"Self-Publishing is not a trial run." Say it again for the people in the back. Great video. Thanks for being so generous with your knowledge and experience.
I'm so glad you're dispelling this misconception. Creators really need to protect their creations more aggressively if they plan on playing the long-game with traditional publishing, but I get that it's just so tempting to share it with the world.
My mom runs a small publishing house and she's always so disappointed when an interesting looking project turns out to have already been self published. One thing she really factors in is the fact that all those friends and family who buy the book to support the author will have already done so with the self published version and let's be really only the author's mom loves them enough to buy their book TWICE. With a small regional press, the sales within the author's own network are quite important!
Oh my gosh, SO MUCH THIS. I see this all the time in Facebook author groups, people thinking they can self-publish a book as a stepping stone into traditional publishing. Sure, it's happened, but it's extremely rare. EXTREMELY. On the flip-side: I see a lot of trad authors telling aspiring authors to never self publish ANYTHING if they want to build a career in traditional publishing, which is also super not true. I've done both, and on my traditional publishing journey, not a single person - no agents, and no editors - cared a tiny rat's ass about my previously self-published book. They didn't ask for sales numbers or any more information about it. My agent is happy to shop subsidiary rights for it, but otherwise it has zero impact on my traditional career. Because I went trad with a different project, like you said. The other thing that's happened: since trad-pubbing a different title, my self-pub book has sold many more copies, with no additional effort from me. So that's a nice bonus! I'm typing this crazy-long comment as I listen, so just adding as someone who's actually done this. Re: using a pen name. My books are all under the same name, self-pub or trad. And you know what? My publisher pushed Someone Else's Summer hard as my debut. Even though I had another book out, under the same name and in the same genre. It was my trad-pub debut, and they pushed the debut title hard on that. I'd actually planned a video just like this one. Great minds!
Thank you for sharing your experience here. The hybrid publishing model does interest me, but/and I do have a clear understanding that they would be in very different markets--specifically, I have ambitions to do middle grade traditionally but potentially adult independently. I'm glad there were no red flags re: a sales history when you pursued representation.
@@Joe_Maysky I really do like the hybrid model a lot. Right now I'm focusing more on traditional, mostly due to my life circumstances right now, but I will most likely self-publish again someday. If you're wanting to do both, the plan you have to put MG trad and adult indie is a smart one - the MG market is sooooo hard in self-publishing. Trad is definitely the way to go there.
I am so thankful for this video. I was going down the road to try and self publish because of the traditional publishing timeline (waiting 2 years til shelves is scary) but I am just going to keep writing and hope for the best
😭 this sucks! I also self-published, but I'm now considering submitting my drafts (once they're polish) to the traditional publisher. But I also love the idea of making "debut" but picking a pen-name and starting again from zero is intimidating, especially now that I actively started laying the ground for myself under my name. On the other hand, I feel that "Jessica E. Larsen" is not as catchy as using a shorter pen name with an edge to it. Damn, I'm feeling overwhelmed. On a side note. Love all your videos Alexa. I found you two days ago and I I spend the whole yesterday watching most of them 😂
Self publishing means you are a publisher. A publisher with only one author. You are still a publisher. Why would other publishers be interested in your book? If it is a failure, they don't want it. If it is a modest success, they will assume the vast majority of sells have already been made. So there is no profit for them.
I want to write in two different genres, YA and Romance. The former I'm going to go the traditional route, and the latter will be self-pub. Best of both worlds!
Very few books are accepted by traditional publishing companies. You are a needle in a haystack when you send your book to a publisher. Therefore if you don't self-publish your book it will most likely will never get published. Yes self-publishing is hard but if you want your book published it is probably the only option. Plus if by some maricle you get published by a traditional publisher they keep 80 to 95% of your profits. You make almost nothing if your book doesn't sell thousands of copies. I am a self-published author. And I have done my research.
This is the most encouraging video from you and I things. Now that I've learned a few things about self-publishing in traditional publishing from I'm going to go with a different pen name for my series because it's been a 10-year struggle if not more.
I've actually seen a lot of comments about this topic on other writer's videos. That a lot of people want to self-publish a book and then later publish the same book traditionally. Thank you for clearing this up!
Damn, and today, literally - TODAY I was thinking about where to start publishing my short stories exploring the universe of my future book, but at the same time I wanted to release them traditonally as prequels. So thanks for clearing that up, right on time! :D
This is such a helpful video. I self-published my first book (soon to have a sequel self-published as well) because I was quite literally a starving artist, and I was having no luck querying, and that particular book (unlike any others I had written already) was ready to be out there. So I self-published it because any income I could possibly get from that would legitimately help me afford to eat. Ever since then, I've had a lot of questions about how ok it actually is to query something new as a previously self-published author, even though I'm not quite at that stage because I don't have "the" draft of "the" work I want to use yet. I'm glad to see this video point out that it's perfectly acceptable to do that, and the pen name change is a good tip for sure.
Thank you for covering this topic! I had decided to migrate to a new pen name this year after less than stellar book sales. I had no idea if an agent would even be willing to work with me since my self-publishing sales were low. You've answered that question and gave me hope that I'm on the right track. Thanks a million!
Oh man, I'm so happy you brought up Amanda Hocking because that is THE big example of the super crazy exception for me. I then immediately crumpled into dust because I am 300 years old.
This is a super important video. I have a friend who is learning all of this the hard way, unfortunately. I wish she had a resource like this before to save her all the strife.
You're right. I think the reason people think this is when they see books like We Ride the Storm, The Grey Bastards, The Shadow of What Was Lost, all of which are recent books to be republished by the Big Five, they fail to realize that WHY they're the exception. These books were extremely successful before they were scooped up. So they were already the exception to begin with. From personal experience, successful indies usually use their success to get the attention of publishers then give them something new. Unfortunately, while this is very good advice, people will ignore it.
I plan on self-publishing eventually and I will take it super seriously! I want a bomb cover, beautiful page setting, and hardcore, thoughtful marketing :)
I love your videos. I don't think I've ever left a comment in one of your videos, but I just wanted you to know that I'm here and I'm rooting for you. I still haven't read any of your books, though, but you can bet I will :)
Oh by the way, I've cracked the code. I've figured it out. I know how to be super duper successful in traditionally publishing. INFINITE DEBUTS! A new pen name every book, EVEN SEQUELS AND PREQUELS! I am BRILLIANT! Get thirty agents all trying to find that perfect debut, but it's just me... ME! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I had the chance with small publishing but I just can't deal with it after the music biz BS. (In '88 or '89 I was told to get married for my image.) I so favor owning your own music label or self-publishing. Maybe one day I will try to find a small publisher for something but it takes too long. I don't have the patience I used to have and not all of us have forever ("Cause nothing can wait forever.") I do desperately wish though that my titles would sell a minimum of 1,000 copies for multiple reasons. I don't want to deal with Trad publishing. I tried to use Wattpad and Tumblr but they are too difficult for me to "see" and use. I totally understand the "unicorns." Great video.
In my country (Indonesia), Many SP author not put ISBN. And I agree. SP is REALLY HARD! I dont have skill to marketing and designing. So I pick mayor publisher bc of that ahaha
So, just to be 100 % clear about this: don't self-publish _anything at all,_ or just the book you also want to get traditionally published? And/Or don't get self-published at all, because if you want to get your second book traditionally published, they are disappointed they can't pop the "Newcomer"-cherry? So if I self-publish under a pen name, I _might_ have a chance to still be published traditionally, because all the debut-thing is still a thing? I wonder if you work for a publisher because of all that background info, haha. Also, there's something I really need to say: THANK YOU! For using a nice mic, a soothing background and for not wiggling around like an eel to get soaked in attention, I really dislike those narcisstic RUclipsrs. You always have something to say and you don't butcher it so you can be on screen a few more minutes, you come accross as genuine and I really like to listen to you for that. Still, your Make Up rocks and I like how your eyes look with it. There, I said it. Thank you for your videos/advice.
Don't self-publish a book that you want to get traditionally published. You can self-publish one book and then query agents with a different book another time.
I know I regret self publishing my debut novel. As much research I have done, marketing is just a huge problem for me, therefor having hardly any sales. Unfortunately I learned it the hard way that I can't query already self published novels (also that my query letters are poorly written). That's why I try to get my second book traditionally published. Good thing I have met lots of people on Facebook groups who clarified it for me and helped me to make my letter look a bit better. But first I have to make finetune my second novel that it's good enough for an agent.
Richard Paul Evans is another unicorn story. He couldn’t find a publisher for his first book The Christmas Box, so he just self published it. Then it took off in his local community and suddenly major publishers were fighting for it like cats and dogs. This was back in the 90’s long before Amazon as well.
I've recently self-published a book of short fiction because when I've shared some bits here and there and people kept asking for an anthology. I used a pen name that is nothing like my real name, and I don't expect it to sell well. It's really just out there for family and friends and maybe *their* friends to pick up if they feel like it. I'm not sure whether I should mention this when querying for a novel or not. On the one hand, I did write this thing. On the other, the sales will be low. I don't see those low sales as failure because I never did intend to put in the marketing work to sell more. Is this something that an agent would definitely want to know about, or can I just leave it out and know that they probably won't be too bothered if the subject comes up later?
My argument would be this: If I self-published it, and it was doing so well that a traditional publisher wanted to publish it - I'd have to ask WHY I would choose to go that route, given the stark differences in royalty amounts.
This is what my research told me, but so many "writers" keep telling me that self-publishing is the only way to go. So my question is if there is some way to self publish, but not as part of a company like Amazon. Like just putting slides on RUclips or something. And at what point would I be able to know if I need to stop trying traditional publishing and just keep them to myself after I write them? Professors and others tell me I have the potential to be published, but I have zero confidence in that because of just how incredibly hard it is to do.
I agree with what Alexa says her, with one caveat: I do know a couple of self-published authors personally, and I know of others, who have gotten their self-published books published by traditional houses in non-English speaking markets. This is especially true with horror, which doesn't get picked up by publishing houses in the US often but is popular in other countries.
"If your endgame is traditional publishing" You mean that *specific* work? Got it. I'm going to self publish but have absolutely no intention of getting THAT BOOK traditionally published. If I do decide to go Indie after that it'll be with a completely different book.
I'm planning on trad publishing my book when it's done. But if I just can't get it out, I'll self publish. But that's basically when I've given up on the trad publishing. XD I really want trad publishing! But we'll see.
I'm not sure who thinks they can selfpublish a work then get it traditionally published... thought that was common knowledge, yeah some get their books picked up after but it's rare...
@@AlexaDonne Wow really? I guess not a lot of people research, I'm in the habit of researching and studying things I'm entering into. Knowledge is power. On the behalf of those who don't research Thank you for the info 😊.
Whenever I go on twitter and read what the writers there are saying, I’m constantly amazed at the misconceptions and flawed beliefs around basic things I had previously thought common knowledge
Blogs are also a thing, if you want to test the waters publishers love an online following. This was like five or six years ago but a friend spoke to a publisher about a book idea and he said she should do it as a blog first, then come and say "I have overwhelming support for my writing and people are demanding it be a book will you satisfy the market demand?". Granted blogs have dropped a bit and this was for non fiction but still, something that acts as a teaser rather than the finished product is a much better bargaining tool.
This is true IF you're writing novels, prose, anything involving just words. In comics, self-publishing is often step 1 to actually getting published by a "traditional" comics publisher. I'm not sure what other industry trends are regarding self-publishing vs traditional, but I wanted to add this clarifying point. Mostly for the folks out there who are conflating getting your novel published and getting your comics published.
I have a weird question- I want to buy your book to read on my plane ride to NZ. Which "version" is most helpful to you/beneficial to you as an author? Paperback? Hardcover? Kindle version? Like which way is the way you like the best?
Awww, you're sweet! Any way you prefer to read is good! I do get less royalties-wise from ebooks, but a sale is a sale so whatever works! (especially for a plane ride!)
I made the mistake of publishing through a vanity publisher but rewrote the book from page 1 on and added so much more depth and development. Have I ruined my chances to traditional publishing?
Hi Alexa... Im kind of in a pickle and I need your help. How do I know if the book idea I have is *the* book? Like I have so many ideas and I don't know which to put all my energy into. Like I'm pretty passionate about this one I have right now but then again... I was this passionate about all the book ideas I've had. I'm so stuck. Please help.
She's an author (trad) and does some mentoring as well as her full time job, oh, and coaching students through collage applications, as well as youtube vids. Bloody hell, I'm exhausted just listing it all; I need a cup of tea.
Question! If my debut book succeeds to be traditionally published, could I throw a shorter work (focused more on a minor character) out there as a self published work? Would a publisher of the first book allow my little side-self-publishing adventure, and do you think this would be a good idea?
You say if a writer did self publish and realized it may have been a mistake and the best forward is to drive your marketing efforts, sell a good many books and prove to publishers you can sell your book. Understood. But does this include e book sales. I haven’t made my book available yet in e book form, however I am considering it. I don’t know the ramifications of offering my novel in the e book platform as well as print.
Hi Alexa, you mentioned that publishers won't take sequels from the book you've already self-published. How about a new story that plays within the same worldbuilding? I created a setup where most of my stories share the same creation myth and magic system. But not all of them are meant for traditional publishing.
I had the first draft of my WIP years ago on wattpad. Since then I've kept only the first 5 chapters of later drafts on it. Now I plan on querying this WIP. Is it still likely that agents may auto reject it for this reason?
So what's the difference between this and someone who "republishes" a book through a completely different publisher? A lot of well known self help books have been republished years after their "original" debut whether it's a second edition or just a redo of the first one by separate publishers. Getting To Yes, the Tipping Point for examples. I wrote a self help book that I'm in this boat of - yeah I'm actually wanting to put it through a regular publisher because I'm not in a spot to do the heavy lifting for it because of life and was made to feel like I had to "do it by the bootstraps". And I've had some decent sales on it, but I know I can't give it the love and attention it needs. I would have thought the fact that it's already been edited and gone through review of others would make it more appealing because it's less work on the publisher's side. Is this for all books/publishing houses or just fiction at the big 4?
I have kind of an off-topic question. Would a novel that has two writers be an automatic rejection from agents? Neither of us are published yet (at least in book form), but I'm also working on a solo project. How would you suggest I handle this? Should I query whichever project is finished first? Try to see if my future agent would accept a work that's co-authored, etc? Thanks so much in advance!
What about if you self-publish a fantasy series based on the same world you created for a different set of novels you are hoping to traditionally publish? For instance with Alice in Wonderland. Say you write short stories set in Wonderland with different characters and plot, but don't self-publish anything with the bits of Alice. Would this prevent the author from traditionally publishing the Alice in Wonderland series?
What if you had attempted to query a work but it had been rejected (i.e. a dystopian ya novel-- or other dead genre); could you then self publish that work, or is there something preventing that legally or as a poor decision overall?
How about... expanding a self published 140 page novella - the story theme - blown up from to 500 pages with a totally different earlier start and later ending? Why this story? It's 1) true, 2) too good to pass up, 3) too important to ignore. 35 years ago I discovered a shipwreck. 5 years ago the Smithsonian identified it as the first and only wrecked slave ship in history to be found. The novella concentrates on my diving discovery with a small tail piece that tracks life aboard ahead of the wreck. The expanded book totally drops my diving/discovery and is set before the slaves are loaded and ends after the slave survives and evades re-capture, ultimately re-capture and finding freedom again. I'm considering different names for my characters to divorce it from my novella. The novella just placed 3rd out of 6,000 in a writing competition.
Can you recommend any trad publishers who are interested in more original story content? Because it seems like they only want remakes of stories that were popular 5 or 10 years go. Stories that have become overdone cliches. I only bought three trad pub books in all if 2019, but I did buy six or seven (or more) indi-house or self-pub books per month. Many authors I follow with amazing stories can't get a publisher because the rejection is always, "Can you make it more like XXX?" Any suggestions?
This video scares me quite a bit. I've been going by this pen name for 20 years, so I definitely never want to change it, but at the same time, there's never a guarantee that a traditional publishing house will accept you. I could write 50 books and have them all rejected and--does that mean I'd have to throw them all away because publishing them would mean that I wouldn't be a debut anymore and nobody would want to publish any future books under my name? If I wanted people to read them but I can't self-publish them because I don't want to change my name, should I give them away for free on Wattpad?
I think you're overcomplicating it? You're free to keep your name and your self-published catalog, and query and see what happens. Plenty of people self-pub and then trad pub under the same name (including some on RUclips!). Switching to a pen name if your self-published work tanks is a branding suggestion that also may work for some people, if they like. Everything is optional and it never hurts to try (to query, if you want to). This video is only covering the fact that you can't query an already self-published book unless that self-pubbed book is bonkers successful. Everything else is fair game. No one is stopping anyone from publishing anything. Though I will say that yes: those of us who want to trad pub debut do throw away books until we write one that they'll take. That is a choice that we make based on the publishing path we want to pursue. I shelved two books before a third was published. Different paths for different people.
I don't live in North America, and I don't know how to traditionally publish where I live or where I'm going to live in the future, and digital self-publishing seems like a good option for me, so does that mean it might be okay for my case? I'd like to know more.
I'm not sure what you're asking, but if you want to publish traditionally: Just write. They want finished, edited books😊 And make sure you get an agent (with your finished book) and have them contact publishers.
You have to pick one path to pursue first, strategically follow that path, and then at the right moment with the right book and genre, pursue the other. I'm going traditional first with the plan to do self-publishing eventually. Others go the other direction, though IMO that direction is slightly more challenging (but not impossible). It's a long game strategy either way. You have to firmly establish yourself in one space before branching out to the other.
@@AlexaDonne Would a hybrid also be if you do to totally different markets? Fresh self publishing a few very raunchy romantic/eroticia novles under one name. Then traditionally publishing mid grade? Could that work? For the obvious reasons would you have to disclose the self publish "adult" work to your agent when querying?
No, it's not a mistake. Any agent that suggests you throw something away or that you lose something by self-publishing isn't worth their take, because they won't ever respect your work for your work. Strongly dissent, especially for literary fiction. This is the agent's problem when they have a queue full of "garbage" and no budget or desire to invest in anything. If you can't attract good writing and appropriate investments, then you're probably doing something wrong and maybe need to seek a new career direction.
I've heard people use the term Debute even when they've previously published under that name because they're entering a new genre. Is that still technically a debute? Like, is "The Ivies" your Thriller Debute, or because you're still publishing under the name Alexa Donne, does that mean it's not a debute?
The idea of being a debut is a marketing tool. Yes, you could say The Ivies is my thriller debut, though I doubt my publisher will take that tack. Anytime it's the first time you do something it can technically be a debut.
I am going to be blasphemous. Traditional publishing as it has been is dead. Alexa has pointed that tout many times. What is considered a well-sold book has changed - upward! Traditional publishing reminds me of libraries and newspapers. Once the go-to for all news and reading, they have become relics of another age. Just as buying albums, cassettes and even CDs has died in the music industry with the advent of digital services, traditional publishing is in its twilight and I think they know it. I think the entire traditional publishing industry is a shambles right now. The morality clause that Alexa brought to the channel last year was a harbinger of the level of change. Oddly, the stuff being published in traditional publishing seems to be taking a back seat to indie-publishing in quality, on average. I try to read at least a dozen books a year - not easy. I have been breaking them down into 6 Traditional and 6 Indie and could be that it is a cycle but some of the stuff making it through traditional publishing is bad. I am sure Alexa can touch on this better than I, but I suspect, if your writing is good enough to make it over the hurdle of a query+offer then you are not only smart enough to go the indie route, you probably should. The only people - I think - that should go traditional in this age are those that plan a One-Book production and never plan to write again. If you get really lucky and land a perfect gig as Alexa seems to, then maybe the Traditional route is good for you, but Alexa is something of a unicorn these days - I mean who does not love her or her work. But, we all can't be Alexa and for us, we need to be more pragmatic if we want the most out of writing.
Great points about the decline in traditional publishing!! And yes, they know it. They act like smug god-complexed gatekeepers because they do in fact know that they are becoming irrelevant by the year, as self (indie) published art takes the lead. They want to be relevant and thus is the whole "kiss-my-ass" so that I can let you through the gate attitude. I don't care for Alexa's writing, but I don't necessarily hate her. I do feel that she comes across a bit smug since she has 'traditionally published' and promotes this route because it worked for her. Literary agents are looking for material that THEY like, not so much that it is of a higher quality than someone who is self-published.
Here is a question. If you write a unicorn book and are selling that self published book like crazy, why would you even want to traditionally publish it? One of the biggest advantages of traditional publishing is the marketing support and getting the book to more people, but if you have a self publish books that is selling hundreds of thousands of copies then you are probably a marketing genius and don't need the help.
The biggest advantage of traditional publishing is actually distribution. You'd want a trad pub deal because you'd hold all the leverage and drastically expand your reach to bookstores and libraries.
Uh... except in Fantasy (at the very least) there has been a decade full of authors who have been self-published and those same books have been picked up and re-published by major publishers (a bulk of Orbit's output is from self-published authors). It is actually becoming the norm. I am in the writing field myself, and I think too many traditionalists are blinding themselves to the changing landscape of the publishing industry. I like to watch a lot of these "publishing-tube" videos, but it is becoming clear that too many of these "gatekeepers" are stuck in the past. Just my 2 cents.
@@AlexaDonne actually I responded to quickly even though I still believe that if you can get it done through self publishing it is better than abandoning a good project. You call these other successes unicorns but all successes beat the odds so you have to define your goals ahead of time.
A few years ago, I self published my first book but that was because I thought it was my only option. A couple days later I pulled it down because of multiple reasons. Essentially it was a first draft. I knew nothing about publishing. Now, I'm more knowledgeable and writing another story that I would like to traditionally publish. Am I able to keep using my real name like I did with my first book or did I screw myself over and need to use a different name?
"Self-Publishing is not a trial run." Say it again for the people in the back. Great video. Thanks for being so generous with your knowledge and experience.
I'm so glad you're dispelling this misconception. Creators really need to protect their creations more aggressively if they plan on playing the long-game with traditional publishing, but I get that it's just so tempting to share it with the world.
My mom runs a small publishing house and she's always so disappointed when an interesting looking project turns out to have already been self published. One thing she really factors in is the fact that all those friends and family who buy the book to support the author will have already done so with the self published version and let's be really only the author's mom loves them enough to buy their book TWICE. With a small regional press, the sales within the author's own network are quite important!
Yubsie what publishing house? I’m writing my own book and I’m just writing to find some houses for when I query :)
My book is a historical fiction would love to know more details.
Oh my gosh, SO MUCH THIS. I see this all the time in Facebook author groups, people thinking they can self-publish a book as a stepping stone into traditional publishing. Sure, it's happened, but it's extremely rare. EXTREMELY.
On the flip-side: I see a lot of trad authors telling aspiring authors to never self publish ANYTHING if they want to build a career in traditional publishing, which is also super not true. I've done both, and on my traditional publishing journey, not a single person - no agents, and no editors - cared a tiny rat's ass about my previously self-published book. They didn't ask for sales numbers or any more information about it. My agent is happy to shop subsidiary rights for it, but otherwise it has zero impact on my traditional career. Because I went trad with a different project, like you said.
The other thing that's happened: since trad-pubbing a different title, my self-pub book has sold many more copies, with no additional effort from me. So that's a nice bonus!
I'm typing this crazy-long comment as I listen, so just adding as someone who's actually done this. Re: using a pen name. My books are all under the same name, self-pub or trad. And you know what? My publisher pushed Someone Else's Summer hard as my debut. Even though I had another book out, under the same name and in the same genre. It was my trad-pub debut, and they pushed the debut title hard on that.
I'd actually planned a video just like this one. Great minds!
Thank you for sharing your experience here. The hybrid publishing model does interest me, but/and I do have a clear understanding that they would be in very different markets--specifically, I have ambitions to do middle grade traditionally but potentially adult independently. I'm glad there were no red flags re: a sales history when you pursued representation.
@@Joe_Maysky I really do like the hybrid model a lot. Right now I'm focusing more on traditional, mostly due to my life circumstances right now, but I will most likely self-publish again someday. If you're wanting to do both, the plan you have to put MG trad and adult indie is a smart one - the MG market is sooooo hard in self-publishing. Trad is definitely the way to go there.
I'm looking forward to your video! Can't wait to hear more about hybrid publishing, generally. It's definitely something I want to do.
Very helpful, thank you.
Welcome to AuthorTube! I enjoyed your comment and subscribed. I’ve been on AuthorTube almost a year now and it is a beautiful community.
Your eyeshadow always looks so good! I was staring at it the entire video
Thank you! It's the Colourpop Bye Bye Birdie palette. It has this fantastic glitter in it.
I am so thankful for this video. I was going down the road to try and self publish because of the traditional publishing timeline (waiting 2 years til shelves is scary) but I am just going to keep writing and hope for the best
😭 this sucks! I also self-published, but I'm now considering submitting my drafts (once they're polish) to the traditional publisher. But I also love the idea of making "debut" but picking a pen-name and starting again from zero is intimidating, especially now that I actively started laying the ground for myself under my name. On the other hand, I feel that "Jessica E. Larsen" is not as catchy as using a shorter pen name with an edge to it. Damn, I'm feeling overwhelmed.
On a side note. Love all your videos Alexa. I found you two days ago and I I spend the whole yesterday watching most of them 😂
Self publishing means you are a publisher. A publisher with only one author. You are still a publisher. Why would other publishers be interested in your book? If it is a failure, they don't want it.
If it is a modest success, they will assume the vast majority of sells have already been made. So there is no profit for them.
That is such a great way to put it!!!
I've got my stuff separated out into books I plan to self pub and books I plan to trad pub 🙂
JulianGreystoke same!
I want to write in two different genres, YA and Romance. The former I'm going to go the traditional route, and the latter will be self-pub. Best of both worlds!
Same haha, I started self-publishing to have some work out there but being hybrid is the long-term goal :)
Why can’t I be a unicorn! 😭
I love rainbows 🥺
Mentioning Amanda Hocking really threw me back a decade! lol
I took it wayyyyyyy back :P
Very few books are accepted by traditional publishing companies. You are a needle in a haystack when you send your book to a publisher. Therefore if you don't self-publish your book it will most likely will never get published. Yes self-publishing is hard but if you want your book published it is probably the only option. Plus if by some maricle you get published by a traditional publisher they keep 80 to 95% of your profits. You make almost nothing if your book doesn't sell thousands of copies. I am a self-published author. And I have done my research.
R.M. Burthom Exactly.
I agree 100%
I was really worried at first because I hope to try and traditionally publish some books as well as self-publish others but this makes total sense!!
This is the most encouraging video from you and I things.
Now that I've learned a few things about self-publishing in traditional publishing from I'm going to go with a different pen name for my series because it's been a 10-year struggle if not more.
I've actually seen a lot of comments about this topic on other writer's videos. That a lot of people want to self-publish a book and then later publish the same book traditionally. Thank you for clearing this up!
Damn, and today, literally - TODAY I was thinking about where to start publishing my short stories exploring the universe of my future book, but at the same time I wanted to release them traditonally as prequels. So thanks for clearing that up, right on time! :D
This is such a helpful video. I self-published my first book (soon to have a sequel self-published as well) because I was quite literally a starving artist, and I was having no luck querying, and that particular book (unlike any others I had written already) was ready to be out there. So I self-published it because any income I could possibly get from that would legitimately help me afford to eat.
Ever since then, I've had a lot of questions about how ok it actually is to query something new as a previously self-published author, even though I'm not quite at that stage because I don't have "the" draft of "the" work I want to use yet. I'm glad to see this video point out that it's perfectly acceptable to do that, and the pen name change is a good tip for sure.
Thanks for discussing. It's important to know traditional and self-publishing are two separate businesses.
Thank you for covering this topic! I had decided to migrate to a new pen name this year after less than stellar book sales. I had no idea if an agent would even be willing to work with me since my self-publishing sales were low. You've answered that question and gave me hope that I'm on the right track. Thanks a million!
Congratulations on your 60K subscribers and congratulations on your new book's release!!
Oh man, I'm so happy you brought up Amanda Hocking because that is THE big example of the super crazy exception for me. I then immediately crumpled into dust because I am 300 years old.
Unrelated but CONGRATULATIONS!! I just saw you published another book!! (or so my Google news says)
This is a super important video. I have a friend who is learning all of this the hard way, unfortunately. I wish she had a resource like this before to save her all the strife.
You're right. I think the reason people think this is when they see books like We Ride the Storm, The Grey Bastards, The Shadow of What Was Lost, all of which are recent books to be republished by the Big Five, they fail to realize that WHY they're the exception. These books were extremely successful before they were scooped up. So they were already the exception to begin with.
From personal experience, successful indies usually use their success to get the attention of publishers then give them something new.
Unfortunately, while this is very good advice, people will ignore it.
Traditional Published Author discussing how self publish is serious business and not to be taken lightly. I like this.
I plan on self-publishing eventually and I will take it super seriously! I want a bomb cover, beautiful page setting, and hardcore, thoughtful marketing :)
@@AlexaDonne Good luck!
As a hybrid author this is a great video for those that don’t understand publishing rules.
I love your videos. I don't think I've ever left a comment in one of your videos, but I just wanted you to know that I'm here and I'm rooting for you. I still haven't read any of your books, though, but you can bet I will :)
Oh by the way, I've cracked the code. I've figured it out. I know how to be super duper successful in traditionally publishing.
INFINITE DEBUTS! A new pen name every book, EVEN SEQUELS AND PREQUELS!
I am BRILLIANT! Get thirty agents all trying to find that perfect debut, but it's just me... ME!
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I had the chance with small publishing but I just can't deal with it after the music biz BS. (In '88 or '89 I was told to get married for my image.) I so favor owning your own music label or self-publishing. Maybe one day I will try to find a small publisher for something but it takes too long. I don't have the patience I used to have and not all of us have forever ("Cause nothing can wait forever.") I do desperately wish though that my titles would sell a minimum of 1,000 copies for multiple reasons. I don't want to deal with Trad publishing. I tried to use Wattpad and Tumblr but they are too difficult for me to "see" and use. I totally understand the "unicorns." Great video.
Thank you so much.....
I appreciate you're knowledge
Great video! I’ve often wondered about this. Thank you for sharing!
In my country (Indonesia), Many SP author not put ISBN. And I agree. SP is REALLY HARD! I dont have skill to marketing and designing. So I pick mayor publisher bc of that ahaha
So, just to be 100 % clear about this: don't self-publish _anything at all,_ or just the book you also want to get traditionally published? And/Or don't get self-published at all, because if you want to get your second book traditionally published, they are disappointed they can't pop the "Newcomer"-cherry? So if I self-publish under a pen name, I _might_ have a chance to still be published traditionally, because all the debut-thing is still a thing?
I wonder if you work for a publisher because of all that background info, haha.
Also, there's something I really need to say: THANK YOU! For using a nice mic, a soothing background and for not wiggling around like an eel to get soaked in attention, I really dislike those narcisstic RUclipsrs. You always have something to say and you don't butcher it so you can be on screen a few more minutes, you come accross as genuine and I really like to listen to you for that. Still, your Make Up rocks and I like how your eyes look with it. There, I said it. Thank you for your videos/advice.
Don't self-publish a book that you want to get traditionally published. You can self-publish one book and then query agents with a different book another time.
I know I regret self publishing my debut novel. As much research I have done, marketing is just a huge problem for me, therefor having hardly any sales. Unfortunately I learned it the hard way that I can't query already self published novels (also that my query letters are poorly written). That's why I try to get my second book traditionally published. Good thing I have met lots of people on Facebook groups who clarified it for me and helped me to make my letter look a bit better. But first I have to make finetune my second novel that it's good enough for an agent.
Richard Paul Evans is another unicorn story. He couldn’t find a publisher for his first book The Christmas Box, so he just self published it. Then it took off in his local community and suddenly major publishers were fighting for it like cats and dogs. This was back in the 90’s long before Amazon as well.
Right when I was mulling over a "trial book" XD
I've recently self-published a book of short fiction because when I've shared some bits here and there and people kept asking for an anthology. I used a pen name that is nothing like my real name, and I don't expect it to sell well. It's really just out there for family and friends and maybe *their* friends to pick up if they feel like it. I'm not sure whether I should mention this when querying for a novel or not. On the one hand, I did write this thing. On the other, the sales will be low. I don't see those low sales as failure because I never did intend to put in the marketing work to sell more. Is this something that an agent would definitely want to know about, or can I just leave it out and know that they probably won't be too bothered if the subject comes up later?
My argument would be this: If I self-published it, and it was doing so well that a traditional publisher wanted to publish it - I'd have to ask WHY I would choose to go that route, given the stark differences in royalty amounts.
Lifesaver! Thank you :)
This is what my research told me, but so many "writers" keep telling me that self-publishing is the only way to go. So my question is if there is some way to self publish, but not as part of a company like Amazon. Like just putting slides on RUclips or something. And at what point would I be able to know if I need to stop trying traditional publishing and just keep them to myself after I write them? Professors and others tell me I have the potential to be published, but I have zero confidence in that because of just how incredibly hard it is to do.
I agree with what Alexa says her, with one caveat: I do know a couple of self-published authors personally, and I know of others, who have gotten their self-published books published by traditional houses in non-English speaking markets. This is especially true with horror, which doesn't get picked up by publishing houses in the US often but is popular in other countries.
"If your endgame is traditional publishing"
You mean that *specific* work? Got it. I'm going to self publish but have absolutely no intention of getting THAT BOOK traditionally published. If I do decide to go Indie after that it'll be with a completely different book.
I'm planning on trad publishing my book when it's done. But if I just can't get it out, I'll self publish. But that's basically when I've given up on the trad publishing. XD I really want trad publishing! But we'll see.
I'm not sure who thinks they can selfpublish a work then get it traditionally published... thought that was common knowledge, yeah some get their books picked up after but it's rare...
A lot of people. Comes up on Reddit a lot. I've had people email me too.
@@AlexaDonne Wow really? I guess not a lot of people research, I'm in the habit of researching and studying things I'm entering into. Knowledge is power. On the behalf of those who don't research Thank you for the info 😊.
Whenever I go on twitter and read what the writers there are saying, I’m constantly amazed at the misconceptions and flawed beliefs around basic things I had previously thought common knowledge
Blogs are also a thing, if you want to test the waters publishers love an online following. This was like five or six years ago but a friend spoke to a publisher about a book idea and he said she should do it as a blog first, then come and say "I have overwhelming support for my writing and people are demanding it be a book will you satisfy the market demand?". Granted blogs have dropped a bit and this was for non fiction but still, something that acts as a teaser rather than the finished product is a much better bargaining tool.
This is true IF you're writing novels, prose, anything involving just words.
In comics, self-publishing is often step 1 to actually getting published by a "traditional" comics publisher.
I'm not sure what other industry trends are regarding self-publishing vs traditional, but I wanted to add this clarifying point.
Mostly for the folks out there who are conflating getting your novel published and getting your comics published.
I have a weird question- I want to buy your book to read on my plane ride to NZ. Which "version" is most helpful to you/beneficial to you as an author? Paperback? Hardcover? Kindle version? Like which way is the way you like the best?
Awww, you're sweet! Any way you prefer to read is good! I do get less royalties-wise from ebooks, but a sale is a sale so whatever works! (especially for a plane ride!)
I made the mistake of publishing through a vanity publisher but rewrote the book from page 1 on and added so much more depth and development. Have I ruined my chances to traditional publishing?
Hi Alexa...
Im kind of in a pickle and I need your help. How do I know if the book idea I have is *the* book? Like I have so many ideas and I don't know which to put all my energy into. Like I'm pretty passionate about this one I have right now but then again... I was this passionate about all the book ideas I've had.
I'm so stuck. Please help.
Glad you did this! Do you do consulting or represent authors as an agent?
She's an author (trad) and does some mentoring as well as her full time job, oh, and coaching students through collage applications, as well as youtube vids. Bloody hell, I'm exhausted just listing it all; I need a cup of tea.
Question! If my debut book succeeds to be traditionally published, could I throw a shorter work (focused more on a minor character) out there as a self published work? Would a publisher of the first book allow my little side-self-publishing adventure, and do you think this would be a good idea?
Depends on your contract and it's something to discuss with your agent and publisher.
@@AlexaDonne Thank you
You say if a writer did self publish and realized it may have been a mistake and the best forward is to drive your marketing efforts, sell a good many books and prove to publishers you can sell your book. Understood. But does this include e book sales. I haven’t made my book available yet in e book form, however I am considering it. I don’t know the ramifications of offering my novel in the e book platform as well as print.
Quick question:
Can I self-publish a book in one genre and then traditionally publish another book but in the same genre?
Hi Alexa, you mentioned that publishers won't take sequels from the book you've already self-published. How about a new story that plays within the same worldbuilding? I created a setup where most of my stories share the same creation myth and magic system. But not all of them are meant for traditional publishing.
I had the first draft of my WIP years ago on wattpad. Since then I've kept only the first 5 chapters of later drafts on it. Now I plan on querying this WIP. Is it still likely that agents may auto reject it for this reason?
You should check out her Wattpad video. :)
I thought it was called "independently publishing" and not "self publishing"?
Almost made the mistake, thanks.
Thank you!
Where do I publish then...
So what's the difference between this and someone who "republishes" a book through a completely different publisher? A lot of well known self help books have been republished years after their "original" debut whether it's a second edition or just a redo of the first one by separate publishers. Getting To Yes, the Tipping Point for examples.
I wrote a self help book that I'm in this boat of - yeah I'm actually wanting to put it through a regular publisher because I'm not in a spot to do the heavy lifting for it because of life and was made to feel like I had to "do it by the bootstraps". And I've had some decent sales on it, but I know I can't give it the love and attention it needs. I would have thought the fact that it's already been edited and gone through review of others would make it more appealing because it's less work on the publisher's side. Is this for all books/publishing houses or just fiction at the big 4?
I have kind of an off-topic question.
Would a novel that has two writers be an automatic rejection from agents? Neither of us are published yet (at least in book form), but I'm also working on a solo project.
How would you suggest I handle this? Should I query whichever project is finished first? Try to see if my future agent would accept a work that's co-authored, etc?
Thanks so much in advance!
Lol, I want to publish traditionally and then do self publish.
So would it be fine to do the reverse and traditional publish first, then self publish after that? Or is that just as bad?
What about if you self-publish a fantasy series based on the same world you created for a different set of novels you are hoping to traditionally publish? For instance with Alice in Wonderland. Say you write short stories set in Wonderland with different characters and plot, but don't self-publish anything with the bits of Alice. Would this prevent the author from traditionally publishing the Alice in Wonderland series?
What if you had attempted to query a work but it had been rejected (i.e. a dystopian ya novel-- or other dead genre); could you then self publish that work, or is there something preventing that legally or as a poor decision overall?
I guess my series doesn’t have a future now
Why is that?
How about... expanding a self published 140 page novella - the story theme - blown up from to 500 pages with a totally different earlier start and later ending?
Why this story? It's 1) true, 2) too good to pass up, 3) too important to ignore.
35 years ago I discovered a shipwreck. 5 years ago the Smithsonian identified it as the first and only wrecked slave ship in history to be found.
The novella concentrates on my diving discovery with a small tail piece that tracks life aboard ahead of the wreck. The expanded book totally drops my diving/discovery and is set before the slaves are loaded and ends after the slave survives and evades re-capture, ultimately re-capture and finding freedom again.
I'm considering different names for my characters to divorce it from my novella.
The novella just placed 3rd out of 6,000 in a writing competition.
me thinking about the first few chapters I published on Wattpad: .....Dammit
Can you recommend any trad publishers who are interested in more original story content? Because it seems like they only want remakes of stories that were popular 5 or 10 years go. Stories that have become overdone cliches. I only bought three trad pub books in all if 2019, but I did buy six or seven (or more) indi-house or self-pub books per month. Many authors I follow with amazing stories can't get a publisher because the rejection is always, "Can you make it more like XXX?" Any suggestions?
This video scares me quite a bit. I've been going by this pen name for 20 years, so I definitely never want to change it, but at the same time, there's never a guarantee that a traditional publishing house will accept you. I could write 50 books and have them all rejected and--does that mean I'd have to throw them all away because publishing them would mean that I wouldn't be a debut anymore and nobody would want to publish any future books under my name? If I wanted people to read them but I can't self-publish them because I don't want to change my name, should I give them away for free on Wattpad?
I think you're overcomplicating it? You're free to keep your name and your self-published catalog, and query and see what happens. Plenty of people self-pub and then trad pub under the same name (including some on RUclips!). Switching to a pen name if your self-published work tanks is a branding suggestion that also may work for some people, if they like. Everything is optional and it never hurts to try (to query, if you want to). This video is only covering the fact that you can't query an already self-published book unless that self-pubbed book is bonkers successful. Everything else is fair game. No one is stopping anyone from publishing anything. Though I will say that yes: those of us who want to trad pub debut do throw away books until we write one that they'll take. That is a choice that we make based on the publishing path we want to pursue. I shelved two books before a third was published. Different paths for different people.
@@AlexaDonne Thanks! That makes me feel much better.
I don't live in North America, and I don't know how to traditionally publish where I live or where I'm going to live in the future, and digital self-publishing seems like a good option for me, so does that mean it might be okay for my case? I'd like to know more.
You should do whatever works best for you!
Before I start my first book do I need to get writers guidelines from publishers that I would like to submit my novel to?
I'm not sure what you're asking, but if you want to publish traditionally:
Just write. They want finished, edited books😊 And make sure you get an agent (with your finished book) and have them contact publishers.
How does someone go about setting themselves up for a hybrid career?
You have to pick one path to pursue first, strategically follow that path, and then at the right moment with the right book and genre, pursue the other. I'm going traditional first with the plan to do self-publishing eventually. Others go the other direction, though IMO that direction is slightly more challenging (but not impossible). It's a long game strategy either way. You have to firmly establish yourself in one space before branching out to the other.
@@AlexaDonne Would a hybrid also be if you do to totally different markets? Fresh self publishing a few very raunchy romantic/eroticia novles under one name. Then traditionally publishing mid grade? Could that work? For the obvious reasons would you have to disclose the self publish "adult" work to your agent when querying?
No, it's not a mistake. Any agent that suggests you throw something away or that you lose something by self-publishing isn't worth their take, because they won't ever respect your work for your work. Strongly dissent, especially for literary fiction. This is the agent's problem when they have a queue full of "garbage" and no budget or desire to invest in anything. If you can't attract good writing and appropriate investments, then you're probably doing something wrong and maybe need to seek a new career direction.
I've heard people use the term Debute even when they've previously published under that name because they're entering a new genre. Is that still technically a debute? Like, is "The Ivies" your Thriller Debute, or because you're still publishing under the name Alexa Donne, does that mean it's not a debute?
The idea of being a debut is a marketing tool. Yes, you could say The Ivies is my thriller debut, though I doubt my publisher will take that tack. Anytime it's the first time you do something it can technically be a debut.
@@AlexaDonne Thanks for the clarification!
Is Wattpad considered self-publish?
By many publishers, yes. I have an entire video just about Wattpad that may help.
Thanks Alexia!!!! You're a fairy!!!
I published under a different name.
I am going to be blasphemous. Traditional publishing as it has been is dead. Alexa has pointed that tout many times. What is considered a well-sold book has changed - upward! Traditional publishing reminds me of libraries and newspapers. Once the go-to for all news and reading, they have become relics of another age. Just as buying albums, cassettes and even CDs has died in the music industry with the advent of digital services, traditional publishing is in its twilight and I think they know it.
I think the entire traditional publishing industry is a shambles right now. The morality clause that Alexa brought to the channel last year was a harbinger of the level of change. Oddly, the stuff being published in traditional publishing seems to be taking a back seat to indie-publishing in quality, on average. I try to read at least a dozen books a year - not easy. I have been breaking them down into 6 Traditional and 6 Indie and could be that it is a cycle but some of the stuff making it through traditional publishing is bad.
I am sure Alexa can touch on this better than I, but I suspect, if your writing is good enough to make it over the hurdle of a query+offer then you are not only smart enough to go the indie route, you probably should. The only people - I think - that should go traditional in this age are those that plan a One-Book production and never plan to write again. If you get really lucky and land a perfect gig as Alexa seems to, then maybe the Traditional route is good for you, but Alexa is something of a unicorn these days - I mean who does not love her or her work. But, we all can't be Alexa and for us, we need to be more pragmatic if we want the most out of writing.
Great points about the decline in traditional publishing!! And yes, they know it. They act like smug god-complexed gatekeepers because they do in fact know that they are becoming irrelevant by the year, as self (indie) published art takes the lead. They want to be relevant and thus is the whole "kiss-my-ass" so that I can let you through the gate attitude.
I don't care for Alexa's writing, but I don't necessarily hate her. I do feel that she comes across a bit smug since she has 'traditionally published' and promotes this route because it worked for her. Literary agents are looking for material that THEY like, not so much that it is of a higher quality than someone who is self-published.
Here is a question. If you write a unicorn book and are selling that self published book like crazy, why would you even want to traditionally publish it? One of the biggest advantages of traditional publishing is the marketing support and getting the book to more people, but if you have a self publish books that is selling hundreds of thousands of copies then you are probably a marketing genius and don't need the help.
The biggest advantage of traditional publishing is actually distribution. You'd want a trad pub deal because you'd hold all the leverage and drastically expand your reach to bookstores and libraries.
I probably shouldn't automatically like your videos before you even start talking, should I?
Uh... except in Fantasy (at the very least) there has been a decade full of authors who have been self-published and those same books have been picked up and re-published by major publishers (a bulk of Orbit's output is from self-published authors). It is actually becoming the norm. I am in the writing field myself, and I think too many traditionalists are blinding themselves to the changing landscape of the publishing industry. I like to watch a lot of these "publishing-tube" videos, but it is becoming clear that too many of these "gatekeepers" are stuck in the past. Just my 2 cents.
50 shades of grey was self published, there are others
And I literally mention that as one of the outliers. Did you watch the video?
@@AlexaDonne actually I responded to quickly even though I still believe that if you can get it done through self publishing it is better than abandoning a good project. You call these other successes unicorns but all successes beat the odds so you have to define your goals ahead of time.
A few years ago, I self published my first book but that was because I thought it was my only option. A couple days later I pulled it down because of multiple reasons. Essentially it was a first draft. I knew nothing about publishing. Now, I'm more knowledgeable and writing another story that I would like to traditionally publish. Am I able to keep using my real name like I did with my first book or did I screw myself over and need to use a different name?
If it's been a while you're likely fine!
@@AlexaDonne thank you! That makes me feel so much better. Also keep up the good work. Your videos are incredibly helpful 💕