If you are gearing up for the publishing stage of your writing journey and wondering whether self-publishing is a viable option, or you are getting despondent from so many publisher rejections, then this article might give you the boost that you need to start your indie journey: No publisher wanted my book, so I went it alone – now I’ve sold thousands of books as a self-published author. The article is so motivating, in fact, that it inspired today’s blog post: Is self-publishing worth it? Yes, but don’t take my word for it.
Of course, you can take my word for it if you like, since I’m also a self-published author. These days, I’m mainly a self-published author in fact, with only two books out of my eleven published titles traditionally published and the other nine self-published. Certainly, sales of my self-published books far outstrip my small press published books by a mile. I know this because I still get royalty checks from my traditionally published books from time to time and the numbers of books sold by my publishers are piddly compared to the number of books sold under my own imprint. I can theorise about why, but I’ll never know for sure; I actively promote all of my books, so it’s not that I play favourites with my self-published titles more. The fact that I stopped looking for a publisher four years ago speaks volumes. It’s much better for me all round to continue self-publishing: full control over all elements of the editing and publishing stages, as well as getting a higher percentage of royalties.
That being said, I wouldn’t rule out finding a publisher in the future if a specific book seems a good fit for a particular publisher – the right publisher. Going forwards, if I decide to go down the traditional route once more, I’ll be looking for a publisher large enough to help my books reach a wider audience than what I’ve managed by myself – which, I suppose for an indie author is okay. I haven’t quite sold thousands, like the author in the link above, but I’m getting close, and in the four years since I set up my own imprint, I suppose… that’s not bad.
Leilanie Stewart 
I’ve only ever self-published, although at first I tried to find a trad publisher. I’ve seen people who took many years finding an agent/publisher, and as I’m getting up there I really don’t have the years to spend doing that. I’ve also met quite a few authors on social media who had trad publishers who went bust, or with whom they had a disagreement, or whatever–the upshot being that the authors had a bad time trying to regain the rights to their books. I also frequently see trad publishers who are increasingly expecting many of their authors to do their own marketing and publicity, because they’re reserving their budget for the bigger-selling authors in their stable. As publicity and marketing is mainly what I’d want a trad publisher for I can’t see the point. So even if I had an offer from one now I don’t think I’d take up on it. As things stand I have control over my work – I can make edits/correct typos if these come to light, change the cover if I see fit, go wide or stick with KU, whatever I want is within my control. I don’t make great sales, but I’m not the only one by a long chalk, from what I read on social media. By and large, then, I’m convinced that self-publishing is worth it – but I’d add, make sure your work is as good as it can be. You’re charging people money for it, and they deserve your best efforts and more. 🙂
Good point about trad publishers wanting authors to do the marketing while they reap the bulk of the royalties. Marketing is admittedly the hardest part of publishing, though I still think self-publishing has been the best decision I’ve made and all of my books since The Blue Man have never been out on submission, as self-publishing was my only goal with those. I’ve also known people who got screwed over when their publishers went under. Makes trad publishing route seem a bit more of a gamble, honestly but I guess it’s good for those who wouldn’t know how to go it alone. Like yourself, I agree that a perk of self-publishing is being able to make amendments after publication. ☺️
I’ve known those who got screwed by trad publishers too. I think the market is changing in our favour, although it’s a slow process. 🙂
I think the only downside I can see about self-publishing is the perception by brick and mortar stores. There still seems to be a stigma and I find it harder to get local bookstores to stock copies of my self-published books compared to my debut novel, even though I own my ISBNs so they appear on Gardners, just like any small press publisher. Hopefully that attitude will gradually change too, as quality-wise I see no difference between self-published and small press published books, since indie authors clearly use editors/graphic designers or learn those skills themselves.
We certainly do, and I for one am better for it. It’s true that actual shops can be prejudiced, unfairly, but we have to keep going and eventually we’ll overcome. Best of luck with yours. 😊
Same, good luck with yours too! ☺️ Xo