On the importance of Hugh Howey
Hugh Howey website
Some of you might be asking, "Who is Hugh Howey?"
Well, if you are a self-published author you should find out who he is very quickly. I've included a link to his website and excellent blog. If you drop him a line mention my name. Not because it will mean anything to him, I just think it would be cool if he knew my name.
Anyway, Hugh Howey is the bestselling author of Wool and several other books. He is the gold standard when it comes to indie authors.
Mr. Howey, decided to self-publish Wool because he is from the future. Okay, not really, but he has proven himself to be more than just a great writer; he is a visionary.
Howey could see that ebooks were the wave of the future, he could see that self-publishing offered more options than traditional publishing, he saw the value in an author having a chance to grow an audience.
You might ask yourself what was his secret? What kind of marketing caused his book to be a breakout hit?
The answer is none. There was no grand marketing scheme, no instant-bestseller button that he pushed. Howey told an interesting story in an entertaining fashion and people read it. Then those people told other people and they read it. Then (like in the old Heather Locklear commercial) they told some friends and so on, and so on, and so on...
After his brilliant success (including selling 20,000 to 30,000 copies a month. Yes, A MONTH!) Howey hooked up with an agent and they decided to hunt around for a very specific kind of publishing deal.
Howey turned down two seven-figure advances to sign a six-figure advance with Simon and Schuster, which allowed him to keep his digital publishing rights. It was a groundbreaking deal that made him into a "hybrid author".
Hugh Howey has written the blueprint to self-publishing success. No, there is no secret. All you have to do is write a great story in an entertaining fashion and then get lucky.
But if you keep doing it, if you keeping plugging away (and if your writing is good enough) you will get there.
If you do, the smart bet is to follow Howey's advice and hold on to your digital rights. Books go in and out of print all the time; digital is forever.
Some of you might be asking, "Who is Hugh Howey?"
Well, if you are a self-published author you should find out who he is very quickly. I've included a link to his website and excellent blog. If you drop him a line mention my name. Not because it will mean anything to him, I just think it would be cool if he knew my name.
Anyway, Hugh Howey is the bestselling author of Wool and several other books. He is the gold standard when it comes to indie authors.
Mr. Howey, decided to self-publish Wool because he is from the future. Okay, not really, but he has proven himself to be more than just a great writer; he is a visionary.
Howey could see that ebooks were the wave of the future, he could see that self-publishing offered more options than traditional publishing, he saw the value in an author having a chance to grow an audience.
You might ask yourself what was his secret? What kind of marketing caused his book to be a breakout hit?
The answer is none. There was no grand marketing scheme, no instant-bestseller button that he pushed. Howey told an interesting story in an entertaining fashion and people read it. Then those people told other people and they read it. Then (like in the old Heather Locklear commercial) they told some friends and so on, and so on, and so on...
After his brilliant success (including selling 20,000 to 30,000 copies a month. Yes, A MONTH!) Howey hooked up with an agent and they decided to hunt around for a very specific kind of publishing deal.
Howey turned down two seven-figure advances to sign a six-figure advance with Simon and Schuster, which allowed him to keep his digital publishing rights. It was a groundbreaking deal that made him into a "hybrid author".
Hugh Howey has written the blueprint to self-publishing success. No, there is no secret. All you have to do is write a great story in an entertaining fashion and then get lucky.
But if you keep doing it, if you keeping plugging away (and if your writing is good enough) you will get there.
If you do, the smart bet is to follow Howey's advice and hold on to your digital rights. Books go in and out of print all the time; digital is forever.
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