The world for authors has changed. We have the ability to market, hire editors and to publish without the assistance of a network. Amazon can be your best friend as an author. KDP is the publishing program through Amazon that will allow you to publish your novel.
Do I Use Publishers?
I am a self-published novelist, that means I do not use traditional publishing with my work. Traditional publishing takes the lion’s share of your work. Sure they offer advances, organize tours and help to market in order to create sales. However as a self published author, everything is on your terms. That is what I like, the freedom. I have built a loyal social media following on Facebook, 1800 followers.
Promoting without Publishers
I have a very determined marketing group that keeps my website looking fresh and finds ways for me to get traction. There are tons of reviewers that will read books and leave honest reviews, it’s free for them to read. 50 books given away to real readers will create 200 to 500 sales. My marketing people also run specific ads, that way my novels are being seen by readers that love action and adventure. When a book begins getting traction, I’ll arrange interviews, YouTubers are very useful, some YouTubers have millions of followers and you can be invited into an interview using only a computer, they have the equipment on their end to edit and clean up audio.
Costs without Publishers
With all these tools available a self published author can become very successful. Writing isn’t always about making money, however writing and publishing a book on your own is very expensive and something like an audiobook can cost $2,500-$20,000 to produce. Editing can cost $800-$3,000 and ads and marketing is another added cost. In addition, all books need great covers. The never judge a book by its cover is a bullshit saying that should be buried in a cemetery in a mass grave next to the what happens in Vegas phrase.
The cover of your book will absolutely be judged and meantimes that cover can make the difference in someone reading one page or one chapter. Self-publishing requires a massive overhead and personnel investment, yet the reward for being successful is far greater. Making $3.75 per kindle or paperback novel sold is a massive return. The rewards for audiobooks are even better. $8.30 per book sold.
Writing The Future
That is a massive return on an initial investment. It is going to require work, personal capital and time. Going after traditional publishers can ruin the confidence of an author. Steven King had hundreds of rejections before a publisher sent him an offer. Publishers and agents are looking for very specific and particular novels to fulfill a literary wishlist, something that is easy to read and to sell. There is a drawback to self publishing, it more or less black lists your work from being picked up by a traditional publisher.
