I did special orders at Borders back in the day and self-published authors tended to be obnoxious and frequently scammy. They would order multiple copies under a fake name and never pick them up so we were stuck with them.
Well played on the video title. I didn't watch it out of rage, more so curiosity. You made a LOT of valid points. Congrats on your recent boost in sales.
I really struggle with the whole self promotion side of self publishing. It is just not a skill I am good at, and is very much at odds with the introverted person I am. I have always enjoyed writing, but since I started putting my books out there the joy I used to get has become linked with how many people read my stories, and has thus waned to the point where I haven't written anything in months. Any advice on 1) how to actually start building that audience, and 2) how to get your motivation back when things haven't gone well in the past? Thanks, great video.
Thank you for this super honest video and for sharing your experiences! I'm a new self-pub author and will definitely take your advice to heart! Take care and best of luck!
This made me realize that most of the books that I’ve bought in the past couple years, I sought out authors that I had gotten a sample of on RUclips. Generally, it’s something like I hear a short story or a chapter from them, then go seek them out. And I’ll get any of their subsequent books. I hadn’t really noticed the pattern, but it goes to show you’re right.
I chose self publishing because in Louisiana there’s only one publishing company and it cost $40,000 for one book. Plus you only get 20% if your book is successful. So by self publishing my book I don’t have to worry about posting companies, agents, and editors telling me the right way to write.
It'd be great to see a video about building an audience for your work. No matter what you find online about doing it, there are just as many things that say a particular method is garbage as will say it's the best thing ever. I realise no one thing will work for everyone, but hearing your personal experiences would be great 😊
I was randomly recommended your video. I would like to encourage you to keep writing despite your two books not being super successful. I haven't read them and never will since I'm not interested in the genre, but I know what it's like to be passionate about something but not making a ton of money from it. If you love writing, I hope you don't give up. Even if god forbid, you never achieve major success, remember your love for writing.
As they say, "Don't quit your day job." And yes, many self published books aren't the quality level one expects. The thing is, it isn't all bad. But yeah, not to make enough money to become a writer as your day job. You can do books at the side, creative people need to do something with their insight/energy right? And sure in time, with the right push, and a lot of work, it might make its costs back.
I agree with you on 90% of this. Many writers hit the publish button before they understand the business models that makes self-publishing viable, or understand enough about their genre and writing craft. For the modern attention span we need to produce something that doesn't allow the readers to put down the book even though it's 3 am and they have to work in the morning! I have to disagree, a little bit, with the free book strategy. When free books were rare, it was a sure fire way for those decent writers with a meh cover or an insipid blurb to get readers into their books. Now there are sooooo many free books that readers tend to collect them, and they could have YEARS worth of novels to choose from. So even if you're offering your book for free, your blurb really has to grab them and give them an all consuming need to devour your book this instant for this method to work. Most writers suck at blurbs. They either put too much of the plot in the book descriptions, or too many characters. Or not enough about the main character. The blurb should orient the reader to the MC and give readers a reason to care about them and introduce the inciting incident. Hook at the beginning and a call to action at the end. Not to long, not too short. When your blurbs are that skillfully crafted, you shouldn't need to keep giving your book away. You can probably persuade people to compensate you, financially, for the pleasure. I would still give away arc copies at launch to get some social proof that the book is worth reading…and I would never want to launch my first book and to market it alone for years, before releasing the next. Having three or more books up (at least on preorder) is another trust signal to the reader that you're not going to flake on writing and start a series without seeing it through. Some binge readers (aka whale readers) won't consider trying a pen name that only has one book. If we are doing paid marketing, it can take 5-8 books in a series to actually make it profitable and have the ad campaigns scale. (Depending on what your author business model is and how you're advertising.) Trust is the unspoken currency that we deal in…and we really need to think about how we want to inspire that in potential readers and ensure we aren't betraying that when they give us eight precious hours of their lives.
I think a lot of people confuse self-publishing with vanity press publishing. There are also a ton of self-published books that never made it past the first draft stage and skipped editing altogether. One of the best books I've bought is damn near impossible to get through because my brain automatically starts editing it, but the story is spectacular and the characters are intriguing. On the other hand, there are so many trad published books out that sound exactly the same. If I buy one more book that goes from interesting to "my husband is cheating and 1) my life is a lie 2) he isn't actually my husband 3) it's all a dream I had while in a coma and, by the way, I'm pregnant", I'm going to get violent. 😂
I dunno how it works in the US and other western countries, but in Brazil, where I live, self-publishing and social media marketing is the way to go for new authors. You only get book deals if you are already famous. Its always the "safe bet". Either you are an actor/singer, media influencer or someone famous in anyway. No publishers wont give you the time of their day if you're a nobody.
This is why there are literary agents. If I were famous and approached a publisher directly, I wouldn't need representation, but a nobody has to have an agent to even get their manuscript considered. At least this is how it is here. Publishing as with just about anything nowadays is a 'rich get richer' scheme. The popular and famous authors/celebrities get 6-7 figure book deals while the rest of us are barely able to get noticed.
@@aeronduskauthor There are literary agents over here too, but it is very expensive to hire one. And there are lots of scams which makes things even harder for new authors. But yeah, its generally cheaper and easier for new authors to self publish and go hard on social media marketing. Amazon KDP/kindle versions are great for exposure, even more if you right trendy genres.
I agree with you, and I'm self-publishing for almost a decade. And in Brazil, this is just the best way to have your works published. But see that overseas, the market works a bit differently than in Brazil, so the "rules" (that are not even rules), are just not the same... And trust me, the market for self-published books exist, and over the past few years it's getting stronger...
@@aeronduskauthor I understand your point of view, but in Brazil, to get agents to promote your works, is not a part of the reality for any independent author. And usually, the publishers (the bigger ones) are never interested on unknown authors. So if you don't self-publish and promote your books, you will never be a part of the market. And I'm saying that as an author that lives in Brazil and is self-publishing for near a decade.
It's a depressing proposition for new writers. If you want to traditionally publish, you have to pass the literary agent gauntlet, change your book to their specifications, go through a multi-year process, give up rights and accept a lower cut of profits. And then the odds are significant that you will still get dropped anyway or you will sell
@@RADARTechie Ah, okay. I see. So the implication here is that the author may not be as authory as he pretends to be and that AI may be doing all the heavy lifting?
@@BigDaddyJinx I don't have proof of that, but it seems that way to me. He may be spending the time to run his youtube channel, a podcast, and write weekly stories. The graphics are definitely AI generated, and I dont like the writing style. But again, I dont have proof he uses AI.
@@RADARTechie Well, if you do the math, and they're already making use of AI generated "art", then how big of a leap would be needed to insinuate that AI is also being used for his writing? Manuscripts, scripts for his podcast, and so forth? It's not a great leap from one to the next, know what I mean? Do we ever really stop at one Pringle?
Very good video! Interesting points. Perhaps slightly ironic with the fan in the background and the audio quality somewhat lacking - but it suited what you were trying to say. Quite thought provoking and fascinating to hear both sides. We have something similar in music of course.
Every single stereotype that stains self-publishing is well-earned, I don't blame readers and critics for dismissing them altogether. There truly is a mountain of utter garbage out there that makes it impossible to find neglected gems through simple browsing. You have to rely on sources like SPFBO to get a good story, and even then I've yet to find a truly great novel among the ones I've read. Recently it has become so much worse, with the influx of AI sewage being spewed onto the digital shelves. Who in the world is reading those "books"? How is it remotely profitable? I have no idea. About finding an audience: something I don't see many mention is fanfiction. Find a relatively popular IP you are into, do your absolute best to write a novel in that universe and post it for free (you have to, it's fanfiction) It helps to get people hooked by posting only a few chapters at a time. Then direct readers to your original stuff at the end of it. A huge chunk of my sales has come from people enjoying my Life Is Strange stories.
I do want to start writing but it seems like there is alot of things that could and/or will discourage me. So far I am having fun just writing for myself but that won´t go anywhere, and I have considered puting it out there for free but i honestly don´t know if its even good enough for that. I love your videos explaining all the intricacys of writing and i am learning alot. Starting with something as simple as "how do i structure a sentence" that ends up not beeing simple at all. you have been very helpfull for me so far and i genuinly am greatfull i found your channel and books. You definetly got a new follower in me
I did special orders at Borders back in the day and self-published authors tended to be obnoxious and frequently scammy. They would order multiple copies under a fake name and never pick them up so we were stuck with them.
Well played on the video title. I didn't watch it out of rage, more so curiosity. You made a LOT of valid points. Congrats on your recent boost in sales.
I really struggle with the whole self promotion side of self publishing. It is just not a skill I am good at, and is very much at odds with the introverted person I am. I have always enjoyed writing, but since I started putting my books out there the joy I used to get has become linked with how many people read my stories, and has thus waned to the point where I haven't written anything in months. Any advice on 1) how to actually start building that audience, and 2) how to get your motivation back when things haven't gone well in the past? Thanks, great video.
I think the answers to these questions would make a great next video tbh.
Thank you for this super honest video and for sharing your experiences! I'm a new self-pub author and will definitely take your advice to heart! Take care and best of luck!
But, as Theodore Sturgeon famously observed, ninety percent of _everything_ is crud!
This made me realize that most of the books that I’ve bought in the past couple years, I sought out authors that I had gotten a sample of on RUclips. Generally, it’s something like I hear a short story or a chapter from them, then go seek them out. And I’ll get any of their subsequent books. I hadn’t really noticed the pattern, but it goes to show you’re right.
I chose self publishing because in Louisiana there’s only one publishing company and it cost $40,000 for one book. Plus you only get 20% if your book is successful. So by self publishing my book I don’t have to worry about posting companies, agents, and editors telling me the right way to write.
It'd be great to see a video about building an audience for your work. No matter what you find online about doing it, there are just as many things that say a particular method is garbage as will say it's the best thing ever. I realise no one thing will work for everyone, but hearing your personal experiences would be great 😊
This would be a great idea for another video. I'm going to cobble together a script in the next few days.
I was randomly recommended your video. I would like to encourage you to keep writing despite your two books not being super successful.
I haven't read them and never will since I'm not interested in the genre, but I know what it's like to be passionate about something but not making a ton of money from it.
If you love writing, I hope you don't give up. Even if god forbid, you never achieve major success, remember your love for writing.
As they say, "Don't quit your day job."
And yes, many self published books aren't the quality level one expects.
The thing is, it isn't all bad. But yeah, not to make enough money to become a writer as your day job.
You can do books at the side, creative people need to do something with their insight/energy right? And sure in time, with the right push, and a lot of work, it might make its costs back.
I agree with you on 90% of this. Many writers hit the publish button before they understand the business models that makes self-publishing viable, or understand enough about their genre and writing craft. For the modern attention span we need to produce something that doesn't allow the readers to put down the book even though it's 3 am and they have to work in the morning!
I have to disagree, a little bit, with the free book strategy. When free books were rare, it was a sure fire way for those decent writers with a meh cover or an insipid blurb to get readers into their books.
Now there are sooooo many free books that readers tend to collect them, and they could have YEARS worth of novels to choose from.
So even if you're offering your book for free, your blurb really has to grab them and give them an all consuming need to devour your book this instant for this method to work.
Most writers suck at blurbs. They either put too much of the plot in the book descriptions, or too many characters. Or not enough about the main character. The blurb should orient the reader to the MC and give readers a reason to care about them and introduce the inciting incident. Hook at the beginning and a call to action at the end. Not to long, not too short.
When your blurbs are that skillfully crafted, you shouldn't need to keep giving your book away. You can probably persuade people to compensate you, financially, for the pleasure.
I would still give away arc copies at launch to get some social proof that the book is worth reading…and I would never want to launch my first book and to market it alone for years, before releasing the next.
Having three or more books up (at least on preorder) is another trust signal to the reader that you're not going to flake on writing and start a series without seeing it through. Some binge readers (aka whale readers) won't consider trying a pen name that only has one book.
If we are doing paid marketing, it can take 5-8 books in a series to actually make it profitable and have the ad campaigns scale. (Depending on what your author business model is and how you're advertising.)
Trust is the unspoken currency that we deal in…and we really need to think about how we want to inspire that in potential readers and ensure we aren't betraying that when they give us eight precious hours of their lives.
I think a lot of people confuse self-publishing with vanity press publishing. There are also a ton of self-published books that never made it past the first draft stage and skipped editing altogether. One of the best books I've bought is damn near impossible to get through because my brain automatically starts editing it, but the story is spectacular and the characters are intriguing.
On the other hand, there are so many trad published books out that sound exactly the same. If I buy one more book that goes from interesting to "my husband is cheating and 1) my life is a lie 2) he isn't actually my husband 3) it's all a dream I had while in a coma and, by the way, I'm pregnant", I'm going to get violent. 😂
This video was worthwhile. Thank you.
I’ll check out your books.
I dunno how it works in the US and other western countries, but in Brazil, where I live, self-publishing and social media marketing is the way to go for new authors. You only get book deals if you are already famous. Its always the "safe bet". Either you are an actor/singer, media influencer or someone famous in anyway. No publishers wont give you the time of their day if you're a nobody.
This is why there are literary agents. If I were famous and approached a publisher directly, I wouldn't need representation, but a nobody has to have an agent to even get their manuscript considered. At least this is how it is here. Publishing as with just about anything nowadays is a 'rich get richer' scheme. The popular and famous authors/celebrities get 6-7 figure book deals while the rest of us are barely able to get noticed.
@@aeronduskauthor There are literary agents over here too, but it is very expensive to hire one. And there are lots of scams which makes things even harder for new authors. But yeah, its generally cheaper and easier for new authors to self publish and go hard on social media marketing. Amazon KDP/kindle versions are great for exposure, even more if you right trendy genres.
I agree with you, and I'm self-publishing for almost a decade. And in Brazil, this is just the best way to have your works published.
But see that overseas, the market works a bit differently than in Brazil, so the "rules" (that are not even rules), are just not the same... And trust me, the market for self-published books exist, and over the past few years it's getting stronger...
@@aeronduskauthor I understand your point of view, but in Brazil, to get agents to promote your works, is not a part of the reality for any independent author. And usually, the publishers (the bigger ones) are never interested on unknown authors. So if you don't self-publish and promote your books, you will never be a part of the market.
And I'm saying that as an author that lives in Brazil and is self-publishing for near a decade.
Dunno? Wtf
It's a depressing proposition for new writers. If you want to traditionally publish, you have to pass the literary agent gauntlet, change your book to their specifications, go through a multi-year process, give up rights and accept a lower cut of profits. And then the odds are significant that you will still get dropped anyway or you will sell
I hate those AI generated books. P.E.Rowe is a major annoyance when im looking for audiobooks.
Why such an annoyance, if I may ask? Is there something the rest of us should be mindful of with that writer?
@@BigDaddyJinx It just sounds AI-written. Like someone is cranking out short "books" to spam youtube and get as many clicks as possible.
@@RADARTechie Ah, okay. I see. So the implication here is that the author may not be as authory as he pretends to be and that AI may be doing all the heavy lifting?
@@BigDaddyJinx I don't have proof of that, but it seems that way to me. He may be spending the time to run his youtube channel, a podcast, and write weekly stories. The graphics are definitely AI generated, and I dont like the writing style. But again, I dont have proof he uses AI.
@@RADARTechie Well, if you do the math, and they're already making use of AI generated "art", then how big of a leap would be needed to insinuate that AI is also being used for his writing? Manuscripts, scripts for his podcast, and so forth?
It's not a great leap from one to the next, know what I mean?
Do we ever really stop at one Pringle?
Great summary. Food for thought. Will you please turn off the fan?
Very good video! Interesting points. Perhaps slightly ironic with the fan in the background and the audio quality somewhat lacking - but it suited what you were trying to say. Quite thought provoking and fascinating to hear both sides. We have something similar in music of course.
Can we get a link to the video where you are talking about a $15000 investment in the first book? I wasn't sure I heard that right.
as your a new youtuber I'll suggest you don't record with your fan going in the background. makes you hard to hear and is a distraction for me
I started doing videos this way also. This is good stuff. My advise would be to look at the camera and not your screen.
Every single stereotype that stains self-publishing is well-earned, I don't blame readers and critics for dismissing them altogether. There truly is a mountain of utter garbage out there that makes it impossible to find neglected gems through simple browsing. You have to rely on sources like SPFBO to get a good story, and even then I've yet to find a truly great novel among the ones I've read.
Recently it has become so much worse, with the influx of AI sewage being spewed onto the digital shelves. Who in the world is reading those "books"? How is it remotely profitable? I have no idea.
About finding an audience: something I don't see many mention is fanfiction. Find a relatively popular IP you are into, do your absolute best to write a novel in that universe and post it for free (you have to, it's fanfiction) It helps to get people hooked by posting only a few chapters at a time. Then direct readers to your original stuff at the end of it. A huge chunk of my sales has come from people enjoying my Life Is Strange stories.
Just found your channel. Enjoyed your content.
Great video. Subscribed.
Really enjoy these insight videos. They're blunt and honest, but the advice you give is never disheartening. Also got a great voice for it.
Actually a lot of booktubers accept self published books
I am not outraged. Just curious.
I do want to start writing but it seems like there is alot of things that could and/or will discourage me.
So far I am having fun just writing for myself but that won´t go anywhere, and I have considered puting it out there for free but i honestly don´t know if its even good enough for that.
I love your videos explaining all the intricacys of writing and i am learning alot. Starting with something as simple as "how do i structure a sentence" that ends up not beeing simple at all.
you have been very helpfull for me so far and i genuinly am greatfull i found your channel and books. You definetly got a new follower in me
i feel sorry for your future editor; you misspelled: intricacies, being, helpful, genuinely, grateful, and definitely ;-(
Any beta readers out there? New author in need...