Writers: Should You Self-Publish Your Book?
I self-published my book. This is what happened.
For years I submitted my short stories by mail and got them back with an impersonal rejection notice. This was before I decided to write flash fiction. This was before the Internet.
By the time I decided to go back to school and to get a degree in writing I was 52 years old. I’d been sending out stories since my early 20s. I ended up as a 53-year-old sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh in my hometown. By this time I had written over three dozen flash fiction stories; but no one would publish them. I knew I was getting better as a writer. The flash fiction stories won me a great fellowship to the Pitt graduate writing program; but still no one would publish my stories. I decided to publish them myself.
Pitt introduced me to computers and the Internet. I found a company called iUniverse that would publish my book for a fee. Everything was done online. I submitted 35 flash fiction stories and one 14,000-word novella. I checked the proofs and I created a cover. I sent the final okay. Then I sent iUniverse a check for $1,000 dollars. What did I get for my money?
The company did a really good job. It was a good looking paperback book. For my money I also got hundreds of business cards and book markers as promotional tools. I even got a couple of posters. The book was 115 pages and sold for $10.95. I got %20 of the price. As far as marketing was concerned, I was on my own. The company send me ten promotional copies of the book. If I could convince anyone to buy the book the person had to contact the company online or by phone and order it. No bookstore would touch it because it was a self-published book. The bookstore could tell it was a self-published book because of the production quality of the book and by its ISBN, a number used to track the book.
The title of the book was, Compresssionism: The Pittsburgh Stories. I did try to promote the book. Two local newspapers gave it favorable reviews and I was interviewed by the local public radio station. I was the guest at several book reading events. Nothing. In the past four years I may have sold 50 copies. When writing is not jusy a passion but also a business there are two parts to writing: writing and marketing.
It’s my opinion that a writer is better off writing for Triond. At least you won’t lose money.
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47 Responses to “Writers: Should You Self-Publish Your Book?”
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September 24th, 2009 at 6:01 am
YEAH TRIOND ROCKS
September 24th, 2009 at 6:07 am
you know i have many ideas for good books that could even turn into movies, and i have many good ideas for movies but thanks for the advice. I do have to admitt that i do have more potential for making money writing on here and obviously bukisa, because of the higher index margin, but i will still pursue my dreams. afterall i’ll only be twenty come april. i do have a plan though, since i do play, compose or write, and perform music i’m pursuing that with a passion like no other and will use that to help with the publishing. but you are right since i myself tried to self publish and get a book deal when i was in middle school and a few times in high school.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:58 am
I am also in the process of self-publishing a book and I know it is a gamble, but it is worth taking.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on self-publishing.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:11 am
royee100, I still say Triond is one of the best ways for a writer to publish, network and get paid. And the more you publish and the more you network the more you get paid.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Yeah, it sometimes is discouraging, but I still hope and dream that I will publish a book some day…
Thanks for sharing your experience!
September 24th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Matthew, the companies that help writers to self-publish make their money off the writer not off the sale of the book. So, they don’t care if the book sales or not. They already have their money. Triond wants the writer to get as many page views as possible. What’s good for the writer is good for Triond.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:23 am
CreateSpace.com publishes books for free. Createspace is a subsidiary company of Amazon.com, so your books appears on Amazon. A copy is printed once an order is placed.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Papa, good luck. Once you have the book it’s all about marketing after that. A very few writers are able to promote their books to nice sales. It can be done. But good sales for a self-published book is very rare.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:36 am
giftarist, don’t give up your dream of publishing a book. Just know what the odds are. The best thing to do is to become the best writer you can be. You have to get books on writing and teach yourself to be a better writer. Don’t just write. Don’t just network but study writing the same way you would study biology.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Unofre, this is great information. I didn’t know about this. I hope others read your comment and check it out. Thank you.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Ok, Guy. I guess createspace is really fine. You can also contact Will Gray, also a Trionder, who has already published on createspace. And from the forum, I came across an author who managed to earn 19,000.00$ worth of royalty. Lulu.com is another site very similar to createspace.
September 24th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Thats the one thing I dont want to do is publish a book.I am content to write on triond and bukisa so far and inprove my skills as I go.But you told me something i didnt know and that was worth reading.
September 24th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Great article, and so the comments that it generated.
September 24th, 2009 at 10:43 am
sorry you didn’t make money with your book. I lack the dedication to write an entire book, so publishing one was never a concern for me.
you could always teach and make it required reading for your class. That would boost sales!
September 24th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I would like to publish a book on my own but to get it into a competitive market will be terribly trying. I’d rather just write for Triond like you said. You always deliver words of wisdom Guy and this is just another of them.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Unofre, more great information. I have heard of Lulu. Maybe someone else can use this information but my goal now is to concentrate on Triond. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Triond fits me like a glove. I think I have a future here.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Payge, I feel the same way you do. Triond provides me with a community of brother and sister writers to network with; it provides me with a platform for my work and it provides me with right now a small but ever increasing monthly income. And all I have to do is write. That’s the best business-writing deal I’ve ever had.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Marie, it’s great when an article generates lots of comments. Comments can add another source of information to the article. Comments make writing truly inter-active.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
martie, I don’t have the self-discipline to teach and at least at the University of Pittsburgh an instructor cannot have his class buy his book. I think it’s the same at all colleges and universities for obvious reasons.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Atikin, Triond will provide you with a good, solid writing experience that you can build on. So, no matter in what direction your wrting takes you in you’ll be able to draw on your work on Triond.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
I wish all you guys luck with your publishing. I don’t think I will ever try it although I have thought about it. After doing the research it looked like too much work for the money. I am satisfied with Triond so if nothing breaks bigger than a frog hair I will be here for awhile.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
good information for and wanna be publishers oout there to listen to. But I just started triond and am working on my first article plus have to find readers for it to. So publishing a book is the farthest from my mind as I build a portfolio here.A great article though.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
meant any wanna be publishers…..cold getting me..sorry.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
hey im a relatively brand new writer looking to publish a book someday. writing is my passion and i just joined triond. any tips for me? right now i am quite poor and my primary concern is money at the moment? how much can you guys make on here? and any suggestions on where to go next?
September 24th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Your advice is somewhat true. However, I would look at your accomplishment and pat yourself on the back! You received good reviews and a spot on radio. Not a lot of people you meet write books. We meet a lot of writers on Triond, that’s great and rewarding in it’s own.
There are other sites, as well, like Helium and Hubpages. Helium has publishers, that pay, looking for articles.
I could look it up, however, what is Compressionism?
I’ve self-published twice, and don’t regret it at all! My contribution may have helped readers.
Thanks,
Brooke
September 24th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
This is a very interesting article, and I am glad that you have shared your story. But you know instead of sending $1,000 to that other site, you could of just went to http://www.lulu.com/
They publish anything for free. I’ve always been too afraid to publish anything worth of publishing on there because I heard that only 5-10 self-published books have been best-sellers. But if I were you, I would donate your remaining books to a few libraries. I would also publish (on a regular basis) fake reviews. You can’t just make them all OMG, THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVA BUY IT FIVE STARS. I would make 10% of them 1 star, 10% of them 2 stars, 30% of them 3 stars, 40% of them 4 stars, and 10% of them 5 stars. I’d also put about every other book review on book review sites. With the others, you’d set up one google adsense account and for every book review you did, you’d make a free site for it and put google adsense ads on it. Any money you receive would be used for books to donate or other promotional expenses. At least the reviews with google adsense you should promote like a triond article. Self-promotion is controlled promotion.
September 24th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
I published through createspace.com. They aren’t free as they get a sizable lump, but I have had a wonderful experience with them up to this point. I still hold 100% of copyrights and publishing rights. When one orders a book throught createspace verses amazon, the author gets a larger cut.
September 24th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Will I think I try thank for sharing.
September 24th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Hey Guy, it’s great to read your comments. I have tried to self-publish too and it has been a harrowing experience. I published with a local publisher and got a good response from readers but alas: bookstores frowned, coughed and even lied to me! [even so called Christian stores]. How dare I publish without going through so and so? [I had applied to a Christian publisher but they said my work was 'too Christian!!!] [not true].
Never mind, I sold lots of books through personal contact and my husband.
Next I heard of the internet [dodo] and caught on. Went to Lulu. I tell you they are wonderful but only a few downloads. Also, I have found it difficult to track my book on their site.
One big and I say, humungous difference for me is that I am not a US citizen [heck I live in Queensland, Australia and came from Ireland], so what can I do about that? I have found that there are so many more roadblocks: us bank address; ITIN; checking account from US and more…! It makes is almost impossible to publish on Amazon.
Never mind, I am a wonderful writer [says me] and I have been writing, writing and writing for a number of years now [ten maybe], so will I give up? Never. Never give up your dreams.
My husband has given his oath to print my books out and sell them locally [excellent salesman]. Since I started writing he has retired formally, so that is my good fortune.
I love this site and am completely new here. I have had great responses from FanStory, but they require $. So far so good. Great to meet all you guys and to share your dreams. Good, no very good luck with your publishing journey.
My suggestion is what you have already done: hone your craft and keep pressing buttons and keys.
September 25th, 2009 at 2:48 am
There are a number of places that you can self-publish without giving any money up-front. http://www.wordclay.com is one of those. I haven’ t published a book there yet, but am considering it. I have used Lulu.com though, and I really like it there. I self-published my first book through Trafford.com and did have to pay to have it done. They did a great job, but I haven’ t really made any big sales. I told myself that I won’ t be publishing anything else with them until I get the money that I invested in my book back first. And, that is just what I intend to do. It has been two years and I still haven’ t got it back yet. A writer’s life is hard, but you have to love what you do and keep your head up. Saying that you will never publish a book… means that you don’ t really take your writing seriously, or you don’ t think that you are good enough. I say, let others be the judge of that. Listen to their comments here on Triond. And, if they seem to be good ones, give it a try. What do you have to lose? Nothing, if you go through one of these places that don’ t charge you anything up-front. A good writer is not afraid of a little hard work. Sure, Triond is great! But, it is more of a place to get some good practice for the real reason a writer writes… to see your own work in hard copy print that you don’ t have to have a computer to show.
September 25th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Ruby, I’m with you. My goal now as a writer is to be the best writer for Triond that I can be.
September 25th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Mystery, welcome to Triond. Triond is a good place to work on your writing and to network with other writers. Good luck.
September 25th, 2009 at 10:43 am
theeicheen, Triond is not a site for making money quickly. But if a writer publishes quality content often, is actively involved in the community and takes a long view Triond has many rewards, one of them being a small but ever increasing monthly income.
September 25th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Brooke, my goal in publishing my book was to sell a lot of copies. I failed. There is no other way of looking at it. Did some good things come out of the experience? Sure. But $1,000 is a lot to pay for two book reviews and a radio interview. And anyone can self-publish. That’s not an accomplishment.
So, thank you for looking at the brighter side but I have to be honest with myself so that my judgement is better in the future.
Literary Compressionism is a term I invented. You can Google it. It means, to use words to paint a picture that tells a story.
The term applies to the theory behind the flash fiction I write.
September 25th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Rose, I’ve decided to focus on my Triond Account. Putting any more energy in the book would be wasted energy. I can see my progress on Triond every day and my focus on Triond is slowly paying off.
September 25th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Tammy, your experience sounds better than mine. Good luck. I’m happy with Triond. Here, all I have to invest is time. I get back a growing readership and a growing monthly income. Triond is the best deal I’ve ever had.
September 25th, 2009 at 11:42 am
eileen, welcome to Triond. Triond is a perfect fit for me. All I have to do is write and inter-act with the community. It’s a great job to have.
September 25th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Hi, Rebecca: Books are simply one kind of outlet for writing. Triond is another. I came to computers late, about ten years ago. As a writer, what the Internet offers me is a vast potential readership through Triond. Triond allows me to do exactly what I want to do. That is to write and publish to a potential world wide public with no hassles. Triond just got a $1.5 million investment from an investor.
I’m betting that Triond will be around for a while and I hope to be one of Triond’s star writers. You see, I am a serious writer.
September 26th, 2009 at 1:08 am
I’ve always wanted to publish my own book…
i never thought that it would be that hard.
P.S. I’m not even a pro writer.
September 26th, 2009 at 3:24 am
Thank you for your brilliant advice once again Guy, you have been there and done it and because of that I will always heed your opinion.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Thanks for sharing your experience.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Literati, if your goal is to publish a book just educate yourself on what it takes to do that. There are lots of people who do publish books.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:27 am
lillyrose, I prefer to write from experience. That way the reader can feel safe that I have some idea of what I’m writing about. I use the same theory in my fiction. It’s just that in my fiction I also make things up.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Yovita, I’m glad you may have found some useful information in the article.
September 26th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
That was a lot of money they asked. I approached a publisher called olympia publishers. A aquintance of my had recommended them to me, because a fellow in the aera had publised via them. If I only had known what I know now I wouldn’t have approached them. They were willing to read my manusscript but kept me waiting for months. When I finally told them I was going to pull out the got back to me. Things were fine, but I would have to pay to get the book published. Of course I didn’t do this. The book is now published via lulu.com and it didn’t cost me anything.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Thank you for the information. I am 50 yr old and three years ago I got my English Degree and took a course on writing for children. I already have a degree in nursing. I tried for over a year to have just one short story published just like you did. My husband found Triond for me and I started there. I have written a children’s book and I tried for another year to sell it. I looked into self- publishing but saw the pitfalls you spoke about. I finally got an agent but as of yet no luck. I met a gentleman at a craft show today trying to sell his self-published children’s books. This is a hard and slow business and many books will be left unseen. How sad.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
That’s why I think we should be thankful for the internet and sites like Triond. Otherwise, many writers will still be at a loss. BTW, I always enjoy reading your articles.