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Can You Be A Successful Self-Published Author?

By on April 23, 2019
Can You Be A Successful Self-Published Author? Writer's Life.org

If you were hoping for a traditional publishing contract, yet can’t find any publishing houses or agents who’ll bite, you might well be considering self-publishing as an option to get your book out there and available to the public. Or perhaps you’ve heard too many stories about how difficult it is to get published, and negative stories about those that managed to get one having their books ripped apart, and so have decided to be in control of your book sales and marketing yourself.

Whatever your reason, many authors wonder whether it is indeed possible to become successful as a self-published author? Well, the answer is yes! In fact, Indie publishing can offer writers great earning potential, and it’s never been easier to get your book onto platforms to sell.

There are many of examples of authors who decided to self-publish and went on to become best-sellers. Need some examples to convince you? Let’s take a look:

Still Alice by Lisa Genova - This New York Times bestselling author went down the self-publishing route and has sold over 2 million copies of her book.

Fantasy author Joseph Malik wrote for decades before he decided to self-publish. The Dragon’s Trail rose to the bestseller lists soon after, and he’d never looked back.

The Martian by Andy Weir started as a blog, was turned into a novel, and then became a huge blockbuster starring none other than Matt Damon!

There are, in fact, many many examples of authors who took a punt of self—publishing and went on to make their fortune, and even more who decided to self-publish and while they aren’t multi-millionaires, still manage to make a decent living because of their book sales.

Back in 2014, self-published books accounted for 31% of all ebook sales in the Kindle Store in, and 27% of books on the ebook bestseller list on Amazon, are, yes you guessed it, indie books.

So how do you do it?

Of course, there is no denying that as with traditional publishing there is an element of luck. Sometimes authors just happen to publish the right book at the right time, sell a few copies, sell a few more and suddenly a snowball effect occurs. However, there are also lots of things that are in within an authors control. The things that you can do to try and ensure your self-publishing book is successful are extensive - here are just some of them:

Write the very best book you can
Build your platform before you publish
Have a great website
Use social media but don’t overdo it
Familiarise yourself with everything Amazon offers to help market your book
Try to get as many positive reviews as you can
Learn how to promote your book using social media and other platforms such as Google Ads and Amazon Ads.
Have your book available as an audiobook too.

So are you ready to begin your self-publishing journey? With some research, planning, and effort this could end up being a lucrative and successful option for your work.

bethany cadman

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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