mistakes and I am slowly correcting them. I’ve also done a few things right.
Today, I’d like to put out into the aether a few thoughts about being an author/publisher. These are my own reflections. For the writers in my audience, I hope you find something of use or encouragement. For the non-writers, hopefully you’ll find applications to your own lives.
Traditional Publishing
Sometime in the middle 1960s I got my first copies of The Writer and Writer’s Digest. Let me be frank here, nothing much has changed in the traditional publishing world during these past 50 years. The most noticeable differences between then and now are these:
- There are fewer publishers
- An agent is virtually mandatory
- The wannabe author has to secure his/her own editorial services
- There is the internet
Everything else is the same. The same advice on how to write. The same adulation of critics, pundits, and publishers. The same narrow gate whereby only the few may enter. And once within the hallowed walls of authordom, the same lousy contracts and all the same self-marketing if you want to sell books.
My late friend and author, John J. Koblas, used to have his van filled with boxes of his books to sell at every speaking engagement and signing event. And to whoever might happen by. He made an okay living—but had to hustle to do it.
In truth, very little has changed in 50 years. For all of the perceived change, so much has stayed the same.
Freedom
I value freedom. Robert E. Howard, in a letter to H. P. Lovecraft, confessed the reason he wanted to be a writer was because of the freedom it gave a person. I couldn’t agree more.
A writer is a self-employed artist. A creator and a business person all rolled into one. Unfortunately, the business piece of the partnership usually gets forgotten. The writer leaves that to the agent; or, if self published, too often to magic. When Weird Tales had trouble paying Howard for his stories, Howard followed the money and moved on to the western and fight magazines. He was a businessman as well as an artist.
Any writer can tell you, if he or she is actually writing stories and books, the act of writing is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. It’s work. It might be fun work, but it’s work nonetheless.
So why do so many writers—myself included—simply toss their books onto Amazon and then conduct tweet barrages to try to sell them? Or think blogging will get them noticed? Or hope that those 10,000 downloads of their free book will automatically turn into book buying fans? Because we want to believe in magic.
After being in indie author for over a year and a half, I’m here to tell you magic doesn’t work.
The freedom of being an independent author/publisher comes with a boatload of responsibility. The responsibility of being your own business person. Of being the one who directs your career, not some money-grubbing middleman (aka publisher) directing it for you.
The Black Hole
I read somewhere 3,000 books a day are published. I don’t know if that is true or not. But I’d hazard a guess it’s at least close to the truth.
Recently I went through a free course on book marketing with Nick Stephenson. Several times he mentioned writing into the black hole. In other words if you’re unknown, just writing books won’t bring you fame. They’re going into the black hole. Because no one knows you exist.
Marketing on social media is kind of doing the same thing. So is offering your book for free. There are lots of people out there who will grab anything for free and that includes books. They may never read those free books. Which means downloads of free books don’t necessarily mean readers, much less fans.
Dumping into the black hole isn’t going to do much to get you noticed. Remember, 3,000 books a day are being published.
Becoming a name, a recognizable name, is the struggle every author has had since authors first stepped onto the career playing field. And we are talking millennia here, folks. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides weren’t always famous. How many more classical Greek playwrights never became famous? We don’t know. Their names are dust. Anthony Trollope got the attention of a few critics with his fourth novel. He made some money and got a name with his fifth. It was Hugh Howey’s eighth book, Wool, that gave readers cause to sit up and take notice. Very few authors ever hit the big time coming out of the gate.
When I look at Twitter or Facebook or Google Plus or Goodreads, I see writers grouping together primarily with other writers. And that is not all bad. But it won’t necessarily get you out of the black hole. Why? Because we writers want readers to buy our books. There are more readers out there than writers. Somewhere along the line I think we forget that. Although, I do keep hoping Marcia Muller or S J Rozan will discover and plug my Justinia Wright mystery series and I will rake in the dough on the Oprah Effect. I do keep hoping. Magic is alive and well.
The sad fact of the matter is most of us will be swallowed up by the black hole. Why? Because name recognition is much more difficult to obtain then writing a book—and writing a book is difficult enough.
Marketing
To climb out of the black hole, we need to be business people. We need to plan our work and work our plan. We need to become proficient at marketing and self-promotion. And because many of us are introverts and shy, we see self-promotion as something akin to torture. And who wants to willingly lie on the rack or step into the Iron Maiden?
Nevertheless, we need to learn how to sell our books and ourselves—if we want to make a career of writing.
For myself, I’m 63 and retired. I don’t need to replace the dreaded day job. But I would like to supplement my income and get that Rolls Royce I’ve always wanted.
So how does one learn marketing? There are lots of ways:
- Business courses at college
- Observation of successful indies
- Getting personal advice from successful indies
- Reading marketing blogs
- Reading books on marketing
- Taking courses offered by indie writers who are successful or marketers who cater to indie authors
- Trial and error
- Paying a marketing firm (making sure you observe what they do so you don’t have to hire them ongoing)
I’ve observed successful indies, read a few of the marketing blogs, read a few books on marketing, have tried and erred, and am now taking a course.
What I’ve Learned
What have I learned over the past 20 months of being an indie author that I can pass on to you? Here are a few thoughts:
- Write. For indie authors, less is not more. More is more. Readers of indie authors expect a lot of product. All of the experienced indie authors agree on this.
- Write in series. Readers of indie works expect a series or at the very least related books in a universe or series characters. All of the experienced indie authors agree on this.
- Have at least 3 books written before you start seriously thinking of marketing.
- Write in an identifiable genre. This makes it easy for indie readers to identify you. The genre doesn’t have to be large. It could be, for example, romantic space opera. While small, that subgenre is identifiable. Once again, all of the experienced indie authors agree on this.
- Write well/Edit well. This should go without saying. Unfortunately it can’t. Pay someone to help you if you have to. Investing in yourself is always worth the money.
- Use social media to make connections with your peers. Don’t use it to sell. It’s a poor sales channel—unless you are paying for ads on the channel.
- Learn marketing. If you’re going to be an author/publisher, then you’re going to have to know marketing if you want to sell books. I wish someone had told me this 2 or 3 years before I started. This is critical. Marketing sells books. Wishful thinking and magic do not.
- Live by Heinlein’s Five Rules. If you are a writer, then you write. You don’t do anything else. Unless you’re an author/publisher and then you are going to have to also do the business end of things, like marketing, as well. But first and foremost, you write. Robert J Sawyer sums up the Five Rules very well. Do read them. Do follow them.
I hope this has been of value. Comments are welcome. Until next time, happy reading!
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An interesting read.
I must admit, however, I rarely bother reading such articles. As you say, there are boatloads of indie blogs regurgitating ‘writing life’ tips every other week. In this case, and as Jack Tyler rightly observes, you have managed to make the relevant information far more accessible to those in search of answers.
I have nothing against writing in series. I have unfinished works that are intended as a series, but I also love standalone books and stories. I don’t always agree in writing for the market or for the readers. Write what you want, although I’ve been told that is not a good idea, at least not if you want to be a ‘real’ writer.
I agree with what Alice said above, the glut of books that have filled online shelves has caused a lot of readers to turn away from indie authors. Sadly, I don’t see it changing.
There are some great writers out there that will never be known. Stories are written and lost every day. I take solace in the fact that there is a race of creatures which dwell at the other end of that black hole. They tirelessly gather the lost and forgotten stories and then read them by the light of a solitary lamp (that was accidentally thrown into the black hole back in 1732). When finished, they take each and every story and build vast landscapes from their pages, creating worlds within worlds. That I might contribute to that world makes me smile.
Thanks for your observations, Crispian. I agree: one should write what one wants. But if one wants to make money as an indie, then one needs to write in series. That seems to be the current reality. However, series are even hot amongst traditional authors of genre fiction. Look at Lee Child or Sue Grafton or Patterson. So it isn’t just indies. Standalone novels are difficult to use to build traction, unless perhaps they are all in an identifiable genre. Like horror, say. Witness Stephen King.
As for the glut of books, I think there has always been one. I never read all of the traditional fiction that was available 30, 40, or 50 years ago. And I’m just refering to what was current at that time. If we had the accumulated piles of works from over the past couple centuries, well, I doubt anyone could read all the books.
I just discovered S Fowler Wright. Popular in his day. Now a faded and almost extinguished light. Yet I enjoyed very much the novel I read and the current one I’m reading.
The only thing that turns me off to any writer is if they aren’t interesting to me or show evidence they can’t write. I’ve so wanted to like Iain M Banks, but I just can’t. Only one book of his had me not wanting it to end. The rest? Ho-hum. And he isn’t the only one. Doesn’t matter if the writer is traditionally published or self-published. I’ve read some very excellent indie authors and some who should perhaps look for their calling elsewhere. The point is, I think, there is an audience for every writer. It may, however, not be huge.
The glut of books doesn’t bother me. To my mind, there has always been too many books and too little time. Today is no different than 50 years ago.
But it is comforting to know that all of those books I never discovered are being turned into vast landscapes. Very comforting.
Thanks for the summary. I think we are in the middle of the ebook/self publishing phenomenon. We are slogging in the middle with fewer and fewer making it through the bottle neck to readership because true readers are frustrated with the glut. instead of looking for that unknown undiscovered author, they just want a good book to read and look towards the best sellers. The question is when will the glut of mediocre agents, editors, self publishing gurus grabbing for the self publishing authors dollars with get rich quick schemes end and self publishing will settle down to a nice routine.
You know? This is why I don’t believe this is the best of times to be an author. Sure, internet has given us lot of possibilities, a lot more than we had just a few years ago, but most of our possibilities go in that black hole.
This doesn’t mean I’m a pessimist. I do believe the publishing market is heading into a revolution that has already started. It will be something very good in the end… unfortunatley, we are just at the beginning.
But this is why we have to be hopeful. There’s a lot to ne learned and as all new processes, there’s a lot of room for experiemntation, a lot more, I believe, than there will be in the future.
So it’s a strang etime, but also a very exciting time. Let’s try to ge the best of it 😉
CW, I have to tell you, I’ve read books about books by everyone from Stephen King to Evan Marshall, and this is some of the best advice I’ve ever seen distilled into eight concise bullet points. I too am retired and have no one demanding great chunks of my time, and I’m going to bookmark this, and live by it as “The Eight Commandments of CW Hawes.” I realize that you didn’t make this stuff up, but I’ve waded through entire books that ramble and waffle through hundreds of pages to get to one of these points. Should I refer to them in my future blogging and elsewhere, I will always credit you. Brilliant, sir, brilliant!
I am humbled, Jack. Thank you for your very kind words. All of us author/publishers are in the same boat. It can be discouraging, but this is a great time to be a writer and we shouldn’t be discouraged. Thanks again!