Monday blog: Real numbers — The truth about self-publishing

This past January, Digital Book World reported that nearly 80 percent of self-published authors and more than half of traditionally published authors earn less than $1,000 a year from their efforts.

That report has generated a lot of debate. Some very honest and brave independent authors have put their own statistics up against this argument: 

Hugh Howey — arguably the most successful indie author these days — and another, anonymous indie author compiled statistical research and put the lie to the DBW claim. They point out that the DBW report is so broad as to be useless — it includes books of all types, and does not include ebooks sold by Amazon, the biggest book retailer in the world. 

Howey and his unnamed partner dug deep and found that e-books account for 86 percent of all genre fiction, and that  independent authors outsell the Big 5 commercial publishers combined in genre fiction.  There’s a lot of analysis in the report, and I recommend you read it. 

Toby Neal, bestselling author of the Lei Crime series and several other books, candidly revealed her own sales, revenues and cost figures on her books. While Toby treats the writing as an art, she approaches publishing as a business. She invested $12,000 in editing, design, production and marketing of her first book, Blood Orchids, and netted over $100,000. She still makes money on that book, and views all her nine books (with one more coming in March).
 

Independent author Jami Gold blogged about two more analytical reports that took apart the DBW claim about most independent authors making under $1,000. Jami’s original post was reblogged by book consultant Kristen Lamb. It turns out that professional independent authors, those who use professional editors and designers, market their books as a business and continue to publish several titles, make considerably more money. 

About 50% of respondents make more than $10K when they have 4-7 self-published books available, and 20% make more than $50K. At 12-20 books available, over 50% of respondents are making 50K or more, and 30% are over $100K.

In short, independent writers who treat writing as a business or profession, rather than as just a hobby or game, can make a comfortable living at it.

What’s a professional writer? 

Being professional means:

• publishing regularly, developing a catalog of titles
• using a professional editor – someone with background experience in the publishing industry
• using a professional cover designer
• marketing and promoting strategically and using professional services appropriately.

Getting into the category will cost you money, but not as much as giving up 90% of your earnings to a commercial publisher, and certainly not as much as forking out thousands to a vanity publisher or something like one of those “become a published author” scams. And it won’t cost as much as you give up by not doing these things.

I have to admit, I’m remiss on one dimension: the regularity of my publishing my own books. It’s been a year since I published my second novel, One Shade of Red, and it’s going to be at least three more months before the next title is ready for publication. It’s tentatively called Out of the USSR, but that may change. I may just call it Maurice.

It’s so refreshing, indeed inspiring, to get this honest number-crunching from some people who are making a profession from being independent authors, and showing us all there is a business model and a path that work.

Want to find more indie authors who are working the dream? In addition to those mentioned above, check out:

• Russell Blake
• Shannon Mayer
• Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar
• RS Guthrie
• Alan McDermott
• Bruce Blake
• Helen Hanson
• Benjamin Wretlind
• Terry Tyler
• Charity Parkerson
• Zoe Saadia
• Frederick Lee Brooke
• Seb Kirby
• Elise Stokes
• Rachel Thompson
• Raine Thomas
• David Mark Brown

And many more that I just don’t have time or space to list here, and many I haven’t had the chance to read, yet. But keep coming back to the blog for reviews and interviews with independent authors.