Want to Self-Publish Fantasy? Think Again.

Are you someone who likes the crisp, dry feel of paper between your fingers as you turn a page? Do you relish the ability to toss a book on a beach chair and not care if it falls in the sand?

Or are you someone who prefers the ease and convenience of downloading the latest book of their favorite author without ever needing to change out of their pajamas? Someone who loves having a virtual library at your fingertips?

For book lovers the world over, this is an interesting time. The industry responsible for providing readers with countless hours of enjoyment is in flux. Digital publishing arrived on the scene with the swift fierceness of a Category 5 hurricane, battering the traditional publishing world, and laying waste to the decades-old ways things have been done. Physical book sales fell, bookstores closed. For the moment, the dust is still settling, the full ramifications of what the industry will look like in five, is a hotly debated issue amongst many.

Yet while this sea change has surely affected readers and publishers, it has arguably had an even larger impact on another group of individuals: self-published authors.

Digital publishing has made it incredibly easy for an author to choose a route that, fifteen years ago, was unthinkable.

When print-on-demand (POD) companies such as Lightning Source (1997), Lulu (2002),and CreateSpace (2005) entered the scene, they provided authors an avenue to print their work on their own, without the need for a traditional publisher. This was—and still is—simultaneously a good and bad thing. Good in the sense that anyone can get his or her work out there. Bad in the sense that…well, anyone can get his or her work out there. Poorly edited, typo-ridden work was prevalent, unfortunately coloring many people’s opinion about self-publishing and drowning out the real gems.

POD companies earned the derisive term ‘vanity press’ in that they were only good for one thing: feeding an author’s ego to get his or her book in print.

The problem with all POD books—good or bad—was distribution. People could buy direct or, in the case of CreateSpace, via Amazon. But it was all online. An indie author would never see his or her book on a bookstore shelf unless they either, a) successfully lobbied the individual store to purchase a few, or b), snuck in a copy tucked in your waistband and placed it on the shelf yourself. A rather ineffective strategy, yes?

Some, like Christopher Paolini, made it big pursuing the print self-publishing route, but only through an incredible amount of work and sacrifice. He and his family spent well over a year putting every bit of effort toward marketing Eragon, calling schools to set up presentations, contacting individual bookstores, going to book and renaissance fairs. Not an easy path to take.

Ah…but then came the eBook and things quickly changed for the independent author.

With the advent of the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and dozens of other ways to consume eBooks, the difficulties for self-published authors shifted. Distribution was no longer the problem. In seconds, a reader could have your book in his or her hands.

The new issue? Exposure. If no one knows who you are, it does not matter how easy it is to acquire your work. There have been a number of great successes in the self-published ebook realm. Amanda Hocking. John Locke. Barbara Freethy. Michael Prescott. E.L. James. But they are the grand exception to the almost-depressing rule.

The stark truth of self-publishing is this: while it has never been easier to do it, do not expect to make much of a living doing so. The odds are against you.

Taleist, a blog dedicated to helping writers become published authors, conducted a survey of 1,007 self-published authors in February 2012 and recently released their findings. Not a Gold Rush (available exclusively at Amazon) has the full set of findings, but a few things stand out.

· Less than 10% of self-published authors are making 75% of the money.

· The average annual income of self-published authors in 2011 was $10,000

· Half made less than $500

Read that last one again. Less than half made a total of $500 last year.

When breaking down the different types of fiction, the results are even more startling.

· The Romance genre earned 170% more than everyone else

· Science-fiction writers averaged $3800 (vs. the $10,000 overall)

· Fantasy authors fared even worse, earning on average $3200

Tales of those who have achieved great success can be inspiring. Their stories are the fuel for dreams and hopes, much as a lottery ticket is for the next big jackpot. It is possible, it will happen to someone, but it is best that most self-published authors keep the reality of the situation in mind.

However…

All is not doom and gloom. There is a very real, very tangible benefit for new authors who choose to go the self-publishing route. It offers one a chance to prove himself or herself, to build a loyal readership—slowly, mind you—, and to prove the work itself is viable, marketable, and has an audience. If an author accomplishes this, doors open that would have remained forever shut had the manuscript languished on a hardrive for eternity.

Should an author choose to self-publish, be sure to do it right. Contract professional help: an editor, designer, and a copyeditor. An author who goes it entirely alone is begging for obscurity.

Have the dream, hold onto it, refuse to let it go. However, never forget the very real truth: it’s a hard road to take.