Along with the innate freedom of self-publication, there have been a couple of major struggles to balance the euphoria.
One obstacle, which I have often referred to, is marketing. For those of us who aren’t inclined to narcissism, who don’t have a self-promotional bone in our bodies, marketing can be the bane of our existence. We just want to write, but if no one knows we have written, or what we have written, or how to access it, it won’t go beyond our own small world.
I encourage other indie writers—myself included—to reach for help in the marketing department. We cannot be all things to all people, but we can access the tools to gain our goals of promoting our work.
The second obstacle that comes to mind is that of placing our independently published books in brick and mortar stores. My first three books, traditionally published, were carried by local and larger center booksellers for years. I did arrange launches and presented my product, but the outlets were always glad to comply with my request. The reason: they could return any unsold copies to the publisher for a refund.
These same stores have either gently refused my request or passed it over, because they don’t have the same options of returning unsold books. My novels are released as POD (print-on-demand), so once they buy these books, they have no option to return them.
While I realize the difficulties for booksellers, I also think we need to find a way to promote and sell self-published books in the marketplace. There’s no problem with digital copies, of course, and I also publish e-books, but I have readers who either can’t or don’t choose to read digitally. When they ask if my latest books will be available in local stores, I have to direct them to the online store (Amazon or The Book Depository – no shipping cost for TBD), which also creates a barrier for some readers.
This is an ongoing issue that writers with more clout are working to fix, and although I don’t have that kind of influence, I’d still like to add any help I can by informing readers about these problems. Because the number of writers who are publishing independently is not waning; it’s growing steadily.
How can people help? One way might be voicing our concerns (not only as writers but as readers) to booksellers. A practical way to help indie authors is to request their books in bookstores.
Thank you so much, I struggle with this all the time. I thought you’d like to know that Festival of Words in Moose Jaw, along with a couple indie writers, has a seminar coming up in May, dealing with this issue. litcon@festivalofwords.com will get you the information. We need to stick together and help each other out. I plan to go.
Thanks for the heads-up, Carol. I received another message yesterday about the seminar, so that’s a nudge in the right direction. Sounds interesting.
Thanks for articulating these issues so clearly. Yes, marketing can be painful.
As I understand it, along with the no-returns issue of print on demand books is the cost. My local Christian store would have to charge a crazy-high price for a print copy of my books if they ordered from the distributor, just because it’s print on demand and has a higher unit cost. But the store owners are super-supportive, and happy to stock my books on consignment, both on-shelf and for the occasional signing. I order my books directly from the printer at a better price and with a volume-shipping discount, and then they can retail for a decent price. For readers who want print copies and aren’t able to get them in the store at a good price, Amazon is a good way (especially if they buy two and reach the free shipping limit). We’ll just need to keep supporting our local stores by buying other things there 🙂
It’s definitely evolving, Janet. This isn’t a problem that will go away, because independent publishing is here to stay. And as you say, we need to keep supporting one another in this effort.
A lot of small presses use print on demand, too, and they have the same bookstore issues 🙁
That’s true. There must be an answer somewhere that’s agreeable to both parties.