You guys have heard enough about my experiences e-publishing thus far. Today Reena Jacobs, a lovely author I met on Twitter, is going to share her story with you. Her first ebook Shadow Cat is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. I hope you’ll enjoy listening to another voice!
Why I Self-Published
by
Reena Jacobs
Self-publishing wasn’t always a goal of mine. I had dreams of being a NY Times Bestselling author. I had a great story. I just needed to find out the workings of getting my fabulous work into the hands of publishers. Of course, that’s what just about every author thinks. J Then I learned about agents and good ole fashion querying.
Querying took an insane amount of time with all the researching, revising letters, and re-polishing Shadow Cat. I’d pretty much stopped writing any new material. Then in September I found this video called Zoe Who? and thought, if Zoe Winters can self-publish, why can’t I? I finally decided to bite the bullet and self-publish a short story (Control Freak: Brandon’s Story) in September.
I read about other authors who had self-published and were making a living at it… or at least making SOMETHING at it. I did the math. Most debut authors don’t earn out their advance, which tends to be $5k on average. And the advance is spread out: 1/3 upon signing the contract, 1/3 when the final draft is accepted, and 1/3 upon release. Authors wait 12-24 months for that novel to get released into the public.
So I asked myself, could I make $5k over the course of 24 months by publishing myself? Maybe… maybe not. But $5k really isn’t that much… only $208 a month. Surely I can take a $208 a month chance on myself, right? And if I continue to produce new work (which I hadn’t been doing while querying), I’d have more to offer at the end of 24 months… meaning my name would be out there. A $208/month investment into the future, I told myself.
Not only that, but there was a good chance I’d never see my work traditionally published. Did I want to spend years “doing the time” as many put it? My query results produced a few nibbles, but no biters. One agent said she was burnt out on shape shifters, so thanks but no thanks. From what I’d read, other agents felt the same. Shadow Cat will only ever be a shape shifter novel, and I had two sequels itching to be written. So getting it picked up was slim to none. Add that to the fact that most agents only offer representation to about 1% of the authors who query. Representation doesn’t even guarantee a publishing house will accept the work. Agents receive rejections all the time, just like authors.
Here’s the thing. If an agent wanted Shadow Cat, it would mean my work was marketable from their standpoint. I asked myself, why do I have to wait around for agents’ validation when I can go straight to the readers and find out? It’d certainly save me 12-24 months of worry and headache.
So that’s what I did. I took a chance on myself. I worked my butt off dotting the I’s, crossing the T’s, and working with others to make sure Shadow Cat was presentable to the world. Whether my little novel sinks or fails, we’ll find out. Regardless, the technological advances made in publishing provide wonderful opportunities for authors who are willing to put forth the effort and produce quality products.
So here’s wishing much success to writers working to make their dreams come true. Happy readings!
Author bio:
Reena Jacobs is just your typical writer who loves to see her words in print. As an avid reader, she’s known to hoard books and begs her husband regularly for “just one more purchase.” Her home life is filled with days chasing her preschooler and nights harassing her husband. Between it all, she squeezes in time for writing and growling at the dog. Her debut novel, Shadow Cat, is available in eFormat at Smashwords, Barnes & Nobles, and Amazon. You can find Reena on Ramblings of an Amateur Writer and Goodreads, rambling to whoever will listen.
🙂 Apparently, I ran your followers away. Thought I’d say hi.
Hey, Reena, thanks for the post! They’re a sporadic bunch. 😀
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You did what I’ve been starting to wonder, Reena. (also have to check out your book, I love anything paranormal!)
With the everything I’ve been reading I really am starting to wonder, “Is it worth querying and getting an agent? Will that produce results?”
Self publishing is new and young but now might be the best time to jump on. I don’t know, guess I need to hit up google for some answers and research.
Thanks for stopping by, Patricia! I’m seeing some folks get book deals *after* they e-published, so it doesn’t seem like it’s the death knell of a traditional contract.
I imagine showing the world that you can sell your books would make an agent/publisher more confident about signing you on since you’ve already proven yourself. Of course, by the time they find you, you may really be enjoying your 70% royalty as an indie, heh heh.
@Patricia ~ At the end of my querying experience, I had a similar question “was it worth even going through the query process?” Another author said not to look at it as time wasted, but rather practice with writing the back of a book blurb.
Terrance Foxxe did a post this Friday on my blog with a similar idea, “Nothing you will ever do as a writer is wasted,” he said.
To your question, “Is it worth querying and getting an agent? Will that produce results?”
It certainly doesn’t hurt to query. The process didn’t work for me, but others have been very successful, which tells me the journey is not impossible. 🙂
But when I did decide to self-publish, I didn’t waste time with trying to acquire an agent. I let the queries I had stay out there, sure, but didn’t bother with sending more. When Shadow Cat was ready to hit the street, I withdrew my submissions.
And like Lindsay said, a lot of authors are receiving requests after they self-publish. When I first decided to go for publishing (the traditional route) all I read was you need an agent to get anywhere, AND if you self-publish you can kiss your writing career goodbye. I didn’t think I had a real choice.
I love the advances which have allowed authors to self-publish… to take that chance others denied them. Not every author is going to make it big, that’s a given. That’s okay. Just having the opportunity to find out “what if?” is awesome!
When I first started looking into publishing, a lot of individuals in the publishing business saw authors as a dime a dozen (many still do). Despite authors having the talent which created the publishing foundation, many treated authors as insignificant… deserving an occasional bone. 🙂 The ability to self-publish has helped shift the balance a little… made it a bit more equitable for authors.
A typical successful book from a major publisher sells between 20,000 and 40,000 copies.