Self-publishing is smart

Trying to publish a book used to be straightforward. You came up with an idea, spent months, if not years, writing it, then sent it off to an agent or publisher who rejected it by return. Life was simpler back then. We all knew where we were.

Rejection wasn’t necessarily based on the quality of the work. Literature is a subjective business. Lord of the Flies earned William Golding twenty rejections. James Joyce, Jack Kerouac and Joseph Heller suffered similar fates. Marcel Proust was rejected so many times that he decided to pay for publication himself. The much-repeated industry statistic is between one and two percent of manuscripts are published. Those aren’t great odds.

What do you do? I’ll tell you exactly what: publish it yourself. In fact, even if a publisher will take your manuscript, these days you are probably better off becoming your own publisher.

In 2022, self-published authors made $874 million in sales. The genre has several millionaires in its ranks

“Self-publishing” is the common term, but it’s more accurately known as “independent publishing.” In the same way that independent music labels exist, so do independent publishers. Frank Sinatra and the Beatles set up their own labels, as did Madonna, who was told that she was engaging in “an indulgent folly.” She then made millions more than if she’d worked with a mainstream label.

I also self-publish. I have two series of books and I’ve published sixteen novels in total, all under the pen name Bernice Bloom. I have nothing against traditional publishing. I published many books through the big publishing companies and enjoyed it immensely. But the immediacy of independent publishing is a real joy. The more successful of my series is about a woman called Mary Brown. During the pandemic, I wrote Mary Brown in Lockdown. It came out while the pandemic was in full swing and sold very well. A traditional publishing company would have taken months or even years to get the book out.

I’m able to write and publish much more frequently when I am doing it myself. There’s a thriving “indie community” with lots of workshops and conferences for writers. I have a cover designer and an editor, both of whom used to work for well-known publishing companies. I do all the marketing of the books myself by advertising them on Facebook. Bernice Bloom has her own website and a community of followers on social media. I send out newsletters once a month telling the 12,000 subscribers which books are coming up next. Recently, there was a flurry of sales in New York and Sydney. Copies even sell in remote regions in Japan.

It’s unfashionable to talk about money, but a good income can be made. In 2022, self-published authors made $874 million in e-book sales. The genre has several millionaires in its ranks. I haven’t joined them yet, but I’ve had some big sellers. The first book in the series, called What’s Up, Mary Brown?, made more than all twelve of my traditionally published books put together. When I wrote a book called Mysterious Invitation, in which Mary Brown is invited to the funeral of someone she’s never met, I paid off a chunk of the mortgage with the proceeds.

The reason for the financial success of indies is straightforward: through self-publishing we earn 70 percent of the money a book makes, while traditional authors make around 10 percent. I publish exclusively with Amazon, because it sells between 70 and 80 percent of all print books bought online and 90 percent of e-books. By “going exclusive” I’m given better terms than those who publish “wide.” Many authors have their work translated, and I know of a few making a lot of money in Germany, France and Spain. Film and TV companies are also interested in self-published authors.

What helps a self-published book sell? Good editing, a compelling cover and a punchy blurb all help of course. Most of all, you must master the great mystery of Facebook advertising, but if you get that right, there is money to be made. I have author friends who make 500 percent from Facebook advertising: if they spend $100 a day, they get $500 a day back. A series of books sells best, because you can promote your first book and then people will buy the rest.

It’s a good time to be a self-published writer, even if the traditional publishing houses still look down on it. I’d love to publish traditionally as well and be what is known as a hybrid. But for now, I’m very happy to send Mary Brown on a range of adventures and enjoy the thrill of doing it all myself.

This article was originally published in The Spectator’s UK magazine. Subscribe to the World edition here.