What Every Self-Published Author Should Know

by Rachel M. Anderson

How does one become a New York Times bestselling author? That question has been posed to many famous writers over the years, and in interviews they all offer similar answers: it takes drive, perseverance, and a little luck.

Rejection letter after rejection letter didn’t stop romance writer Nora Roberts from pursuing her dream of getting published. She finally got her big break in 1981 when Silhouette Books published Irish Thoroughbred. She now has had 171 titles on the New York Times bestseller list.

John Grisham’s second novel, The Firm, made him a household name after Paramount Pictures bought the rights to turn the plot into a movie. The book went on to become the bestselling novel of 1991.

A book Stephen King had thrown away ended up catapulting him to stardom. He has his wife to thank for rescuing Carrie from the garbage can.

Once Nora Roberts, John Grisham, and Stephen King made it big, they had the luxury of publisher-provided resources to help sell their books—book tours and blogs set up for them, media appearances arranged, distribution agreements and marketing taken care of, and so on. As a self-published author, you’ll need to take care of these tasks on your own; and if you want your book to do well, you can’t ignore them.

by Linda White

Publicity has been called “glorified telemarketing”—this from a member of a panel I once attended at BookExpo America. I’m a publicist, so it was a little disheartening to hear my area of expertise described so. I worked mainly in broadcast publicity for many years, and I pitched to a lot of producers across the country. My main mission has always been to place authors I work with on as many shows as possible, while still helping the shows maintain the integrity of the content they want to produce.

(Part I of this article was published on March 14, 2011)

by James Cihlar

Revising for Publication: Books

Now that you’ve generated individual poems, have used the tools of a writing buddy and writing group, and have tried some of the simple revision approaches discussed in Part I of “Entering the Sweepstakes: The Optimistic Approach to Revision,” it’s time to think about how your poems might all fit together in a book. Unless you are Adrienne Rich, simply putting together in sequence the poems you’ve written over a period of time is not going to be enough to hold a book together. A poetry book should be greater than the sum of its parts. However, it’s also possible to stray too far in the other direction, the themed poetry book, where every piece adheres to an overarching conceit; these can end up feeling forced and gimmicky.

by Pete Hautman

About 30 years ago, publishers discovered that sending their authors on “book tours” was a good way to sell books. It wasn’t really a new idea—Mark Twain was an intrepid tourer—but it was not until the 1980s that touring became a standard publisher’s strategy for building an author’s “brand.” Booksellers loved it. Author appearances brought people into their stores—even authors nobody had ever heard of. The strategy worked. For a while.

by Linda White

Publicist: Here’s a novel that was published last March. I know it’s October now, but this is a very interesting story. It’s about a couple who . . .

Editor: Oh, yeah, well, um, sorry, but you know, I’ve got about a thousand books that came after that one, and they kind of need some attention. Is the author doing anything currently?

Publicist: There’s a signing at the mall next month.

Editor: Next month? Hmm. Well, you know, I like to give my reviewers a little more time than that. Sorry. Try me earlier next time.

Yes. Try the editor earlier—every time. Oh, and it’s likely you will never have this exchange; the editor is just too darn busy. He doesn’t have time to be this charitable.

by Alexandra Franzen

CEO of You, Inc.

Whether you’re a freelance journalist, a contracted copywriter, an aspiring novelist, or the editor of a post-punk graphic art zine, you are a brand.

That’s right—a brand. Just like Sony, Nike, Apple, and Wells Fargo. Do your grieving and get over it. It’s time to take your rightful position as CEO of You, Inc.

by Linda White

I am a publicist. When I tell people this, about 90 percent of the time their eyes light up and I’m sure they are thinking, “Glamorous!” Oh, yes—author dinners, book tours, and attending BookExpo America in New York City. These events certainly can be glamorous . . . but for the rest of the year, it’s mostly time spent on the phone and writing e-mails. It’s not as glamorous as you might think.

by Denny Stockdale

Life on the Road

The open road was calling me. In the midst of a typically harsh Minnesota winter, I was eager to introduce myself and my new book to those in warmer climes. I settled on an itinerary taking me from the West Coast to the East Coast, and my publicist began work on arranging book events and setting up interviews.

by John S. Munday

One of the best readings I have enjoyed took place in Stillwater, Minnesota, when my book Justice for Marlys: A Family’s Twenty-Year Search for a Killer was published. The true crime book tells the story of our efforts to solve the murder of our daughter.

by Sid Korpi

“I’m Sid, and I’m a self-published author.”

[This is where you all say a collective, “Hi, Sid.”]

No, there isn’t a 12-step program yet for those of us inspired (read: crazy), confident (naive), and ambitious (masochistic) enough to take on independently publishing a book. But maybe there ought to be.