I'm buying an Island! Or how to manage expectations as a Self-Published Author.
I know that I'm not alone when I say that I've imagined myself becoming rich and famous. I know I can't be alone in having the thought that as I walk around Universal Studios on a tour that some famous director is going to see me standing there and say, "You are exactly the person I was thinking about for my next big blockbuster". Or that I'll be the one that hits the lottery and is actually able to keep the money longer than the three years most people who win the lottery are broke in. Or that I'll write my book, Self-Publish it, and within days be living on my own Island…preferably Bainbridge Island. Now as a writer it's my job to have a very active and wild imagination. But as a thinking individual who needs to pay bills and eat, I really need to dial back on the imagination a little, and look at the reality. Because the reality of the situation is that even if I'm successful as a writer, it's not going to happen overnight, and even if it does, it may not completely replace my current salary, so I need to manage my expectations.
I'll admit that as I was writing and self-publishing my first book I had more than one star in my eyes, and maybe a few dollar signs too, but then the harsh reality of just a few books selling, hit home. It wasn't that I wrote a bad book, quite the contrary, most people who've read the Rock Star have praised it as being in fact a very good book. But whether the book was good or not didn't play into the lag in sales. You see I did a combination of Smashwords and Amazon and I just put the book out there with nothing other than my own self-produced commercials. I didn't join Goodreads, do a giveaway in advance of the publication to get interest up. I didn't get a Twitter account and start building up a following and promote my book in advance. I didn't have a blog or a website. I did post it on Facebook, which did lead to a few of my friends buying it, but even there I really didn't build it up and then launch it. In other words, I went about this thing all wrong. I put it out there and then I started thinking about how to promote it.
I didn't realize just how many books are published every day on Amazon alone. I didn't realize how many other authors had a plan and a way of getting people to buy their books. I didn't realize that sales are built up one reader at a time, one book at a time, and that I really needed a very long term view of working towards being a successful author. I didn't realize it was going to cost so much to edit my book. I didn't realize paid advertising was going to cost so much. I didn't realize I was going to lose a whole lot of money up front before sales started kicking in, and even then it's still going to take awhile to earn back what I've spent.
Now my point in here is not to make you feel sorry for little old me, whose dreams just didn't work the way I expected them to, because I still have a very nice day job, and I'm going to be perfectly fine. But I want to make sure that others learn from my mistaken impressions. That other authors realize it's a long haul, and your going to have to work your butt off to get your books sold, and your going to have to spend some money up front to get your book published, and that it might be a while before you get all of that money back. That you as an author have to look at the reality of the market and know that you have a lot of competition and that it's not going to be as easy as you write the book, you become rich.
But if you manage your expectations, go into it with your eyes wide open, then you can manage your finances to survive the lean years as you build up your base of readers, who will hopefully be growing, with each passing novel. It's not all about money. The true joy of it all is when somebody actually reads your book and tells you they like it, because there is no greater feeling of accomplishment than knowing that your book has successfully entertained someone. Huge sales and massive amounts of money would be great, but when it come down to it, knowing that people are enjoying what you're writing is a very satisfying feeling, which you really can't put a price tag on.
I'll admit that as I was writing and self-publishing my first book I had more than one star in my eyes, and maybe a few dollar signs too, but then the harsh reality of just a few books selling, hit home. It wasn't that I wrote a bad book, quite the contrary, most people who've read the Rock Star have praised it as being in fact a very good book. But whether the book was good or not didn't play into the lag in sales. You see I did a combination of Smashwords and Amazon and I just put the book out there with nothing other than my own self-produced commercials. I didn't join Goodreads, do a giveaway in advance of the publication to get interest up. I didn't get a Twitter account and start building up a following and promote my book in advance. I didn't have a blog or a website. I did post it on Facebook, which did lead to a few of my friends buying it, but even there I really didn't build it up and then launch it. In other words, I went about this thing all wrong. I put it out there and then I started thinking about how to promote it.
I didn't realize just how many books are published every day on Amazon alone. I didn't realize how many other authors had a plan and a way of getting people to buy their books. I didn't realize that sales are built up one reader at a time, one book at a time, and that I really needed a very long term view of working towards being a successful author. I didn't realize it was going to cost so much to edit my book. I didn't realize paid advertising was going to cost so much. I didn't realize I was going to lose a whole lot of money up front before sales started kicking in, and even then it's still going to take awhile to earn back what I've spent.
Now my point in here is not to make you feel sorry for little old me, whose dreams just didn't work the way I expected them to, because I still have a very nice day job, and I'm going to be perfectly fine. But I want to make sure that others learn from my mistaken impressions. That other authors realize it's a long haul, and your going to have to work your butt off to get your books sold, and your going to have to spend some money up front to get your book published, and that it might be a while before you get all of that money back. That you as an author have to look at the reality of the market and know that you have a lot of competition and that it's not going to be as easy as you write the book, you become rich.
But if you manage your expectations, go into it with your eyes wide open, then you can manage your finances to survive the lean years as you build up your base of readers, who will hopefully be growing, with each passing novel. It's not all about money. The true joy of it all is when somebody actually reads your book and tells you they like it, because there is no greater feeling of accomplishment than knowing that your book has successfully entertained someone. Huge sales and massive amounts of money would be great, but when it come down to it, knowing that people are enjoying what you're writing is a very satisfying feeling, which you really can't put a price tag on.
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