Self-publishing doesn't have to be for me

[naomi_jay]

So I'm revisiting the whole decision to self-publish at the moment, for a number of reasons previously discussed. Since June, my indie sales have plummeted and this month I've sold two books so far. That's pretty dismal. Reading about the Kindle Boards, it seems like a lot of people are seeing the same slump, but I don't really find that reassuring so much as depressing.

I already pulled NIGHT AND CHAOS and found a new home for it (I haven't signed the contracts yet, so I won't say much else because... well, there's not much else to say). WILD is probably next. I was determined to stick with self-publishing for the Vargulf Trilogy because WILD has been a tough book to categorise and that's made it a tough sell. It's not quite YA, it's not quite adult, it's not quite a romance but it's not a straight UF. I'd hoped it would find a niche through self-publishing, but I think I lack the marketing muscle to find readers who will love it.

It's currently on submission at two places, and a third has invited me to submit it to one of their lines when they open it for submissions in October. The third place is actually my first choice, so now I'm eagerly counting down to October 1st so I can be all, "hey, remember me?"

I'm glad I tried indie publishing this year but I don't plan to publish any more novels that way for the foreseeable future. Shorter pieces, yes - people are still buying UNGRATEFUL DEAD even though they could have it for free, so that's gratifying. But for me, for now, the future is not indie. I haven't achieved what I wanted to with it, and although I could stick with it and see if the theory of "ebooks are forever so readers will find you" holds true, that's not going to help my career right now.

Instead I want to focus on building on the works I already have out there. I've been pretty unfocused this year writing-wise, because I've spent a lot of time worrying about marketing, promotion, sales figures, and other stuff. Once Night Breed is finished, I'm going back to Shoregrave. I want to finish Halflife by the end of the year and make a start on the next Ethan project, Undertow. I also have plans for a trilogy set in Shoregrave featuring all-new characters.

I'm contracted for two more Urban Wolf books and I'd hope to sign on for more if possible. I want Shoregrave and Urban Wolf to be the focus for the immediate future and since both series already have publishers I'm very happy with, I see no reason not to continue working with them and really building a name for myself. I think I tried to spread myself too thinly this year and I don't need to. 2011 was the year of trying new things. I'd like 2012 to just be the year of Nome.

Comments

[eldestmuse.livejournal.com]

While I'm sad to hear that self-publishing didn't go as well as you'd hoped, I'm excited to hear there is more Urban Wolf and Shoregrove in the pipeline! I really love the Shoregrove stuff!

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

^_^ I hope you'll like the new stuff if/when it's published!

I'm a bit sad too, especially as I've seen indie publishing work really well for others, but I think it just proves that every writer's journey is different.

[eldestmuse.livejournal.com]

I am sure that I will! :D

And yeah, I look at my brother sometimes, who didn't even graduate high school. He's on his like 4th successful business and is on track to gross 1mil in his second or third year of running it.

I have a J.D. and can't find a job.

Gah :(

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's awesome for your brother, but I think I'd hate him a little!

[mardelwanda.livejournal.com]

Good luck with everything. If I had more money, I would buy more of your books. Summer is always hard for some of us, because working in schools gives us a paycheck for 10 months out of the year. There's so many books I want to buy - and this summer I did manage to buy some, though I should have paid a few bills instead. True book addict.

I wish you luck on your contracts and the business end of the book selling. You have talent, that's for sure.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you :) You know, I'm happy to send you ecopies for review if there's anything of mine you're particularly interested in. Just let me know.

[mardelwanda.livejournal.com]

That's sweet of you also, but you're supposed to be selling your books! :) I'll be book shopping soon, so I'm going to take a look at your list of books.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

I've only sold four Amazon copies of Storm Chaser in September, and I *am* with a publisher. Small publishers have some advantages over self-publishing, but not many ... and I've been mostly on my own with promotion, although they just got me a pretty good review on a website. It's debateable whether the advantageous outweigh how much of a percentage they get. It's a complicated issue, traditional vs. self publishing, and in real life I don't like complicated.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

I think what it boils down to this:

If you have a platform and a dedicated fanbase, you'll succeed at selfpublishing. The problem is finding that fanbase. My experience has been that it's easier to get reviews for trad published books (although that is changing) and the support of a publisher can open doors you might not be able to open on your own.

Somewhere down the line, I'd like to self-publish more stuff, but I can't do it well enough alone to make it worthwhile right now. You're right; it's definitely complicated and my life is complicated enough already!

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

I'm on dozens of social network sites and spent my whole summer getting the word out; I do have a fanbase, but probably not large enough to justify the time and effort I spent finding them. In fact, a lot of my writers were people I met on the web *before* I got published!

But I didn't have to convert my manuscript for kindle or nook, or get it up on Amazon; and there are several other areas in which my publisher helped out a lot, including some good line editing and cover work.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

But I didn't have to convert my manuscript for kindle or nook, or get it up on Amazon; and there are several other areas in which my publisher helped out a lot, including some good line editing and cover work.

This is the clincher for me. I don't really want to have to do those things myself, and good editing is invaluable to me!

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Exactly the way I feel. However, I am considering trying to self-publish some short stories, to see how it goes ... it might be a foot in the door if I decide to go that way, although personally I still think traditional is the direction for me.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

I've had some fun publishing shorts, and I do sell a handful each month, so I think they can perhaps be a good gateway drug for longer works!

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Maybe I'll do as Emily suggests and try selling my shorts traditionally first, also ... but if that doesn't work, gateway drug it is!