Grey Journal Mention

That's awesome, congrats!

 

Congrats! That's awesome indeed!

 

Congrats!

 

That pic is a fair representation of my writing workspace....

 

been thinking about this lately.

Malik, as I understand it, didn't so much 'self-publish' as found his own 'mini-publishing company,' combined with a substantial promotional campaign.

Some years back, we had another poster at this site, Michael Sullivan, who did the same (or close to it) with his 'Riariah Revelations' - a six book series published as a trilogy through his wife's 'imprint.' For a time, that series was hailed as the next 'Lord of the Rings' and whatnot. After reading it...well, I had doubts. These days, it's still out there, still getting good reviews (1000+ 4-5 stars for each), and priced in the same range as Malik's books...but, well...the 'luster' is gone, for want of a better term.

I read a *lot.' Probably more than most of the regulars on this site. Book a day, sometimes more. (A bit less these last few months when work went wonky). I get emails with lists of current bargains from 'Book Bub' and 'Amazon.' My Facebook is inundated with adds for books. I'll flip through horizontal add lists on Amazon for other books, check elsewhere. I jot down the titles of the ones that intrigue me, and maybe buy them at a later date. I can't keep up with even a tiny fraction of the newer releases even with as much as I read.

One thing I've noticed is that no small number of the books repeatedly turning up have maybe ten or twenty reviews, often in the four star range. Sometimes these books are pretty good, other times they're horrible. Many could stand a good edit. Still, they keep turning up in the adds.

Another thing I've noticed is the 'return of the classics' - the best books from decades past (thing is, I read most of these ages ago, but don't always remember straight off.) What intrigues me here is the *durability* of these books - no few of them were written back when I was a teenager, or before that. Yet, here they are, still selling, and going from the reviews attracting newer readers. That durability is *rare.* I don't know about Malik's books (they're on the too be read list) but I doubt Sullivan's series will be 'durable.'

Then there are the 'boxed sets' (odd term for digital books). Three, four, five, or more books bundled together and offered at a low, low price. Currently, I'm working my way through two of these, about eight books into the one (Gilia Chronicles) and five or six into the other (Blue Moon Investigations). These series both have issues...but they have held my interest - which is not so easy anymore. (I seldom get past book 2 in a series these days.)

More and more, I wonder about this situation.

More to the point: I do see adds and mentions of books by current and prior posters on this site on Amazon, Facebook, and elsewhere. Thus far, though, Malik's books are not among them. (though given sheer volume, it's quite possible I missed them). Were I not a regular visitor here, I likely would not know of his books.

 

Michael Sullivan posted here for a few months years ago, focusing mostly on marketing.

Get right down to it, while we have probably two dozen plus published and self published authors on this site, I normally see just two in the various adverts:

Rice, for 'Eve of Snows'

and

Bevan, for 'Critical Failures' (and it's been ages since Bevan posted here).

Again, though, it is very possible I missed adverts for other works by authors on this site.

That tells me something about the degree of saturation out there. I'm under no illusions; yes I plan to advertise via Facebook and whatever deal Amazon has going...but I'll be flabbergasted if any book of mine sells even a hundred copies in the first year. Half that many is probably a stretch.

 

I think there is little to no difference between self-publishing and founding your own publishing company and publishing. Or rather, it's not black or white, but rather a continuum in how focussed on quality you are as an indie-author. Creating a publishing company is as simple as going to your local ISBN vendor and typing in a name when you buy the ISBN's. That's all there is to it.

Self publishing a book goes from "finish your manuscript, draw up a cover in paint and put it on amazon" to "hire professional editors for all steps of the process, get a professional cover made and the interior formatted, and put thousands into marketing the book". Success can be found at all ends of that spectrum, but it's perhaps a different kind of succes. If you are on the cheaper end of the scale, chances are that your story will have less staying power. Which means that to be a succesful author you will need to write high volume fiction. The modern day equivalent of the 70's pulp. If you're on the higher end of the scale you can become Malik. Both are paths to succes, they're just different.

With the novel I'm publishing in april I decided to go for the more professional route. I got a developmental edit, then a content edit and a final proofread. And I think the book is much better for it. There were a few structural changes which greatly improved the flow of the story, the prose was greatly improved. It was perfectly readable without it, but it's a clear step up. We'll see how it sells (part of that will be down to advertising etc), but I'm happy with the quality of the work. Of course, it will take a while to make its money back, but I think it has a higher chance of turning readers into fans.

Very true. It's a crowded market out there. I'll see if at some point I can get my ads in front of you As for selling them, get your parents to buy a ton, that helps reaching 50 sales

 

For what it's worth, you're not alone. When work went wonky back in October, my writing output plummeted. Stuck at it mostly through sheer determination to write something each night, even if it was just a couple hundred words of crap. Three months to do 11,000 words. I'd thought to have the current WIP wrapped up prior to this April's NaNo...but that's not going to happen. One big key chapter to finish, two more critical chapters to write, plus assorted events and scenes that'll make for probably four or five more chapters plus a prologue. Two ways to do the last scene of the last chapter, and I'm not sure about either one. (I find myself looking forward to shorter tales this summer, such as 'Mirage') and others set on the 'Eldritch World'