Success is one of those words that means different things to different people. For the sake of this blog post, I’m going to define success as “meeting or exceeding your goals,” whether that means making such-and-such amount of money a year, being read by X number of people, or simply putting out a finished book that makes you proud. That said, I know a lot of people dream of writing for a living, so these tips may slant things in that direction.
Note: this short list doesn’t mention cover art, editing, formatting, blurb-writing or any of the basics that have been discussed here and elsewhere before. I’m going assume you’ve already read that advice.
3 Tips for Self-Publishing Success
1. Hone your writing skills before you publish
In the early days of e-publishing, there wasn’t a lot of competition in the Kindle, Nook, iPad, etc. stores, and some people made it big largely because they got in early with decent stories or were the first to price their ebooks at 99 cents. By the time I came on the scene at the end of 2010, it was starting to get more competitive, with many more offerings in the e-stores. So many people were pricing their books at 99 cents that this was no longer a way to stand out. Today there are even more self-published and traditionally published authors with ebooks at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.
What does this mean?
You can’t just be there with a pretty cover and an attractively priced ebook — everybody has that. Perhaps as always should have been the case, the writing has to stand out.
Give yourself every advantage by honing your writing and storytelling skills before you publish your first book. I found online writers’ workshops to be a wonderful way to learn. Others prefer to take classes and/or to read books on the craft.
Whatever you can do, it behooves you treat writing as you would any other career. You have to study, to practice, and to get feedback from others before you’re ready to hang out your shingle.
You don’t have to be the best writer in the class (or workshop) to go on to make a living. I was sure never the type to win awards or contests. But, hey, sometimes the ones with the most talent are the ones who never make it. Be willing to keep learning and adapting, and don’t underestimate the power of the will to succeed.
2. Figure out what your unfair advantage is and exploit it
In the process of enduring this apprenticeship period, you’ll probably learn what you’re good at when it comes to writing. It’ll be partly based on your enjoyment of said thing and partly based on the positive feedback you get from peers and mentors (OMG, William, you write the best fight scenes!).
Maybe you have a knack for creating creepy horror scenes that keep people turning the page. Maybe you can craft characters that feel real and are so fun that readers enjoy hanging out with them. Maybe you write dialogue that would make Joss Whedon smile in appreciation.
Whatever it is, it’s up to you to identify this natural aptitude and use it to make your stories stand out from the competition. Example? Well, in my case, I love to write dialogue. I once had an English teacher suggest I look into screenwriting. I’m not the best at world-building, action scenes, or arranging the prose in a pretty way on the page, but I believe my characters and dialogue are strong points. So, I take advantage of that strength. I build scenes in such a way that my characters can interact with each other a lot. It’s rare for me to send a character off alone for more than a few pages, because I know the story is more entertaining when my heroes are doing things together. In other words, I believe a knack for writing characters and dialogue is my “unfair advantage,” meaning it’s something I can do in a unique way that other writers might struggle with (just as I struggle when called upon to create awesome, original worlds or to pen epic battles).
As we talked about, it’s a competitive market out there right now, so it makes sense to figure out what you’re good at and use that to your advantage.
3. Have an attitude of gratefulness instead of one of entitlement
I’m not one to talk about mindset a lot, and you’ll never catch me writing self-help books, but, based on comments I see on people’s blogs and social media channels, I think a lot of authors set themselves up for failure by feeling that they deserve a readership just because they wrote a book. Writing a book is the beginning of the journey, not the end, so here’s a rare mindset piece from me:
The wrong attitude
What, I only sold seven books this month? I went on blog tours, I handed out flyers, I tweeted a zillion times, and I bought sponsorships. I sent twenty review copies out, and I gave away free samples. This game is so rigged. All the successful people are only selling well because they got in early. So-and-so doesn’t deserve to be a best-seller. I’ve read his/her book, and it sucks. If the people that read those sucky books just read my book, they’d realize how great it is, and I’d be a best-seller.
The right attitude
Seven complete strangers bought my book this month? Holy smokes, that rocks! What can I do to make sure their experience is great? Maybe I can post some extras on my blog or give away some signed paperbacks. Maybe if I keep writing good books and continue to develop my skills as an author, even more people will give my work a chance. If I work my a$$ off, maybe in a few years I’ll have earned a readership large enough to support me as a full-time writer.
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Do you agree or disagree with any of my tips? Or would you like to add some of your own? Feel free to do so in the comments!
I love the way you describe the right kind of attitude! Never expect the success, be grateful for every single copy you sell/pageview you get and comment you receive. Every single person who takes their time to show their appreciation should be hugged and thanked with cookies.
Great and honest post!
I agree! I am so thrilled to have someone buy a book of mine! To date I have published 12 books, only 3 by small publishers, the others I self-pubbed.
These are some great tips. I especially like the first one because it brings up a point I’ve tried to make with new authors several times, the point being that just because they can upload something doesn’t mean they should right away. Everyone thinks their early work is good when in the moment, but looking back, many of us would probably shudder at the thought of it having ever been available to readers. It takes time to become a good writer. Many of us crafted our style while being rejected over and over again by every publishing company we sent something to, and while it seemed horrible at the time, those rejections probably helped us in the long run. Now, with the ability to publish stuff with the click of the button, writers need to be able to see if their own work is something that should be published or rejected. Not an easy role to play, especially for new writers who are hearing about the success of so many others and worry they may miss the boat.
Very true, William!
It’s not always the case, but I’ve often found that the “successful” indie authors are the ones who were very close to “making it” in the old system (i.e. they got an agent but the agent couldn’t quite sell the manuscript). I didn’t look for an agent first (though I was on the verge of doing so when I got my first Kindle and stumbled across Konrath’s blog), but I did do the magazine/anthology thing and had some sales (and rejections!) that way. Getting rejected can be a helpful (if agonizing) part of the learning process.
I just wish that rejections could be more helpful sometimes.
Does “it’s just not right for us right now” mean it sucked out loud and you shouldn’t quit your day job? Does it mean you sent it to the wrong type of magazine? Or does it just not float the editor’s boat for some random reason?
It’s hard to want to go through the rejections when there’s nothing useful other than learning how to be rejected.
I think the best rule of thumb on deciding whether or not your work is publishable based on a rejection letter is to look at how the editor has addressed the work you sent in. First, if it is personalized to you as opposed to ‘Dear Author’ that is a very good sign. Second, if it states something to the tone of ‘good work, but not for us’ then it usually means just that. Third, if they ask you to submit again you know they have felt that your work is not only publishable, but that your writing style and story telling abilities look like they could work with that particular publisher and truly do believe a future piece may find a spot with them.
Of course, some work will still receive a ‘Dear Author’ letter even if it is of a quality that could be published. If, however, you typically get rejection letters that are personalized to you and address the work in question with specifics, chances are your writing is of the caliber that could be published. At that point I would say you are ready to upload something yourself if you want.
William- great explanation, and from our experience, what you just said seems really accurate.
Chandra- the great and… sometimes horrendously frustrating.. thing is that publishers have no time right now. They’re overladen with backlists and requests, and OFTEN aren’t accepting new authors. So, if they told you it’s not for them, they’re not playing games with you. They probably mean just that. Unfortunately, the fact that they’re so busy also means they don’t have the time to write long, personalized letters, which we’d obviously prefer to see. That you got a simple, ‘not for us right now’ is probably not as bad a sign as it might feel 🙂
I always argue that the only thing you can guarantee is failure, you and guarantee that by not trying. So, be willing to try stuff out–if it doesn’t work, it’s at least an opportunity to learn, which is also something you should be willing to do.
Another thing is to not get intimidated–there’s no magical formula to publishing.
Great tips, Lindsay, and ones I absolutely agree with. I’ve been writing a long time, but that’s no guarantee of success. Striving to do your best is important, but equally important is dropping expectations you might have about possible writing success. This applies whether you are indie publishing, going the traditional route, submitting to short fiction magazines, or even looking to meet people at a convention or conference.
I relearned that lesson again at last year’s World Fantasy Convention–I went thinking I had to meet agents or editors, getting stressed about it. But when I let go of that expectation, relaxed, and was myself, I wound up meeting some awesome writers, and that led to meeting a few editors and small press publishers. All because I let go of my expectations.
“1. Hone your writing skills before you publish”
Thank you! This is exactly right. Few, few, few people write something that’s any sort of quality to sell the first time. The author with us who’s been publishing everything right now has been writing, full time, for 20 years! That’s millions and millions of words put to paper.
“2. Figure out what your unfair advantage is and exploit it”
Yes. Everyone has different strong points and weaknesses. Our specialty is characters, so strongly we allow them to show us their total reality and work without plans and plotting of our own. It works for us, even if it wouldn’t necessarily work for others. And we use it, every day.
“3. Have an attitude of gratefulness instead of one of entitlement”
This is good, too. No one has to buy your book. It doesn’t matter how much care and money you put into it. People who don’t know, don’t care, which leads me to another point…
Don’t take this personally. An artist’s work is often the closest thing the artist has in them, besides their own soul. That makes it easy to get offended and take low sales, bad reviews, or negative critiques the wrong way. Just don’t. Remember that as much as you’ve poured yourself into your book, now you’re trying to sell it. And selling is a fairly impersonal process. Other people don’t care how excited you are. They don’t care if it’s your biggest accomplishment in life. They want to know, is it worth the money to buy and my time to read? Show them that it is.
Excellent post, btw!
Thanks for the great comments, C!
Great tips, Lindsay. You’re right – we should always be open to ways to improve our writing and strengthen our stories. And I also agree that attitude is so important. Build your readership by appreciating the people who buy your books, not my tearing down writers you think are less worthy than you. 🙂
Great post 🙂 I’d like to add that another way to raise the chances of success is to have your book professionally edited – it’s obvious to the average reader if a book hasn’t been edited.
Very true. The cover, the editing, and the blurb all do a lot to help sell the book.
Lindsay, I read all of your posts, but don’t comment as often as I should. This post resonates with me, though, especially Tip 3. I have been struggling lately with the slow sales of my novel, and started flailing around, trying to find marketing or advertising that would be some sort of magical sales generator. Never mind the fact that I’d already exceeded any expectations I had prior to publication. Never mind that I know the best way to get readers is to publish more books. I called this my ‘ambition room,’ a place where I walled myself in and shut out my clarity about *why* I write in the first place. I think a lot of people wall themselves in this way, and your advice to practice gratitude instead of entitlement is the best way to break free of that state of mind. Thank you.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Aniko!
It is easy to get wrapped up in always wanting more, to improve sales, to get onto such-and-such best-seller list, etc. I think maybe it’s just human nature to want to make progress and that sales numbers are an easy way to measure that.
It’s great when readers start to send notes (something that probably happens more often for authors who put their websites and addresses at the ends of their books!), as that reminds us that there are real people picking up our stories and (we hope) enjoying them! Writing is more gratifying when you can remember that it’s as much for the sake of others as it is for yourself.
The attitude says it all, Lindsay. I’m going to buy a book now just because of that. Great post.
Hah, thanks for the support, Giacomo!
I’ve been told that my dialogue is indeed my strength, but I’m not NEARLY so arrogant as to say that it would make Joss Whedon smile. I can only hope to be 1/10 as good at writing as he is by the end of my career (which, knowing me, will probably be when I fall over).
I do agree with you about the mindset thing, definitely, though I also have a lot of empathy for the frustration those authors feel. Writing is hard work. Marketing is (if possible) even harder work. To go months on end with low numbers (and the resultant feeling that no one cares) can be very discouraging. I struggle with that feeling myself. I try to remind myself (as you suggest) that any new reader is a victory, even one that I gave my book to for free, but it’s a daily struggle to do that.
The progress can definitely feel slow at times. I try to remind myself that most of the authors out there, indie and otherwise, doing very well for themselves have a large body of work on the digital shelves. We’ll get there one day! They say a lot of success is just sticking with something after most people have given up or gotten busy with other pursuits. 😉
Lindsay, I <3 you.
Thanks for this Lindsay! I’ll have to be sure to keep coming back to this post every time my attitude wants to starts drifting into the ‘wrong’ lane ;).
Really great tips Lindsay.
I agree with the attitude…I’m just starting out and I’m like ‘Hey, that’s amazing’ when someone randomly decides to purchase and read my book 🙂
Lindsay, yes! I, too, keep reminding myself that most writers making a living at writing have many more titles for sale than do I.
I’m good at persistence and hard work (necessities for success, I’ve heard), but the patience part is hard! Here I am, 5 months out from my debut, champing at the bit: must have more sales, must!
I have to talk myself down every week! Just write, JM, just write. More sales will come later, when you have more than 1 short story, 1 novella, and 1 novel on the e-shelves!
Great attitude to maintain, J. I’ve been realizing lately the true importance of patience in this. Patience, which also helps me write better, too, amazingly enough. Good luck with future sales. 🙂
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Most writers I know took a minimum of 10 years to become successful on some level (of course, that definition changes and is individuated).
Anyone who isn’t incredibly grateful for how easy it is now doesn’t understand how hard it usually is. And if they don’t know it yet, they certainly will by 2015…
Great post, Lindsay. I particularly like #2 Find your unfair advantage and exploit it. I’ve never thought of it that way, but you’re right. No one needs to (or can) do everything well, and they waste their time trying. And I always applaud an attitude of gratitude.
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