Non Fiction

Success for Self Published Authors

Richard Hurd

I respectfully disagree with those that say self-publishing doesn't work.

As a self-published author myself, who made the same mistake of being self-published, and getting royally screwed by the publisher when it comes to royalties, I think you can get some degree of sucess as a writer.

Granted, I'm not selling thousands of copies a week, just a few hundred books a month. It's enough to pay costs related to selling the book.

What I do during the summer is go to the local carnivals and fairs and set up a vendor booth. Costs range from $35-$100 for a 3 day weekend. Most people are impulse buyers anyway when it comes to new authors, so I have a poster (made at the local office supply store) which grabs their attention as they walk by. They stop and once they pick up the book, it's a 50/50 shot they're going to buy it. Yeah, so you might be sitting in a dusty booth at the county fair for a weekend, and only sell 10 copies, but how many people have walked by and saw the book? I also have bookmarks which I give away to ANYONE who stops and looks for a second. They may not buy today, but they may order later. It's a gamble that a 25 cent bookmark might sell a $20 book at a later time, but it's a risk I'm finding is paying off. In short, you're setting up a store that sells one product, your book. If you want to sell, you got to be willing to sit there patiently. Personally, I think it's kind of fun as you do get to talk to a lot of people who want to write a book themselves.

By also engaging those who are interested in conversation, I set up contacts with the local schools and libraries and arrange a time I can give a writing presentation to those organizations. Granted you can't sell books in those places, but it's FREE ADVERTISEMENT. Dropping bookmarks off at the local libraries is also a good form of advertisement.

And if you have a "budding author" come and ask you for advice, see if you can get them to set up some sort of book signing event at their local club/organization and give them a free copy of your book for their troubles. I've done rotary, lions club, and other "public" events simply because I asked someone who was interested. Contacting your local literary groups works too.

The main thing, is that marketing your work takes a hell of a lot of personal time if you do not have an agent. You've got to do all the work, you've got to make the contacts, you've got to write the letters, you've got to be willing to sit behind a table for hours on end...just to sell a single book.

However, one thing leads to another. I have a friend who put my books in his music store. Someone came in, picked up a book, and then contacted me to do a sci-fi/gaming convention. At the convention I sold a lot of books. That "success" at a small town convention led to a larger town convention. I asked the convention people if I could use their name to contact others, and things are snowballing.

Same with the internet. When I first printed, my goal was specifically for a few books I could GIVE away to family and friends. I never planned on being a writer. My first book is full of mistakes. Yet, due to online sales, people bought the book, and boy did I hear it from fans and critics. So I started the "second edition" and am putting the series out as a "serious writer". Most of my sales are still internet sales, and the huge joke is, that all those who bought the first book with all the mistakes, are now buying the second edition. Since they like the second edition so much better, now they are telling their friends and word of mouth advertising is getting around.

The upshot is, now, after 4 years of marketing, people are contacting me to come and speak or do book signings. Yes, I may be only a "printed author" by those who look down their noses at us self-published, but I could easily fill up my weekends doing book signings now. And through the internet, and by contacting writing groups when I go on vacation, I usually try and work in a book signing. It may be just a meeting in someones livingroom with the local literary group, but you never know where it may lead...

Which brings me to my final point. I do have agents contacting me now. I have a proven track record of sales. Unfortunatly, most of the agents contacting me are not too reputable, if you get the drift. I finally did pick an agent, which is like picking a pirana out of a tank of piranas with your bare hands, but, if all goes well, I hope to be getting a new publisher soon.

My advice, if you are self-published, the only thing stopping your success is your own lack of effort. You're the one who is going to get out there and beat the bushes for contacts for places to sell your books. You don't have to be aggressive about it, just firm. You'll have to act as your own marketer. After all who else cares about your book? No one is going to do it for you. It's a lot of hard work with little reward the first couple of years, but once the ball is rolling, it gets easier.