Why going Indie has been the best decision for my writing career

As a writer who has been traditionally published (publisher incurs all expenses), hybrid published (author contributes some money towards start-up costs) and self-published (author pays all costs), I have much to say on my experience of all of the above. You may well be reading this post thinking that I started out in self-publishing before going on to get a publisher, but I’d like to let you in on a little truth: the opposite is true.

My journey from small press publishers to self-published

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this post, a disclaimer: I’m not here to slam small press publishers in any way. I have been fortunate to have had some positive experiences with the small press publishers who launched my various poetry collections or fiction books. Now, you may well be confused: why would an author with small press contracts already in place not choose to keep publishing future books with said publishers and instead go Indie (choose self-publishing)? Indeed, two of my past publishers asked me if I had any more books in the pipeline for them. Instead I chose to go it alone. Lean closer so I can whisper in your ear about why…

I did it to learn how to sell books.

Writing books is an author’s job, and selling books is a publisher’s job. My contracts with publishers meant that I found myself waiting for bi-annual royalties statements to arrive, not knowing how many books I had sold, or whether any one marketing technique contributed towards sales at any one time. I admit, I disliked the lack of control, and felt denied a learning opportunity in terms of marketing.

Want to know another secret? I never submitted The Blue Man or The Fairy Lights to any publisher. Nope; self-publishing was never my fallback option. It was the opposite, in fact: my sole publishing choice. This wasn’t to maximise royalties by cutting out the middle-person, though I must say, there is a world of difference in what I get directly from Amazon compared to a payment at 35% of net costs from a publisher. No, I did it to learn what sells, what doesn’t, and how to tweak my marketing strategies on the go, seeing the effects as they happen.

Does that make it sound easy? I hope not, because it really isn’t. In fact, marketing is harder for me than writing. Much harder. I am fortunate that I work in a grammar school, which means having 8 weeks off for summer. In 2021, I spent those 8 weeks off watching YouTube tutorials teaching myself how to market my books and reading countless articles about distribution services. Yep, it was a full-time education; I was effectively doing summer school while I myself was away from my day-job in a school. Quite ironic, if you think about it.

Does that mean I’m only going to Indie publish all my future books?

No. My experience of self-publishing has been so educational that I feel better equipped to approach publishers with future submission proposals. Often publishers nowadays will ask what you, as the author, plan to do in terms of marketing. I feel confident that I have learned some things about how to use metadata to target my ads. I feel I have a better understanding of how to write effective back cover blurbs. I have more of an eye for cover design and theme. I have more than basic knowledge about using distributors and wholesalers. I’ve gained some valuable – and willing – ARC readers through social media networking. Marketing isn’t simply publishing your book and hoping for the best. It’s about hard work and tirelessly self-promoting yourself. I carry author business cards at all times and a canvas bag with my author logo and website on it so that my brand is visible at all times. I don’t force conversations about my books, or ram my writing down people’s throats – but if people mention my books, or that they’ve heard of me (this is a strange feeling, being stopped by strangers, but it has happened once or twice), I’m happy to engage them in a conversation. The thing about promotion is being mindful of marketing opportunities at all times.

As for my 5 year plan?

For now, I am happy to keep using the ISBNs that I bought from Nielsen as a sole-trader, so I’m going to continue being my own publisher and distributor for the time being. Referring back to the disclaimer above, I will also let you know that the two poetry books I’ve self-published in 2022 and the three novels I’ve self-published in 2021/22 have made four times as many sales as I did through small press publishers, because I have control over advertising; as an added bonus I get 70% royalties directly from KDP instead of 35% of net costs from a publisher, which means I’m making much more money instead of dribs and drabs. In the future, I’d be looking for a mid-size to large publisher with a greater reach than what I currently have.

If you want to read more on this topic, my post from 2021 on why I’ve decided to start my self-publishing journey gives more background to my decision to start looking into Indie publishing, although my reasons have since moved on from that initial decision.