FAQs

Why did you write this book?
Because the realities of the publishing industry leave a lot of authors out of the publishing loop. Check out virtually any writer’s publication or web site, and chances are, you’ll come across one or more articles about the challenges of getting published – along with tips, strategies, tricks, etc. So many want it, but so few manage to get it. And even when they do, what do they have to look forward to? Paltry royalties, interminable timetables to publication (usually 18 to 24 months), and giving up the rights to their book.

But if they can land a publisher, aren’t they able to leave the marketing to others?
Not any more and not unless they’re a marquee name. Despite giving up control, the rights and most of the profits, most new authors will discover – to their shock – how little marketing support they get from their publishers. The lion’s share falls to them.

Are publishers just greedy?
Not at all. Overwhelmingly, they’re good and honest people. It’s just that the conventional publishing paradigm is pretty much a function of the financial realities of the business: they have to take on many books to end up with a few profitable ones, and so, as a result, they only have a limited amount of time and resources they can devote to any given title so the author has to pick up the slack. And because they’re the ones taking the chances (i.e., footing all the bills), they’re understandably selective about who they take on. And an author with a good book and a good marketing plan has a leg up. And it’s not that hard to be good at that, as we’ll discuss in a moment.

Do you think a self-publishing author can do a comparable job to a publisher in most aspects of the publishing process?
I think a self-publisher can do at least as good a job, if not better than a publisher in virtually all aspects – if they’re willing to work hard. Because they have the luxury of being able to focus on their one book, which a publisher can’t, they can definitely do a better job in the marketing and promotion arenas (and a focused effort is critical to a title’s success). Remember: no one will ever care about your book as much as you will.

What are the things that a conventional publisher does do well?
Two key things. First, when it comes to producing a high-quality physical product, aesthetically speaking, by and large, publishers do an excellent job. Meanwhile, inexplicably, most SP’ers don’t. Yet, it’s just not that hard to replicate that production quality – especially on one’s cover (the importance of which is categorically impossible to overstate; it can absolutely make or break a book).

The other strong suit of publishers: getting books into bookstores. That can be challenging for SP’ing authors. Yet, as I assert in my book, there’s one language that all wholesalers, distributors, and bookstores understand, and that’s book sales. If a SP’ing author builds a healthy demand through his marketing efforts, and drives enough people to the bookstores (bricks-and-mortar and online), looking for his book, those entities will want to stock his book.

Does your approach to book promotion differ from the norm?    
Absolutely. Most books recommend focusing on mainstream media (MM) – sending out massive numbers of press releases to journalists, in an attempt to catch their attention on the right day and when they’re in the right mood. Well, MM is fickle and jaded, and, well…mainstream. Meaning that if you have a “niche” book, like my first two are (i.e., on freelance writing, as opposed to a hot mainstream subject like relationships, health, dieting, financial security, religion, politics, etc.), the MM really don’t care about you. It’s that simple. Sure, I could beat my head against the wall repeatedly, and I’m sure I’d generate some interest, but it wouldn’t been enough to justify the effort.

So, what do “niche book” authors like you do?
I took a much more targeted Internet-based approach that involved several steps:  identifying my target audiences, determining where they hang out online (web sites and web-based publications, associations, and groups), and contacting them to land book reviews, blurbs, mentions, interviews, book giveaways, green lights to write articles, etc.
Because you’re more focused on those venues that cater to the people you know would be interested in your book, by definition, you’re going to get a much warmer reception. And then just repeat that over and over and over again, literally hundreds of times.

If you DO have a book with more mainstream appeal, should you pursue MM? 
Definitely. And I have a whole chapter in the book on maximizing your media efforts. Just know that even if your topic is hot, if you’re an unknown author, you’re still going to be facing an uphill battle to get noticed, so even “hot topic” authors should do a more targeted web-based campaign. And at the end of the chapter on media, I actually give an example of such a “hot-topic” book, which flopped despite some platinum publicity, and I offer up some ideas on how it might have had a different outcome.

Does self-publishing work for fiction, too? Or are some genres just easier?
Obviously, my experience is in non-fiction – specifically non-fiction “how-to” (NFHT) – which, arguably, is the easiest genre to self-publish. Why? Because the genre is all about information, for which there is an insatiable demand out there. Not to mention that NFHT lends itself to easily zeroing in on your target audience in your online marketing efforts. As for fiction, if it’s a specific genre, like romance, for instance, SP’ing can certainly be an option. That said, it’s a tough road for any novelist, including a self-publishing one, for several reasons: 1) Little or no impartial screening of work means that a lot of unedited garbage ends up flooding the market; 2) mainstream media – with finite space already for fiction reviews – is far more favorably inclined to conventionally published books (and even the online promo venues are being hit up hard by conventional publishers); 3) with fiction, readers buy names, not subjects. Non-fiction? For the most part, it’s the reverse is true.

Your subtitle refers to building a “full-time living” off of one book. What’s your definition of “full-time living”?
For me, that meant paying all my bills (including, generally, a couple of print runs each year), staying the course in funding my retirement account, remaining completely out of debt, and taking a few nice vacations each year.

Don’t you have to be a marketing “natural” in order to successfully self-publish?
Absolutely, positively, not. Yes, developing a marketing mindset is crucial for success as a self-publisher. But, it’s just not difficult to do so (I devote an entire chapter specifically to getting one’s mind right – marketing-wise). Success as a self-publisher is far more about a process than an aptitude, far more about a bunch of things you have to do than some way you have to be. A lot of creative types walk around telling anyone who’ll listen that, “Oh, I’m no good at marketing” or “There’s no way I could ever be a salesman,” when the fact is, they don’t understand what marketing and sales are, and what they think they are, they’re not. If you’re committed to that point of view, and refuse to be persuaded that you TOO can be a successful marketer, then, there’s nothing I or anyone else can do. If however, you’re more committed to being successful with your book, maybe you’ll investigate it a bit further. I hope so, because it’s quite doable… 

Doesn’t self-publishing have a bad name, and if so, why is that?
In many ways, yes it does, and for the most part, it’s totally deserved. Most SP’ed books absolutely look like SP’ed books. And as discussed earlier, it just doesn’t take a lot to get it right (and of course, I explain in the book how to do it). Which is, essentially, the whole point of the book – to help SP’ers create product that is indistinguishable from the best book a conventional publishing company can create, and raise the bar in general on self-publishing.