An inside scoop on self-publishing success!
At a time when self-publishing has launched the careers of NYT Bestselling giants like Colleen Hoover, this previously disdained and even stigmatized way of getting your work out has begun to command new respect from agents and publishers alike. For many authors, self-publishing is looking more and more attractive as a Plan B. And for some authors, it has moved into the pole position of Plan A altogether.
Wendy Adair was a Plan B author. After failing to find an agent, she decided to give self-publishing a try. Her first book, The Broken Hallelujah, has since won a bronze medal from the Independent Publishers Book Awards and was a finalist for the International Book Award and the Page Turner Award. The imprint she set up, Bungalow Books, has gone on to publish her Brentwood Women Mysteries series, Deliver us from Evil . . . and the Six O'Clock News and Deadly . . . as a Walk in the Park. A third title, Murder . . . from Time to Time, is due out this year.
Alyssa Jarrett, also a Plan B author, is about to launch the third title, Love and Paklava, in a five-part “rom-com with extra com” series that she is bringing out herself, under her imprint Geek Chic Press. A tech marketer, Alyssa thought using her marketing background to market her own books made sense. Having seen her press pack where each book has a tagline, I would agree. Her first title, Love Apptually (Tagline: When high tech meets high fashion), came out only in May 2024, followed a lightning-five-months later by Love on the Rocks (Tagline: When it comes to love, falling is encouraged). (The tagline for Love and Paklava is: She’s betting big. He’s playing for keeps.)
Lynn Rankin Esquer is a rarer Plan A author who knew she wanted to self publish from the start. She set up X&L Press to bring out My Paperback Cape: The Unlikely Odyssey of a Bookworm, and The Unmooring of Mrs. Mango. Then, with a cozy mystery series planned, she attended several (excellent!) workshops on the current publishing landscape to double-check which path might be right for her. This only cemented her decision to bring out her first Order Out of Chaos Mystery, Murder, Mess, and the Tangerine Dress, under her X&L imprint. Having set down in black and white what success would look like for her, she knocked her goals out of the ballpark within two months.
All three authors have no regrets about taking on the job of publisher themselves, although all will admit to some challenges or disadvantages. All deem these outweighed by the benefits, and celebrate their journeys as successes—but maybe for different reasons. And all found a slightly different approach or set of skills pivotal to getting the success they wanted.
Join us on Thursday, April 24th, 5:30-7:00pm PT, when these three authors will sit down with me to discuss their decisions, how they found the self-publishing landscape, the benefits and challenges of going this road, and the one particular skill, strategy, or insight they believe was the secret to their success. Even if you have no intention of self-publishing, it’s always good to know what you don’t know! You can save your seat here.
For those of you who are in fact preparing to query, don’t forget that Heather Lazare, Lisa Manterfield, and I have a one-day query-letter-writing workshop and retreat in Half Moon Bay coming up on September 6th. Attendance is juried in and limited to 12 participants. If you think you might like to join us, you can register here to receive a submissions package when full details become available. (Soon, I promise!)
And last but not least, for those of you who missed the free Scrivener workshop with Natasha Yim last month, here is the recording. Even those who considered themselves experienced Scrivener users found a few new tricks, so enjoy!
