Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Self-Publishing Is Where It's At!


The stigma is gone, guys. #finally

Thank God!

Now I have made a lot of money off my writing. The only problem is I can't tell you how. As a writer, my life is bound by confidentiality agreements. So iron clad are they that I can't even tell a new agent about them.

Which found me in an awkward spot this year. I had to let my agent go last fall. I really can't blame her for not being able to pimp my work since she can't point to anything on the shelf to claim my sales track record.

And I wasn't satisfied with a five or heaven forbid 4 figure advance. Not out of arrogance, but because I know how the house handles publicity and marketing if the advance isn't in the 6 figures.

Um, basically they don't do anything! Nothing. Nada. Sure your book is out. A few thousand copies, buried on the shelf, spine out.

I knew unless I got a hefty advance, they would be no help. I also knew if I sold the book to a house that little bit of money, forfeited my creative freedom. They would want to wash out my voice to bring it into their imprint's 'fold.'

Great, I give up creative control and basically get nothing back for it.

And for years self-publishing has been such a taboo. A taint have you. That no publishing house would ever touch that book let alone anything else by you if you dared publish something yourself (without permission from the publishing gods).

Which I always thought was retarded. Remember, I came up from the screenwriting side where Indie Film is huge. And a major source of fresh material for studios locked into their 'fold' mentality.

Ah, then came along Amazon.com. And Kindle. And now Indie Publishing has gained the stature it deserves.

To the point where houses are now looking for you to have a following and sales record before they risk throwing down some cash.

Like I said #finally

So I present to you, "Plain Jane" A thriller in the "Kiss the Girls," "Hannibal," and "Along Came A Spider" genre.

You can either head over to Amazon.com for the print version (and, of course, leave a glowing review) at http://amzn.to/aV16Z9

Or read an entire 25% of the book before buying the ebook at www.smashbook.com: http://bit.ly/b60jVe

It is gritty, shocking, and #strangely funny.

Also, if you have a self-published book or one published through a house, but isn't getting any support, go follow my marketing alter ego @zerotosold where we are forming an Indie Book Marketing Collective!

And then, of course, GO WRITE 2 PAGES :-) #sorry #hadtogetthatinthere

4 comments:

  1. This really makes you think twice about which direction you should take. Love this blog!! It has taken my writing to another level. Thank you for all of the fab posts!

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  2. I'm glad the industry is increasingly accepting the validity of self-publishing. Coincidentally, I've been writing about it lately myself, increasingly, on one of my blogs. I come from the world of music, where (like film) indie musicians and garage bands are accepted and honored for filling their niche. -TimK

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  3. Just finished Plain Jane. Very cool book. Off to Amazon to review, but am curious to hear how the self publishing goes. Be sure to keep us updated on your blog.

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  4. trying to find a book distribution site/company called smash book, all I can find is a scrapbooking site? any ideas?
    Bill@the-twelve-steps.com

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