Self Publishing

Responding to a series of articles speculating that the “self-publishing bubble” is set to burst, author and industry professional Nathan Bransford has decided “We’re not in a bubble. This is not a temporary blip.”

Comparing the surge of self-published authors out there to the surge in blogs which popped up over the last decade, Bransford pointed out that people trying to write books is nothing new.

On his blog, he wrote: “There are sooo many people who are writing books out there. There even more who want to write a book and believe they have a book in them. There are thousands upon thousands of unpublished manuscripts out there and even more in progress.”

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Should more poets self publish? We caught up with poet Susie DeFord to find out why she chose to self-publish Dogs of Brooklyn this year.

In an interview with GalleyCat, the poet shared the unique problems poets face when self-publishing. For years, this poet has built her Susie’s Pet Care business while writing poems about the furry, funny creatures she works with every day.

DeFord reflected on her choice in the interview: “I probably wouldn’t wait so long to consider self-publishing. I paid to submit to first book contests for almost two years, so I lost money and time trying to do it the old-fashioned way. I suppose that time spent revising/ editing/ swearing/ and feeling rejected made for a better book and some character building, but there are so many cool easy ways to self-publish and get your work out there from blogs to books.”

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As the number of self-published books grows, indie authors need editors more than ever. Kirkus Reviews recently launched new editorial services, one way for self-published authors to polish their work.

On the Morning Media Menu podcast today, we spoke with Kirkus editoral director Perry Crowe about these new offerings.

Crowe explained: “Having been the indie editor at Kirkus and seeing lots and lots of self published books, I’ve seen some very basic mistakes–like confusing different versions of their/there/they’re and punctuation issues.  There are simple things that need to be caught because it jars the reader out of the reading experience.”

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Young-adult novelist and book blogger Brittany Geragotelis has inked a deal with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers to re-launch her self-published title, Life’s a Witch. In addition, Simon & Schuster will publish a sequel to the book and a prequel in three eBook installments.

The deal was negotiated by publisher Justin Chanda and Marsal Lyon Literary Agency’s Kevan Lyon. Senior editor Alexandra Cooper will edit. Geragotelis (pictured, via) released Life’s a Witch as a free serial eBook on Wattpad, drawing more than 18 million readers. She also published Life’s a Witch as a print-on-demand paperback book through CreateSpace/Amazon.

Here’s more from the release: “Simon & Schuster will follow up by publishing this prequel as a book in December 2012. Then Life’s a Witch will be relaunched in Fall 2013, and the sequel to Life’s a Witch will be published in Fall 2014.”

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Formula Capital managing director and author James Altucher wrote a TechCrunch post this weekend explaining “Why Every Entrepreneur Should Self-Publish a Book.”

In the article, Altucher bashed the Penguin publicity team that worked on one of his earlier books and urged entrepreneurs to abandon traditional publishing. What do you think of his provocative article?

Check it out: “You’re an entrepreneur because you feel you have a product or an idea or a vision that stands out among your competitors (if you don’t stand out, pack it in and come up with a new idea). You know how to do something better than anyone else in the world. How do let the world know that you are better? A business card won’t cut it. People will throw it away. And everyone’s got a website with an ‘About’ button. Give away part (or all) of your ideas in a book.” (Link via Publishers Weekly; Image via Google Plus)

Author J.A. Konrath bragged on his blog that he had earned $100,000 in the last three weeks from his self-published titles on Amazon. (This doesn’t include any of his legacy sales or legacy titles).

Here is more from his post: “Currently, my novel The List is #71 on the Top 100. It’s been in the Top 100 for 66 days. It’s the same one all those publishers rejected. I am soooo glad I had so many books rejected.”

eBookNewser has more: “Despite the fact that the holiday retail season is over, Konrath is still doing well this month. In fact, the author says he has is averaging ‘well over $3,500 a day’ for January.”

The Wall Street Journal ran a long feature about self published literary author Darcie Chan this week.

Rather than just focusing on Chan’s unexpected success with The Mill River Recluse, the article actually explained the costs of Chan’s marketing efforts–some valuable intelligence for all the self published authors in the audience.

Check it out: “She spent about $1,000 on marketing, buying banner ads on websites and blogs devoted to Kindle readers and a promotional spot on goodreads.com, a book-recommendation site with more than six million members. After learning that self-published authors can pay to have their books reviewed by some sites, she paid $35 for a review from IndieReader.com (IndieReader no longer offers paid reviews). She paid $575 for an expedited review from Kirkus Reviews, a respected book-review journal and website.”

The Millions just published an essay by Edan Lepucki called “Reasons Not To Self Publish in 2011-2012,” collecting eight unexpected reasons why literary writers should give traditional publishing another chance.

What do you think? One of the best reasons reminded literary authors to consider working with the growing number of independent publishers in the literary market.

Check it out: “The conversation about self-publishing too often ignores the role of independent publishing houses in this shifting reading landscape. Whether it be larger independents like Algonquin and Graywolf, or small gems like Featherproof and Two Dollar Radio, or university presses like Lookout Books, the imprint at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, which recently published Edith Pearlman’s Binocular Vision (nominated for this year’s National Book Award), independent presses offer diversity to readers, and provide yet another professional option for authors.” (Via Sarah Weinman)

cover of Mark Cuban

It seems like not a day goes by that another Oscar winner, business guru or reality star is offered a six or seven-figure publishing deal. So, when billionaire, Dallas Mavericks’ owner, Mark Cuban turned down all offers in lieu of self-publishing his book, ‘How to Win at the Sport of Business‘,  tongues were wagging.

Are the advantages of independently publishing becoming so strong that the allure of a lucrative contract just isn’t cutting it any more?

GalleyCat caught up with Cuban, asking why he chose this route and getting his thoughts on the future of publishing…

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Novelist and digital publishing evangelist JA Konrath will take a break from blogging about what he calls the publishing “indiestry.” At the same time, he has put out an open call for guest bloggers.

Here are more details on how to submit: “If you’d like to write a guest blog, email me your piece. It has to be about sharing what you’ve learned about publishing. Blatant self-promotion won’t win you a spot. Neither will praising me, shameless sycophantic behavior, or posts focusing on you and your books. Describing your writing journey, whether you’re experiencing success or failure, is what will be helpful to readers of this blog. That’s what I’m looking for. Sure, you can slip in some links to your book. But I want you to show what you’re doing, and explain if it is working. Shoot for under 1200 words … I’ll read everything emailed to me, but I’ll only respond if I’m interested in running your piece.”

In February, Amazon’s new Thomas & Mercer imprint will released Stirred, a book co-written by Konrath and Blake Crouch. (Via Publishers Lunch)