[Heather’s
note: Self-publishing is a way to deliver a niche subgenre like science fiction
romance directly to readers. That can be an advantage when traditional print
publishing is a barely there option. The process affords authors control over
all the aspects of publishing—but it’s certainly easier said than done.
KS Augustin is a multi-published ebook
author in the SF/F genres who can attest to the challenges of self-publishing. Her
journey is interesting because she published IN ENEMY HANDS with digital-first publisher
Carina Press, but she released the sequel, BALANCE OF TERROR, through her own
start up, Sandal Press.
I invited Ms.
Augustin to come aboard and share her experiences in self-publishing. She
responded with an eye-opening article that’s simultaneously cautionary and
hopeful.]
Self-publishing and the
SFR Writer
So you've seen all those best-selling indie authors selling books
faster than a browser window refreshes, and you're thinking to yourself: wow,
that sounds like a good gig! How do I get some of that gold rush of higher
royalties? Here's one story.
I began Sandal Press more than a year ago, in August 2011. Why did
I begin to self-publish? Like most authors, it was for a number of reasons:
•
While I have been treated very well by most of the presses I've
dealt with, there have been a couple of contracts that've crossed my desk that
were, shall we say, somewhat underhanded. Contracts that made me wonder if
there was Another Way.
•
My readings around the internet showed me that such contracts, and
contract language, were on the rise, thus increasing urgency of finding the
Another Way.
•
I have been a successful owner of several small businesses.
•
I am a Type A personality with an ego to match.
That's on the positive side (even the ego). The negatives were
easy:
•
I lose the marketing muscle of some well-respected digital
presses.
•
I get the reputation of being a lazy “hack”.
•
Very few self-respecting bloggers or review sites would look at my
work.
•
From my research, it takes ten years/novels for a competent writer
with good stories to “make it”. By that, I mean to have a dependable, annual
living wage. And I was only in Year Four!
(I'm a numbers kind of gal. Maybe that's why I like writing
science-fiction. And the numbers don't look that good if all you're after is
fast cash. I'm at Year Four out of Ten (minimum) to begin earning some steady
cash. And I'm at Year Zero out of Three-to-Five to begin making a name for
myself as an indie author. (Both figures from my own readings and analysis of
other authors.))
Then, there are the positive-negative pairs. I'd be able to hire
editors who have a similar vision...but I'd have to pay for it. I'd be able to
have covers that I liked...but I'd have to pay for it. I'd be able to market in
ways that I thought would be of benefit to me but...yep, you guessed it...I'd
have to pay for it.
With ISBNs, cover artists, editorial work, marketing budgets, plus
time to come up to speed on how to format for Kindle, Mobipocket, PDF, Epub,
Palm, I was already in deep before I had put my first title up for sale! But do
you know what saved me? My belief in myself.
It's wavered and it's stood on a cliff a number of times, but it's still
there. And if that sounds egotistical, I don't care. As AC/DC once put it, “Ego
is not a dirty word”.
My first title, WAR
GAMES, went up on Amazon, Kobo, XinXii and Smashwords a week before
Sandal Press's official 01-August opening. I sold 17 copies that first month
across all platforms. One year later, I'm still selling 17-20 copies a month.
And you know what? As dismal as that sounds, I'm still outselling IN ENEMY
HANDS, that release that was backed by the mammoth Harlequin and its
digital skunkworks, Carina Press. In monetary terms, I'm making three times
what I made with IN ENEMY HANDS. That's the good news.
Here's the bad news. Twenty copies a month isn't much. SFR isn't a
popular genre. It's niche. And niche has problems. I've been running BALANCE OF TERROR (the sequel to IN ENEMY HANDS)
as a KDP Select title since late July. So far (till early September), it's
netted me 400 free downloads and a grand total of 2 (that's two!) sales. People
spoke about the “bump” after a freebie period. Didn't happen for me. Gradually
increasing sales. Folks, it's been flatlining at zero for weeks.
That's not to say that KDP Select doesn't work. I'm still
convinced it does...but for genres that have broader appeal. Contemporary
romance. Timely non-fiction. Thriller. For me, it was/will be a 3-month
experiment that I will mark as a “Fail” and move on.
That's the other thing we don't appreciate any more. Failure. It's
worse than using the f-bomb in polite company. But I learn more from my
failures than my successes and, if you dig deep and think about your past for a
while, I'm sure you'd come to the same conclusion. Failure is only dreck when
you never learn from it. So learn from it and craft a better plan for the
future. And if you don't ever want to even think of failing,
don't self-publish.
In all honesty, I haven't only been releasing SFR. I've been
writing an urban fantasy series too, under the pen-name of Cara
d'Bastian. Seems I failed with that as well. Readers don't like
cliffhanger endings. But, because I'm in charge of my own fate, I can wait
until the entire series is finished and then release it as one massive omnibus,
without any Marketing Department telling me my numbers don't justify the
investment. Why? Because, in my bones, I feel I have something there that
people will read and enjoy. But it's only me (and my editors) saying that at
the moment. And that's a pretty lonely position to hold for the two years it will take to go from
Book 1 to Book 5. (Thankfully, Book 5 is scheduled for release in March 2013.
Only a few months more....) If you're going to self-publish, you've got to be
prepared for timelines, intermittent crashes and reader backlash. Then you've
got to keep going.
If you're wondering at the philosophical tone of this post, it's
because the decision to self-publish, or not, is essentially philosophical. I
have no truck with the mud-slinging going on between traditional and indie
authors. If the thought of having to control everything about your book, and
then be slammed for it for people who don't know any better, drives you into
foetal position in a dark corner, then self-publishing isn't for you. If you
think your books are All That and that the money will surge to you in a
tsunami, twelve hours after you've uploaded your first book, then I doubt
self-publishing is for you. If you consider yourself a small business owner –
agile, savvy, tenacious, able to strategise, take knocks and keep coming back –
then self-publishing may be for you.
I could ramble on for ages, but what are my takeaway points from
thirteen months of self-publishing?
First, you've got to have guts, ego and gritted teeth. And you may
still fail, especially in a niche genre such as SFR. (Have a look at the HipType infographic at Piotr Kowalski's blog for
a cold bucket of reality. Specifically, at the “Genres” section.)
Second, you've got to be honest about your work. Who reads your
books? Why do you think they do so? Is there anything you could do better?
Where do you see yourself in five years' time? If you are faltering at any of
these questions, then self-publishing may not be an option for you yet.
Third, just write. And learn your craft. Surround yourself with
people of high calibre, whether cover artists or editors. That will give you
something to live up to and it should also give you a much needed kick up the
bum when required.
Fourth, even if you're thinking of self-publishing, it doesn't
hurt to submit a shorter work to a traditional, small or digital press. A
perspective from a different editor will do wonders for your writing, as more
than ten of them have done for mine.
And, lastly, remember that you can switch, from trad to self, from
self to digital, from digital to small print. It's nobody else's business but
yours. And you only have to be honest with one person...yourself. Good luck.
About
the author
KS
"Kaz" Augustin is battling the incoming tide of reader indifference
at Sandal Press.
Her website is at www.KSAugustin.com