Self-publish or die

In my ongoing quest to answer emailed questions...

"Why don't you self-publish?"

On the surface, it would seem a great idea to self publish. Because I publish through a traditional publisher, I make between 6-12% of the cover price for each book sold (and far less on book fair editions and the like). Making 25 cents off an eight dollar book seems like I'm getting scammed, doesn't it? If I self-published, I could make everything after cost, over fifty percent at least. Now that I'm established and have readership, why don't I take advantage of that?

Because it would be a living nightmare.

When working with a publisher like Bloomsbury, my part is just writing the book. They take care of copy editing, printing, proofing, jacket art, marketing, publicity, not to mention distribution. If I had to do all of that, I would never have time to write. Some writers are natural salespersons and may enjoy it, but I wouldn't. Besides, many book stores only buy from the large book distributors so they can return unsold books. Self-published books rarely make it into bookstores or libraries or get reviews from the major reviewers. And one of the advantages of working with a publisher like Bloomsbury is I get to work with a professional editor who helps me make my books the best possible. I would never give that up.

Self-publishing is a great way to go if you want to write a story to share with your family and friends, or if you love hitting the road and trying to sell books out of the trunk of your car. Some self-published books do well and get the attention of a major publisher, crossing over to mainstream publishing, but it's literally one out of hundreds of thousands. And for most people whose primary goal is to write stories, this just isn't a good option.

Comments

[Marie]

YEAH, I'M THE FIRST TO COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Marie]

SOUNDS GOOD, SHANNON. YOU MAKE A GOOD POINT!

[Marie]

SOUNDS GOOD, SHANNON. YOU MAKE A GOOD POINT!

[Enna Isilee]

I can understand. The great part of writing is WRITING. After that all you have to look forward to is having your book slowly disassembled and twisted. Why would you want to do that all yourself? It's crazy!

And it's no fun.

[Mads]

That makes a lot of sense. I mean, really, writing the book is hard enough; why trouble yourself with extra work?? Bloomsbury seems like a great publisher, you're very lucky Shannon!

p.s. I love the new picture on the homepage! The picture of Miri is really cool. Do you know who drew it?

[Jenna]

I think it takes a person possessing all their mental faculties, wisdom, and... a lot of other really great virtues to realize how much they depend on stuff like that. Yay Shannon!

[Enna Isilee]

Two things

1. What picture of Miri?

2. There's an Austenland page now! Awsomeness!

[Laura]

Just so I've got this straight: Is it one out of two- or three-hundred-thousand, or more like one out of eight- or nine-hundred-thousand? Does it have to be the trunk of the car, or would the back seat work?

[duchessaofrandomness]

that does sound like a living nightmare *shivers*

[Lauren A.]

Soooooooooo excited that there's new stuff on the site. Thanks, Shannon! :)
(And now I've officially ruled out self-publishing. Sounds terrible to me!)
~lauren.

[Frank R]

Hi Shannon, I agree with you that self-publishing can be a nightmare, and usually does not lead to publishing deals with large publishers, fame or fortune. However, I think it's only fair to consider a few things on the other side of the fence:

1. Some books published by large pub houses don't pay the author beyond the advance. I believe that this number is close to 90% for children's books. Marketing and publicity is often very minimal for new authors; making it even more difficult.
2. Technology and distribution are changing quickly these days (the distribution advantage held by large publishers may change).
3. Great editing, design, printing, etc. are skills that can be found outside large pub houses (though not easily).
4. Many authors have self-published with astonishing success. If the percentage doesn't impress you, perhaps the list of authors and the magnitude of some of their successes will. Here's a page I found that lists some of them (though the list goes beyond literature to music, etc.): http://www.bookmarket.com/selfpublish.html
...they had me at William Blake ;-)

In my opinion, self publishing is more than just an outlet for vanity at it's core. It's an attractive option for *some* authors who need to publish somehow, their way.

Of course, I completely agree with you that self-publishing ain't for everyone or even for most people. As a person who has self-published, I'd be happy to validate your points. I actually discourage most people who ask me if they should self-publish ;-)

Frank

[~Holly~]

Self-publishing doesn't sound like my slice of pie...

[Enna Isilee]

I would self-publish if I could get someone to do it all for me.

Oh wait...

[Q]

Thank you! Now I can explain better when people ask me why I don't self-publish when I get something done!

[asha]

lol, enna-isilee!

is the pic of miri a photo or a drawing?

[shannon hale]

Thanks, Frank! I was hoping someone with personal experience would pipe up.

mads--it's a photo, the paperback cover of PA.

[hwalk]

Sorry, probably not the right place for this, but I LOVE that you put the query letter for austenland in that section! I'm trying to write a query letter for my first novel and it's hard, and it's so nice to see what you have done.

[Haley B.]

If someone can please tell me where I can purchase River Secrets, I would very much appreciate it. I can't find it anywhere!

[Enna Isilee]

Haley-

http://www.amazon.com/River-Secrets-Shannon-Hale/dp/1582349010/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0082246-4082415?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174426451&sr=8-1

Or

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781582349015&itm=1

Or any local bookstore should be able to get it for you.

[MAYday]

Goodness, self-publishing sound like a guarantee to drive many authors CRAZY! I think you made a good decision not to self-publish.

P.S. I love the new Princess Academy cover. It took me a litte while to get used to it, but now I think it's awesome!

[Mads]

I knew it was the cover for the paperback, and was saying that I liked the picture of Miri on the front of it. I was wondering who the artist of the cover was... sorry if I was unclear! It was drawn, right? It doesn't look like a photo!

[Laura]

Mads: I think Shannon meant that the picture on the PA paperback cover IS a photo.

[Kelsey]

I've seen River Secrets at Barnes & Noble at least twice by now. My mom managed to get an autographed copy off of Ebay for me last Christmas.
Just read Austenland! It was an Advanced Reading copy (from the library, strangely) so I don't know how different it was from the final version, but...I loved it!
But back to self-publishing: I think Christopher Paolini (Paoloni? Something like that) originally self-published, but finally managed to secure a publisher, and that's when Eragon really started to get recognized. I thought it was interesting.

[Enna Isilee]

Yeah, his family published it for him and right before they had to withdraw it (for money reasons) it got picked up by a publisher.

[Faith age 11]

interesting. I would self-publish, but just becasue I'd be writing shorter children's books and could jsut sell them for fun, not as a job.

[Jane]

I just read everything on the "Austenland" page. This book is my kettle of fish and I cannot wait to get it. :D

[Leanna age 13]

That's cool Faith. I think we should all put our age next to our name.

[Faith age 11]

oops, that was an accident! but yeah, that would b cool.

[Marie]

why should we put our age next to our name????

[Gretchen]

Yet more insightful, revealing writer's info from Shannon! I can see both the pros and cons now of self-publishing, but it's not something I'd ever really considered before.
PS: I read the excerpt from Austenland and laughed out loud in at least 6 places. Can't wait!

[janette rallison]

I can barely write the books, let alone market them. Yikes. So true about self publishing. I love your new cover for Princess Academy!

It was great to see you again.

Janette

[Enna Isilee]

Janette it doesn't show. You are a wonderful writer.

[Leanna]

Are you an author Janette? What books have you written? I would love to read one!

[Mads]

You can click on her name, and it will take you directly to her website. :o)

[Janette Rallison]

Yes, I'm an author, but sadly none of my characters have magical powers. I am thinking of creating a book where the character can speak to clutter though. (This is what I do all of the time--I tell it to go away.)

Shannon, everyone was gushing at conference about what a great author you are. I'm going to start calling you Homecoming Queen Shannon, since it is sooo like being in high school all over again.

[Faith #2]

I hope not Freaks and Geeks High school-ish.
is there a realease date for RR yet?

[Lindsey]

Shannon--I luv the new PA cover! It is lovely!
I just finished reading Eldest by Christopher Paolini, the second Eragon book. It was very, very good...but now I don't have anything to read.
Any suggestions?

[Kelsey]

And I just read "It's a Mall World After All", too! Cyool. :)
Let's see...I recommend Gail Carson Levine and Diana Wynne Jones, a couple of my favorite fantasy writers. (And Shannon Hale, of course.) Also, "The Lightning Thief" and its sequel "Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan were really good. A third one in that series ought to be coming out soon; I can't wait!

[Lindsey]

Kelsey, thank u for the suggestions. I'll have to look at Diana Wynne Jones and Rick Rordan.

[Joyce Moyer Hostetter]

All great points!

And one more - Self-publishing does not have the built-in advantage of working with editors. We author's have blindspots. I need my editor (and copyeditor and other readers provided by the publisher)to point out weaknesses I never suspected.