Last week I chronicled my journey and how I came around to the idea of self-publishing. Short recap: it’s really not a difficult idea to “come around to” when agents/publishers aren’t buying what you’re selling. However, I made some thesis leaps (quite painful for a man my age) that were not fully supported. I’d like to cover some of those bases first.
Longer recap: women account for 80% of all readers/book buyers. In mysteries, crime, and/or thriller women make up 55%. Again, these numbers are sourced from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and National Public Radio (NPR). Accordingly, that would suggest 45% male readers/buyers in mysteries/crime/thrillers. The actual numbers AAP cites is 37%. Yeah, I don’t follow that math either but I’m a public accountant—unlike publishing—things have to balance in my hustle.
In 2020 American publishers moved over 750 million, (mm) units, (Publishers Weekly). That’s ebooks, hardcover, and paperbacks, fiction, nonfiction, and religious/self-help. Basically, all the marbles. Of those 750mm units, 57% were fiction. Book Ad Report ranks crime, mysteries, and thrillers number two in all subgenres. Crime, mysteries, and thrillers consistently rank in the top five on Amazon. Statista pegs the number at 11% of all fiction sold. generating sales over $728mm in 2020.
Contrary to doomsayers, books are still profitable. This is, of course, depending on your objectives. And objective is the key point in my little process.
The matrix for the publishers is based on units sold against total units moved. Ideally, the books sold exceed the books returned. Which is maybe why the typical royalty structure is fifteen percent to the author. Someone has to cover the publisher’s shipping, handling, and staggeringly bad decisions on what gets published, right?
So, a publisher needs a writer to meet predetermined sales on their print run—which may be anywhere from 3000 hardcover to 20,000 paperback units for a first-time author—for a book to be considered successful. All those expectations are based on a publisher promotions that are largely limited to quarter-page ads in the trade magazines and maybemaybemaybe an end-cap display though none of my writing buddies who are published have EVER gotten an end-cap display.
The overwhelming percentage of marketing is done by the author: websites and blog crawls, book-signings and appearances, buying their own ads, etc.. The author really does ALL of the heavy lifting. Roughly 90-95% of the work… for 15% of the take. Again, in my ledger, this does NOT balance.
How the numbers balance for the indie author
The independent or self-published author, (indie) doesn’t have to cover costs from the imprint’s slate of ill-advised publishing picks. The indie doesn’t have to sell 3000 hardbacks or 20K paperbacks to make profitability, (for the imprint). All the indie has to do is make the amount necessary to cover their costs, (editing, book design, etc.). Profitability is compensation for time and effort and it is wildly subjective. That’s a good thing.
So, an indie doesn’t have to meet a publishers’ matrix or “earn out” to be successful.
For me, it means that I don’t need to target my hardboiled crime books and codeine-addicted car thief to the 55% of women who buy crime, mysteries, and thrillers. Of course I wouldn’t turn down their money. But this really is a sausage show or “dude” book.
By no means will all of the 37% (really this split is messing with me) of dudes who buy crime, mysteries, and thrillers are down for my kind of nasty—and that’s cool. I don’t need to market my little ditty to them, either. I just need to hook those cats who miss Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake and maybe Patricia Hightower. I just need to catch those guys (and dolls) who root for the baddies.
Justification is sketchy...
Unlike some folks my age, I don’t need or want to recapture my youth. Yoda knows, it wasn’t fun the first go ‘round. Wealth is nice, or so I’m told. Fame really seems like a hassle. The trappings of success? Meh. As midlife crisis go, (compared to exotic cars, boats, and/or high-stakes divorces) this writing thingy is relatively cheap. But, yes, you will have to pay. Or I will anyway.
“But, but, but what expense?” You ask...
Back to the business at hand. Though I have three completed manuscripts, I can barely spell “book.” Grammar? Punctuation? Yeah, I got none o’ dat. I’m sure you’ve spotted multiple errors in this piece. Maybe this paragraph. So, yeah, I will be paying someone who’s plumbed the mysteries of syntax to sort out my little crime ditty.
The average editor charges 2¢ per word for copy editing. Developmental editing costs more. Though, I am of the opinion that you can solve most developmental problems with a crit group or (better yet) good beta readers. Note: I do not naysay developmental editors. Logic/plot holes will sink your book and you know if you need that help.
Bottom line, some form of editing is indispensable if you’re self-publishing. The average reader will forgive you one or two errors. But if your book is riddled with misspellings, grammar collisions, and/or shoddy/nonexistent punctuation, you won’t sell another book to that person and their reviews will limit how many you sell to anyone else.
"We eat first with our eyes," Apicius
You know those folks with innate artistic ability? Yeah, me neither. However, a friend of mine did their own cover and illustrations for their children’s book. It looked like it, too. I’m quite sure that the crappy artwork, along with grammar issues, an ugly font, and atrocious “feel” are all reasons why the book failed to sell. Like, at all.
You either have training or a degree in commercial design or you will pay someone to design your cover or your book will languish, unsold. Simple as that.
But wait, there’s more to stress over!
Are you a whip-crack-smart title creator? If you scan the pieces I’ve previously posted you’ll see, rather quickly, that I’m not. One of the very few advantages to traditional publishing is the publisher’s wiz-bang marketing kids will, nine-times-out-of-ten, pick the title regardless of how smart you think you are. Typically they have an education in marketing and thoroughly understand who they’re pitching to and the best title to catch that customer’s eye.
I have no idea how to format a book any better than I understand cover design. The difference is, I won’t attach my name to a product that looks like it was churned out on a drunken lark. A book designer understands formatting for printing and digital media.
Thankfully, there is help. As in hundreds, if not thousands of artists, designers, and editors that are unemployed or underemployed and highly motivated to work their butts off just to be active in their field. That is, for a reasonable fee.
Interior designers (books, not your 1970s sunken living room) will format your book for anywhere from $500 to $1500. The difference is largely based on how much help you need between basic print formatting to digital formatting. Ideally, you’ll get a package deal and may get the cover design as well. Cover designers typically charge between $600 to $1400 but it can go much higher if you want original and/or high quality work. I have no intention of skimping here as I’m haunted by some of the covers I’ve seen.
Where do you find this help?
Jane Friedman states that the best place to find book designers and formaters is from other authors. If you see a book you like, ask that author who did their design and/or formatting. The Independent Book Publishers Association is a tremendous resource as well.
Is it worth it? [Updated]
Amazon pays about 70% of the suggested ebook “cover” price to the author—but as Fiona Quinn points out, that split is only if your book is priced at $2.99-$9.99, (minus a delivery fee depending on the size of the file) your ebook is on Kendell Unlimited, and is Amazon exclusive. Exclusive is a big deal because while Amazon is the big show in the United States, in Canada and parts of Europe, KOBO is the big mover. There are multiple other platforms.
You have to decide if you can live without that unlimited market to get those Amazon checks or you can opt for the wide/unlimited release and then Amazon will only pay off at 35% of ebook price, (minust the delivery fee). In the interest of full disclosure many of those other platforms are much harder to break into than Amazon. Both paths present challenges.
By the way, those remittance rates (minus the hostage-taking) is about the same for KOBO and others in the ebook trade. You can expect roughly 35% of cover price on a print edition. I’ll leave it to you to do the math for how many units you would need to sell to cover costs but I don’t expect to recoup that investment in the first year. Maybe not from the first book.
You have to plan for the long game
Fantasy writer Jim C. Hines said his sales for his first two books were scarcely noticeable. He was on book three or four before they paid for themselves and book five or six before he was making anything approaching his day-gig money. Even then, he couldn’t afford to give up the health insurance and retirement benefits on the day-gig to live off of his royalties. The average published writer makes less than $10,000 a year off of their work.
What was the point, again?
In short writing is, has been, and will always be a labor of love. Sado-masochistic as it is, if you don’t love it, you will NOT be happy with the amount of work you do for the amount of jingles you don’t get. That applies to both traditional and indie-publishing.
There’s still ads to address. Some say Bookbub, others say Amazon, I’m looking at targeted ads on genre-specific publications and/or blogs. But I’ll burn that bridge when I come to it, (wait, that’s not…)
The point is one step at a time. Just like writing the book. Just keep working toward your dream of seeing your work in some unsuspecting readers’ hands. Oh, and more updates as I set those bridges on fire.
The image at the top, "Best Selling Book Genres," is from Published to Death and is use for illustrative/education purposes as covered by the Fair Use Doctrine.
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