Is Self-Publishing For You?

I wanted to continue the blog with the self-publishing theme. We have all had to come to a cross-roads in our publishing career. Whether it's starting out as a traditional author and deciding to self-publish novels you have your rights back to, completely self-publish, self-publish along with traditional publish, or even traditional publish while letting your agent's self-publishing model publish your shorts (we will talk about this on Monday), everyone's experience is different.

I have to say that I have never heard one self-published author say a negative word about the benefits of self-publishing after they have done it. Granted it takes a little bit of a learning curve to self-publish correctly, but the benefits out-weigh the freight they have when they first thought of the idea of self-publishing. 

I was excited to get an email from self-published author, Seumas Gallacher! Seumas has made some great strides and paved the way for many self-published authors! His thriller novel, The Violin Man's Legacy reached the UK's number 3 best seller list! 

Seumas was rejected many times but held true to the words of his hero, Winston Churchill: NEVER EVER GIVE UP!

Please let me welcome Seumas to my little ole blog today and how he discovered his journey to self-publishing. 

I'm going to be giving away a Kindle copy of his latest novel, Vengeance Wear Black to one lucky comment!!  

…I don’t care what they’re sayin’ about me, just so long as they’re sayin’…

 

She gave her name to the flotation ring for shipwrecked mariners, and that had nothing to do with her Olympic swimming prowess, but more with the triple-alphabetic measurements of her upper body underwear…she gave us the innuendo of the pistol-in-the-pocket guide to allure of the opposite sex…her response to the young buck waiter’s question when he asked, while pouring her a Scotch, “When”, was simply “When? Just as soon as I’ve finished this drink!”…the unforgettable Mae West, as sassy a broad as ever strode across the old cinema screens…

A hundred years ago to the date, she was already a megastar in vaudeville and well on the path to film stardom too…So what’s that got to do with us, and with social networking?…

Elementary my Dear Watsons all…she knew about ‘buzz’…about getting the message ‘out there’…and it wasn’t flyers stuck on the wall in supermarkets…she was everywhere that it mattered… Familiar yet? 

I am a late recruit to the insane band of scribes who derive pleasure from creating things with words…worse than that, I’m probably the worst type of computer Jurassic on the planet…I bought my first ever laptop four years ago, and even had to learn how to switch it on (seriously!).

Social networking meant a couple of pints down the pub with my mates, and a business cocktail party or three. 

My word, how that’s changed!

I climbed aboard that wonderful pink cloud we all find on finishing my first ever novel over three years ago, then I was off to make my fortune in print. Right? Yeah, right. 

We all know how that works don’t we? Forty agents letters equaled precisely forty rejection slips in very short order. Then along came the miracle. The epiphany. 

The avalanche of whispers in my business ear, as distinguished from my author-ly ear 'Self-publish'. 'Get on to Kindle'. 'You can’t push something into a void'. 'You need a market'. 'An audience'. 'A following'. 

Duh?? You mean, they won’t just turn up in millions and demand my work? 

What a bloody revelation. 

So started the sleeves-rolled-up campaign. The getting on to Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and insight of all insights, the miracle of blogging. 

God, I'm LOVING IT! And d’you know what? Even if nobody reads the darn things, I enjoy writing them! 

The side benefit has actually turned into the main benefit, namely the friendships and camaraderie I’ve discovered in this remarkably generous-hearted universal writers community. I wouldn’t swap it for quids.

My advice for what it’s worth to any author/writer/dabbler in words, is jump aboard and get immersed in this…it’s a blast. And always remember your manners.

Is there anything holding you back? Was self-publishing one of your career's greatest decisions?

Seumas Gallacher was born in the cradle of the Govan shipyards in Glasgow in the so-called ‘bad old days’ which were really the greatest of days, where everybody was a real character of note.

 

An early career as a trainee banker led to a spell in London, where his pretence to be a missionary converting the English fell on deaf ears.

 

Escape to the Far East in 1980 opened up access to cultures and societies on a global scale, eventually bringing the realization that the world is simply one large extended village.

 

The lifelong desire to write resulted in THE VIOLIN MAN’S LEGACY, the first in a planned series.

 

Seumas' sequel novel, VENGEANCE WEARS BLACK was launched on Kindle in early July 2012, with three other books to follow in the same vein.

You can find Seumas all over the web: 

Twitter: @seumasgallacher

Blog: http://www.seumasgallacher.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/seumasgallacher
Email: seumasgallacher@yahoo.com

 

Myths of Self-Publishing

Every day I get a a handful of emails that all ask the same thing....

Why did you self-publish? Do you think self-publishing hurt your chances at a traditional career?

The truth: I got my right back from my publisher only four weeks out from my publication date. I freaked because I had planned two book signings, a release party, and told everyone that Carpe Bead 'em was going to be published.

I jumped in feet first, contacted a few self-published authors for some guidance and learned everything I could to get my novel released on the release date that had already been scheduled.

It was the best thing that I ever did for my career. Does that mean that I'm against traditional publishing? Absolutely not. I believe in all roads to publication and doing what is best for your career.

BUT...self-publishing is not for everyone. Some people have to get over the stigma of self-publishing. I really don't care what people think of me. I only care about what my readers think of my books. So if a stigma is holding you back, you should really check that ego at the door and weigh the pros and cons of self-publishing.

There are many pros and cons. But today I wanted to blog about the second question....the myths of self-publishing.

1) If you self-publish your book, a traditional publisher will not pick it up.

Ummm. . .NOT TRUE!
Take a look at Jessica Park's FLAT OUT LOVE. Jessica published FLAT OUT LOVE a year ago. Sold a crap load, got the attention of so many readers, got the buzz and then got picked up by Amazon.
Then you have John Locke, Amanda Hocking, and E.L. James (that 50 book;)), those are just the big names. There are a lot more mid-list self-published authors getting their novels picked up by agents and publishers on a daily basis.

Just like you, they check out those bestsellers list on a daily basis. Trust me, they want to make a dollar too, and their ego doesn't get in the way when they send you an email wanting a little bit of your success.

2) Real readers won't find me because I'm not in TARGET!

Welcome to the twenty-first century, my friend! Have you heard of a little gadget called an EREADER?
They sell those in TARGET and all major bookstores!
Readers don't care who you are published by as long as you give them a good book. TRUST ME! When I say that I did a lot of research before I published Carpe Bead 'em, this was one of those things that I took serious.

Sure I had my writer friends, but readers are my target audience NOT my writer friends. Luckily I had gained a rather nice following of readers by interacting with them before Carpe Bead 'em was published, so I had asked several questions about ereaders and publishers. They couldn't even name who their favorite authors were published with.

So....you have to write a good book that readers will enjoy and they will NEVER think about who the publisher is.

If that's so important to you, you can make up a name and stick it in the 'PUBLISHERS' box when you upload it to each ereader. I just leave it blank because....I don't care if readers know I'm self-published.

3) Self-published authors couldn't make it traditionally so they self-published.

Sigh....Did you read that I GOT MY rights back from my publisher?

Once I self-published, I didn't turn back. I will always self-publish, but I didn't turn back from traditional either. (I do have some traditional irons in the fire, but this is only because I believe in doing everything.)

In some ways, self-published authors are more comfortable in their writing than traditional authors. Self-published authors are not running with the herd, they aren't the sheep. It takes guts to self-publish, and I love confidence!

4) Self-published books suck and are full of mistakes.

I agree that there are a lot of crap books out there, but that includes traditional books too. Granted, a traditional book goes through six months of edits with an editing team. So why can't a self-published book?
It can!

If you are going to self-publish and your name is on that book, you should make sure that you are going to put out the best book out there.

Get an editor that will do edits more than ONCE, hire a great cover artist, get some beta-readers, join a critique group, etc....

5) Self-publishing is expensive and I want to write the book and sit back and get paid.

Self-publishing is not expensive or hard! Once I get my book out, I do sit back and get paid. . .monthly!

Over the years, it's become a lot less expensive to self-publish. It doesn't cost you a penny to upload to the various mediums. The only thing that will cost you is an editor and a cover.
Even print on demand has gotten so easy and inexpensive.

6) Self-published authors don't make money.
**insert cough**

I'll give you one hard fact....
I got a royalty check from my publisher (yes, I still have a couple books with a publisher) from a book I DO NOT EVEN PROMOTE for various reasons and the total was .64 CENTS for a total of 8 (I think it was 8. I know it wasn't more) books! That was a quarter statement.

I sell at least 100 books a day. That blows this myth out of the water! Granted I have ten books self-published, but still you do the math.

I'm not going to get into the logistics of advances and royalties from publishers because those vary, but I can tell you that traditional authors AREN'T getting rich....at least the mid-list ones, which are 90% of the traditional population.

I'm not here to sway you either way. Like I said, I believe in all roads to publication that gets a book in front of a reader. But these are the facts, you have to decide what is best for you and your career.