It's Never Been Easier

[Chessie]

Well, our family has always lived a very simple and basic existence. I even trim my own curls. So although money is important, we're not trying to pay off a house either. $1200 per month on my end would be lower than what I made waiting tables, but a major step up from where we are now. And right now, we're somehow surviving well with one income. (shocks even me)

In your situation it could go either way, but if you want to pay the house off this year then I wouldn't go into self publishing with that in mind. However, I could be totally wrong and if you put 4 novels out this year then who knows what that'll do for you.

@Pauline: thank you for weighing in. You speak exactly right in that the levels of Indie author incomes vary.

So Maiden, if you want a sure bet, I wouldn't count that being self-publishing. Some hit it big. MOST DON'T. And there's nothing wrong with doing it on the side either, although it seems that you're thinking about focusing your efforts on one thing and I can't bame you for that as there's only so much of us as one person to go around.

 

[Chessie]

@Skip, I agree that it's hard to publish regardless of which path you choose, with the difference being that self-publishing is basically instantaneous. And I believe that's what Mr. Howey is mostly speaking about in his article; that the technical side of publishing is easier today than it's ever been. But I also agree that it's hard to make a living with publishing and my guess is that it's always been this way.

For example, my grandfather was an author. When we lived in Panama, he wrote several books through a publisher. In the states, his credentials meant nothing (he was a college professor). I was around 13 when he wrote his pride and joy of a book, sent it out to publishers for a while and finally got sick of the rejections. He self-published back in 1991 and to this day I have no idea how he commissioned the cover and formatting. I know his friend did the editing.

Anyway, when I uploaded my first short story, I thought of my grandfather. I was able to prepare my manuscript in much less time than him. I had the cover done and paid for in a few days. I did my own formatting. Basically everything I've learned about publishing has been through the internet, and none of this information existed back in 1992.

Today, if my grandfather were alive and wanted to publish something, he would have sooooo many more resources available, and he actually would've been able to find a target audience for his books instead of leaving them to perish in a box in the garage.

So yeah, it is easier to publish today than back before the Indie gold rush. Not saying that selling is easier. That's always been hard and will always remain so.

 

[ThinkerX]

I am reminded of the 'Iron Pen Anthology' from a couple years ago. If memory serves, that sold something like forty copies.

Somewhat related: I have read a giant pile of (mostly) Lovecraftian anthologies from specialist press outfits over the past six months. Print books, not E-books. Quality varies widely. I have come across several stories that had so many grammar/plot issues I suspect they were unedited rough drafts. Which got me to wondering...

...yes, these are mostly small/specialist press outfits. But presumably they have professional editors. Is there some sort of system wide quality decline in mainstream publishing?

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Again as one of the indies who is making a modest living self publishing I have to agree with Hugh. These days if you're just starting out, first book ready, your best bet to make money is going indie. Simply because your chances of being picked up by an agent / publisher a so damned small.

Having said that while it is so much easier than it was to get published because of ebooks and the self publishing phenomenon, it has to be added, it's damned hard to do it well. That's what most people miss. Damn near everyone can self publish - there are few barriers. But making any significant money is really hard. It's a massively steep learning curve.

Yet having said that I hould then add that I know the rules to marketing and could make a lot more money if I followed them. Things like sticking to one genre, writing trilogies etc, doing some marketing. But I don't. So presumably it would be easier for others than it is for me.

Where things change financially is when a new author who's made the decision to try and get a trade deal actually gets one. Let's ignore the question of whether that's luck or skill or whatever (and please no one even mention the horrifying success that is 2287 AD - a book with a hundred thousand sales and very questionable writing). If you are a new author and get a contract - take it. You will almost cetainly make more money and it will be a thousand percent easier. It's still unlikely to make you rich, but you can't have everything.

And then there's hybrid. There are two groups of hybrid authors. The first lot are those who started in trade, developed a back catalog, got their books back from their publishers and then selfpublished their back catalogue. Not I suspect relevant to most people here.

The second group are like me. Indies with a stable of books out and a track record, who are lucky enough not to have to go through the entire get an agent go round because of our track records.

But even hybrid authors on average aren't making a fortune I'm afraid.

You want to make an income as a writer - become a reporter for a magazine / paper. Sell advertising copy etc.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Russ]

Greg makes a couple of hugely important points.

Having said that while it is so much easier than it was to get published because of ebooks and the self publishing phenomenon, it has to be added, it's damned hard to do it well. That's what most people miss. Damn near everyone can self publish - there are few barriers. But making any significant money is really hard. It's a massively steep learning curve.

This is exactly my point. It is easy technically to get published but to make significant money at it is very hard, in either type of publishing.

You want to make an income as a writer - become a reporter for a magazine / paper. Sell advertising copy etc.

This is dead on. My wife for a long time did medical writing and wrote for pharmacy chains and patient info for drug companies and made really good money at it. Fiction is a very tough way to make a living comparatively.

I also want to make a comment about Hugh Howey. Hugh is a controversial guy, he says controversial things, and I am pretty sure he is smart enough that he is doing it on purpose. Hugh and Joe Konrath are pretty much the two most controversial guys out in the indie field. They say polarizing things, whether sincerely or for publicity I cannot say. But when you choose polarizing sources who say controversial things you can expect people to react accordingly.

If you were to post articles from less controversial figures about indie publishing, and I can think of plenty of thoughtful successful people in that field, you would see a different discussion develop.