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Self-Publishing, Self-Marketing, and the Self

Thorn Wilde

Entry posted by Thorn Wilde

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There is this overwhelmingly popular opinion that self-publishing, to some degree, isn't valid. It's what we do here on GA, of course, and putting out your work for free on the Internet for people to see seems to be acceptable and sometimes commended, but as soon as an author tries to make money from self-publishing their work—either by setting up a Patreon and asking for donations, or by publishing their work using services like Lulu and Amazon KDP and thus circumventing the traditional publishing process—a lot of people, and in particular other writers, become sceptical, sometimes bordering on hostile. There's this idea that people who self-publish just aren't good enough to be published by a major publishing house and, as such, don't deserve to get paid for the time and effort they put into writing.

But is it really about who's good enough? And who decides? Some arbitrary authority, like editors, agents, and publishing houses who are out to make money off of what you write? Is the question whether your work is good, or whether they think it will sell? How much bias and prejudice goes into that evaluation? I think a lot of publishers steer clear of queer fiction, thinking it won't sell as well, and a lot of what you do find published wasn't even written by queer authors. It's getting better, sure, but I still believe the cards to be stacked against us. 

Yesterday, an event called PitMad took place on Twitter. This is an event that happens four times a year, where authors scream into the void. You write a pitch for your book to fit into one tweet, tag it with #pitmad as well as additional relevant tags for genre and demographic, and wait for editors and agents to like your tweet. Then you send your manuscript to them, and by liking your tweet they have pledged to read it. This rarely leads anywhere, of course. As with everything else on the Internet, it's a lottery. Was your tweet visible enough? Where did Twitter's algorithm place you when they were scrolling through tweets? And it's hard to market yourself, to try and make your book sound interesting in less than 280 characters.

And without an agent, you're basically fucked. You don't get JK Rowling stories anymore. You can't just send your manuscript to a publisher. They won't even look at it. So there are more steps, more middlemen, more people who have to think your book is worthy of a chance, who have to think they can make money from it, before it's even seen by someone who can decide whether it deserves to be published. The market is oversaturated. It's harder than it used to be.

There are also indie publishers, but a lot of them are sketchy. I've heard stories from authors who were asked to pay to submit their manuscript, pay for their ISBN, which is not how publishing is done. Most serious indie publishers close their submissions periodically because they get so many. 

At least by self-publishing, you get it out there, you have the chance to make a little bit of money from it. Some self-published authors have later been picked up by major publishers or literary agents. Some have managed to make a modest living through self-publishing. And yeah, when anyone can do it, you end up with a lot of bad stuff. That's not to be denied. But that's no reason to discount the whole thing. 

I wonder if a lot of writers believe they're simply not good enough. Most writers of online fiction never even try to get something published, indie, self or otherwise. Maybe that's where the hostility towards or dismissal of self-publishing authors comes from. Why should they do it when I don't? And of course, self-publishing comes with a necessity for self-marketing, which can easily be seen as narcissistic. 

I'm taking the plunge. I'm self-publishing a book of twenty-four of my short stories. All of those stories are available to read here on GA, though I have polished, edited and, in some cases, rewritten parts of them. I have chosen to believe that I'm good enough. That my writing is good enough. And I'll be pushing my book hard on Twitter. I've been writing all my life and I'm taking this into my own hands. It won't make me rich. It may not really sell at all. And posting about it may not make me any friends. But I'm doing it anyway. It will be available on Kindle and as paperback through Amazon KDP, and also as an eBook through Draft2Digital, to be released on Apple Books and Barnes & Noble, among others. It will be out on the 30th of September. I choose to think I can do this.

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MrM

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Posted (edited)

6 hours ago, Comicality said:

I've heard artists and indie band albums that are better than anything you can hear on the radio.

Case in point: I recorded Empathy Test on Friday. I didn't realise it until Isaac Howlett, the lead singer here, said that the performance I saw was their first in the US as they were allowed to tour with a more US known indie act. Empathy Test has crowd funded two of their albums and, to me, they are one of the best bands I've ever heard! I love to include them on a number of my soundtrack thingies I do for stories because, oddly, their music ties in so well to a lot of plot lines I reference in those playlists. Excuse the somewhat shaky video, I was using my iPhone and trying not to wiggle dance too much :P :
 

 
Edited by MrM
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Thorn Wilde
7 hours ago, Comicality said:

Very true, indeed, Thorn. But I agree with you 100%. Don't ever let that elite opinion discourage you. I've read stories online that are better than most of the stuff you can buy in the stores. I've heard artists and indie band albums that are better than anything you can hear on the radio. And I've seen three minute clips on youtube that are better than half of the stuff on TV. So definitely do it! Every actor, filmmaker, singer, author, etc...started off doing exactly the same thing. The Beatles, Michael Jackson, James Brown, Stephen King, Stephen Spielberg...all had to take a leap of faith and put their heart out there. Why not you? You know? :)

I worked in a music store for many years, and I learned that if any artist can build a fanbase on their own, WITHOUT studio help, and drop that on their table...they'll come seek you out. And by then, you'll be able to decide if you even need them or not. 

So, yeah. Do it! And if you ever need any help promoting your stuff, drop me an email. I'll help out however I can.

Let's put the power back in the hands of the artists, right? :) 

That's my feeling exactly. I follow many musicians, comic artists, YouTubers, game developers, etc., who fund their work through Patreon or Kickstarter, who take all the risks and get all the rewards. It's a marvellous business model if you can pull it off. It lets the artist have complete creative control over everything they do, and it lets fans discover things they might otherwise not have. And thank you, I may in fact do that. ❤️ 

Edited by Thorn Wilde
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Dodger

Good for you, Thorn. You make some excellent points, and your work is certainly good enough. You're one of many authors on GA and similar sites who, if marketed correctly, deserve to be able to publish their stories and make money.

I think that's a fairly reasonable statement to make, and I doubt if many would disagree, but the last two words, for some stupid reason won't sit well with some. As you point out, anyone who dares to talk about 'making money' is immediately regarded with suspicion. It's very odd, but this is especially true when it comes to the arts, where the presumption seems to be that it's somehow wrong to ask to be paid.

Isn't that what everybody does anyway. Most of us get paid for something.

Nothing stifles creativity better than a lack of funds, and although this may sound a little extreme, I often wonder how much we've been denied through the ages. How many budding artists, writers, and musicians have had their talents suppressed because of their circumstances?

I'm not saying you're going to starve to death in pursuit of your dreams, but money is useful, and it sure helps to have some laying around. You may not make enough to retire with, but you certainly deserve some recompense for your art.

There's nothing wrong in promoting yourself, and your talents to potential readers outside of the GA community and I'm sure everyone here would applaud you for it.

Cream doesn't always float to the top on its own. Well, it does, but you know what I mean.

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Thorn Wilde
On 9/10/2019 at 5:04 AM, Dodger said:

Good for you, Thorn. You make some excellent points, and your work is certainly good enough. You're one of many authors on GA and similar sites who, if marketed correctly, deserve to be able to publish their stories and make money.

I think that's a fairly reasonable statement to make, and I doubt if many would disagree, but the last two words, for some stupid reason won't sit well with some. As you point out, anyone who dares to talk about 'making money' is immediately regarded with suspicion. It's very odd, but this is especially true when it comes to the arts, where the presumption seems to be that it's somehow wrong to ask to be paid.

Isn't that what everybody does anyway. Most of us get paid for something.

Nothing stifles creativity better than a lack of funds, and although this may sound a little extreme, I often wonder how much we've been denied through the ages. How many budding artists, writers, and musicians have had their talents suppressed because of their circumstances?

I'm not saying you're going to starve to death in pursuit of your dreams, but money is useful, and it sure helps to have some laying around. You may not make enough to retire with, but you certainly deserve some recompense for your art.

There's nothing wrong in promoting yourself, and your talents to potential readers outside of the GA community and I'm sure everyone here would applaud you for it.

Cream doesn't always float to the top on its own. Well, it does, but you know what I mean.

Thank you for your kind words and for your support. Finances is actually a huge problem for me. I suffer from chronic mental illness causing reduced work ability and my benefits are about to be cut off. It's extremely stressful and I worry about what that will do to my writing. I'd like to make money doing what I love, so I don't get mired in trying and failing to do something I don't, because that way lies further depression. The world would have me quit writing and use my very limited energy on some 'real' job that will likely make me even more miserable than I am. I hope I won't be forced to make that choice.

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