This writing life turns out to be a roller-coaster that just doesn't stop!
There's the creative and writing process, but then you have to run the gauntlet of publishing as well as the sales and marketing aspects. It can also be hard to focus on what success really means to us when the stories of mega-indies fill the publishing press. Today's article by Leslie Ramey from Compulsion Reads challenges us to reconsider …
From the first moment you officially became a self-published author, I’m sure you have discussed, worried and debated your success or lack thereof, which for many authors is all about the numbers.
We stalk our sales reports like we are teenagers worried our boyfriends are cheating on us. This self-abuse beats on our confidence and has us hitting our heads on our desk as we try to come up with new marketing gimmicks or fretting over why readers don’t want to read our books. Self-publishing is hard. Finding readers to take a chance on your book is even harder.
While it would be amazing to quit our day jobs and become writers full time, reality has a different plan for most of us. It is estimated that most self-published authors will only sell between 100-250 copies of their books. It can be soul-crushing to watch your magnum opus languish, which is why it’s time to take a step back and redefine what it means to be successful at self-publishing.
Here are the standards that I think self-publishers should use when they ask themselves, Was it worth it?
You have written and published a book which means you are an author.
Writer Joel Epstein has estimated that 81% of the US population wants to publish a book. If Mr. Epstein is correct, that works out to be 200,000,000 people in the United States, and we haven’t even looked at other countries with just as many ambitious and creative people.
Last year approximately 250,000 books were self-published. If we assume that each book was written by one person that means less than 0.125% of Americans followed their dream to publish last year. This number is pretty inflated since we know that many authors wrote more than one book last year and we haven’t included all of the people around the world who wrote some of those novels.
What this really means is that if you have written and published a book you have done something that 99.98% of the people who just dream about writing didn’t do. The fact is you are not a failure. Going after your dream and sucking up the fear that comes with an endeavor like self-publishing makes you a hero. So, put away your creeper binoculars, turn away from your Amazon sales report and bask in your success at completing your dream of writing and publishing a book.
You’ve sold at least one book to a stranger
We all know that we have a core group of loyal supporters who will buy our books. They love us because they are our family and don’t have a choice, or they are our friends and despite our canceling plans with them to write, they still want to hang out with us. These loyalists will be the first to buy our books in both e-versions and print. We can count on those sales.
Now, if you sold even a single book to someone you didn’t know, then you, my friend, have beaten some serious odds.
A study done by the Pew Internet Library Service showed that 75% of Americans read at least one book in the last year. Of these, 48% read less than one book a month. We know that many of these readers are probably only reading books from their favorite authors or that are on a bestseller list. The actual percentage of the reading public that would be willing to take a chance on an unknown self-published author is very small.
If you are an indie author, chances are your book is only available through online retailers or in e-version, which according to some studies only about 33% of readers own. The competition is stiff. Forget about selling 100 -250 books. If you are selling any copies to complete strangers then you are a success and should be elated with that accomplishment. Ahem – don’t leave to check those numbers (you can do that in a minute if you really need to).
Your book has earned accolades
We all know that book reviews are a great way to attract new readers and sell more copies. Getting people to write reviews about your book is almost as hard as it was to write the dang thing. Our friends and family are intimidated or just don’t have the time to whip out 300 words of awesomeness describing your book.
So, if you have earned positive reviews (anything with 4 stars or higher is excellent) then you are not failing at self-publishing. Earning an endorsement from Compulsion Reads, a great review from Kirkus Indie, a nod from the Discovery Awards by IndieReader or any other third party is another source of great praise. These organizations can give you unbiased insight into your writing that you can hopefully be proud of.
It’s time for writers to stop beating themselves up.
We need to embrace our success and stop watching those sales reports (for the last time, your boyfriend is not cheating on you).
Don’t give up or allow yourself to be pushed down by negative babble or thoughts.
If you have written a book, then you are wonderful. Selling just one of those is a huge feat that deserves to be celebrated. If you started writing because you love it then keep at it. You never know which one of your books could be the next bestseller that launches you into the headlines and lets you quit your day job.
How do you feel about the definition of success as an indie author? Please do add your comments below as this is an important conversation.
Compulsion Reads, created by Jessica Bennett and Leslie Ramey, seeks to shine the spotlight on quality indie books by endorsing those books that meet CR’s strict quality standards.
Learn more about Compulsion Reads by visiting www.Compulsionreads.com. Enjoy our kooky video, read about our endorsement criteria and visit our growing library of endorsed indie books. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.
Top image: Flickr Creative Commons roller-coaster by hounddiggity
This was a very inspiring article. I could completely relate to it. I have just released my first novel and yes I have been tracking sales religiously. After reading this piece I do feel better and more confidant because I have made sales to strangers and I have a lot of people on my social networks backing me up and helping me promote my book. Thank you for the kind words.
Hi Anthony, congrats on your first book. I’m glad the article was helpful for you and good luck as you move forward.
You’ve made some really fantastic points. It’s hard work out there and the odds are against you, so celebrate all the little victories, because the little victories are actually big ones!
TBH, it never occurred to me that I needed to define success–let alone re-define it.
I suck!
😀
In truth, the only question I ever asked myself is “how soon can I get the next one out?” For me it’s just too much fun to worry about markers. The process itself carries rewards — and sales are like ice cream on my pie 🙂
Very important post. I don’t think my definition of success has anything to do with self-publishing, but is simply how I would define my success as a writer. For me, that means a number of things on different levels. At the personal level, there’s successfully transferring what I have mapped out in my head onto the page – something I’ve ever come close to, and don’t think I know a writer who would say they have, which makes it the central one to strive after. In terms of relating to readers, I would like to leave just one life changed, however small an amount, one voice freed to be themselves. And on a wider level, I would like to leave the world a changed place, to alter how people view language and what it is – and isn’t – capable of doing, to free people to experience their lives more fully.
A question about Compulsion Reads – I have the same nervousness as I do about Awesome Indies’ criteria used for endorsement. CR states that it takes novels in all genres, and yet the demands in relation to items such as plot clearly militate against endorsing books of a highly literary or experimental nature (and probably plenty of other stunning books beside), giving the impression to readers that such books are, as a blanket, not as good as books in genres where these requirements are more prominent. Awesome Indies have been willing to take the bold step of changing their assessment criteria in relation to such books – I wonder if CR would consider doing the same – as an author wondering whether to submit, it is important to feel that a book would be judged according to what it is trying to do.
Hi Dan, I really like how you define success for yourself. I know I would also love to have made an impact on someone’s life from my writing.
In regards to experimental and non-traditional writing, you make a great point. We have endorsed books that were not quite in the box of “normal” writing. Reichold Street by Ronald L. Herron is the first one that pops into my mind. Our goal is to evaluate books in a way that is objective as humanly possible, which is why we break down our criteria so thoroughly. If a book is well written the reader should be able to follow along (or not-if that was the authors goal) and by the time they have finished reading it feel like they enjoyed the experience. We believe that our criteria allows room for that, but we are always open to suggestions and ideas. We also are constantly looking at our criteria and making tweaks as the industry changes. So, thanks for your suggestions and we will keep that in the back of our minds as we move forward.
Hi Leslie, thank you, that’s very encouraging 🙂
Your post’s timing is perfect. I was just mentioning this yesterday on another site, about redefining what success would mean for me. So, that’s for providing those inspiring moments. I’m still in awe that I have blog followers…
Thank you, I needed this. 🙂
Your welcome Lara, glad we could provide a bit of encouragement for you.
My moment of success was when a person who I’d never met emailed me to say they loved my book and couldn’t put it down. That was so rewarding & made it all worthwhile.
Leslie,
Thanks for the words of encouragement and also for your work at Compulsion Reads.
Joanna,
Thanks for sharing your blog space.
I am so glad you wrote this post! We can be very hard on ourselves. I have friends who are Indie writers who are always checking their rankings on Amazon and become upset when their sales dip. I’ve never looked at how my book is ranked and I rarely look at the sales. My book is selling in the U.S., the U.K., and at local bookshops and cafes. I judge the success of my book by the comments I receive from readers and the doors that have opened since publishing my book. Sure, we’d all like to write a NY Times bestseller but sometimes it can be enough to enjoy the opportunities our books create for us. One thing I must admit, however, is that I love receiving a check from Amazon every month.
Thanks for this! I too find myself obsessing over sales reports, and trying hard not to cast a sideways glare at those Indie authors that seem to ‘make it’ overnight (i.e., their book has only been out for a week and already has, like, 19 four-star ratings). On the other hand, although my work hasn’t yet garnered hundreds of reviews on Amazon, I HAVE had a handful of positive Tweets and comments from readers (and total strangers at that). As a new author, it’s hard not to despair about the numbers, but this post made me realize that perhaps I have already beaten the odds by being ‘out there,’ and that success can be measured in many ways. Sometimes just getting noticed is a small victory. But as Nathan Lowell stated above, sales are a nice bonus!
I just published my first novel Monday and have been doing exactly what you described, checking my sales and tracking every possible metric.
You’re right in having to look at this a different way. The best moment came from yesterday’s sales when someone from the UK bought a copy. That was in no way anyone I knew, it wasn’t through word of mouth, it was someone who simply took a risk. It meant a lot.
How I’ve been trying to look at this is as a first step in a long, long process. It really was just an accomplishment to finally finish the book, then present it to the public to be read. Now it’s time to keep writing and continue with that process. If I’ve entertained some people by the time I have a whole series to my name, I’ll have considered that a success.
WOW – you wrote this so well that I’m already feeling better about my self-publishing efforts, and to tell the truth, I’ve been feeling pretty good about it anyway. But your statistics and optimistic spin on those of us who have actually believe enough in ourselves to self-publish, are extremely helpful. As I wrote on The Creative Penn’s Facebook page, just seeing my friends and family finally read my novels, and then find out that they LIKE my books and that I’m GOOD – that makes all the hard work (and lack of 1,000 sales..) worth it. 🙂
Thank you, Joanna—and all of you who have commented. That first novel is a toughie…and then you worry whether you can do it again…and again. I treasure any positive and thoughtful reviews from readers (I’m an only child, so friendly family reviews are out, and I have friends who are well-intentioned, but not into fantasy 🙂 ) So, I’m trusting to continuing to improve my writing and getting good stories out there, for the particular audience who’ll enjoy them. Genre writing is a tough one to “break barriers” with, but it’s been done and beautifully by authors like Mary Stewart, Elizabeth Moon, C.J. Cherryh and of course G.R.R. Martin. Keep your confidence up, all of you…you are story-tellers
This actually made me feel a lot better. I haven’t broken 100 sales yet, but I’ve sold to lots of people I didn’t know, some of which have become friends since they read my book, and most of my reviews are 4 and 5 stars.
So now I wonder… why do I beat myself up over not breaking 100 sales yet?
Self-publishing something is not an accomplishment. Any idiot with half a brain can upload a book to Amazon. Writing a good book, editing it, getting feedback on it and then working on improving it so you can make the best possible book you can, that’s an accomplishment. That’s what sets you appart from those half-brained idiots. That’s what makes you a writer, not the fact that you’ve uploaded something on the internet. Everyone can do that, but can everyone write well?
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I didn’t put my stories out there to make money. Sure, money is a nice bonus, it buys you food after all, but I’m not doing it to get money, I’m doing it to get readers. And if I can get a single person to enjoy my work, that’s success for me. Sales reports don’t actually tell you if the person who has bought your book even read it, much alone did he like it, did he hate it, or was it just meh? Do I look at the sales reports ten times a day? Sure I do. But a sale doesn’t mean “Great, I made another 35 cents”, it means there’s another stranger reading my work.
Your article was very heartening. The thought of putting myself “out there” on Twitter, Facebook and so on, makes me cringe so I doubt I’m going to get even 100 sales. I haven’t told my friends about my first Indie book. It’s for young adults and a fantasy so I shrink at the thought of them feeling obligated into buying it. What cheered me about your article though is that everyone feels the same anxiety and most of the time, it isn’t about making money. It’s more to do with knowing someone – somewhere – enjoyed the hard work, the rewrites, the editing, the care and thought that went into every word. It truly is a labour of love, and more so when you click on “publish” and send your first e-book into the ether. And your point about it being something everyone wants to do… how true! If I had a cent for all the people who have said they want to write a book, I’d be trumping it up with Donald.
I just wanted to thank all of you for your comments (and those that are still to come). I found your remarks to be inspirational to me as well. Keep fighting the good fight, writing great books and loving what you are doing. I look forward to reading and hearing more about your successes.
Thanks Joanna, once again for sharing your space with us.
That was cheering!
By those standards I am a runaway success, but it’s the lure of the elusive outright best seller than keeps me feeling uncomfortable about it all.
However, it’s the emails, messages, private correspondence from readers that really make me believe I have succeeded. To have had the words I put down somehow make a significant impression on another human soul, that, surely, is real success?
Your concept is very well expressed. I have only recently come to the same conclusion, after years of trying to figure out the who “business” of writing, and letting that get me down, and distracting me from what I really love: writing! It is our culture that has set up the artificial standards of success. We as writers/thinkers need to help them re-think it. Not just for us, but for themselves.