Pick Your Path

Unraveling the Myth that Self-Published Authors are Taking Deals Away from Traditional Publishing Authors

Today I want to piggy-back off my client, Kelly Beck’s, Substack article titled The State of Traditional Publishing. In it, Kelly talks about the recent upsurge of traditional publishers taking on previously published or self-published titles, and how it can feel a bit disheartening to authors in the query trenches who’ve been living by the age-old advice that a self-published title won’t ever be picked up by traditional publishing.

I’d like to offer an agent’s view on this topic in hopes of giving authors in the traditional lane a bird’s eye view of what it takes to be a successful self-published author (by traditional publishing standards), and why some of these books are being picked up by trad publishing.

But before I do that, let me make a disclaimer. In this section, I’m defining “successful self-published author” by the standards for what it takes to secure a traditional publishing deal for an already published title. This definition does not take into account the many facets and levels of success, and should not leave anyone feeling “less” successful by hitting the criteria to make the crossover. A better, more broad, definition for “successful” self-published author is anyone who is happy with the path they’ve chosen and is achieving the reader reach or income from self-publishing that conforms to your own definition of success. So please don’t allow this essay to define your success. YOU define your own success. Hard stop.

Now onto what I’d like to say…

In the last year, I’ve taken on several self-published authors and, having been in this industry for roughly a decade, I can absolutely confirm that the advice has almost always been not to self-publish if you want that book to be picked up by a traditional publisher. And while that advice has changed somewhat, it still holds true for the majority of all authors.

Let me begin by stating in unequivocal terms: self-published authors are not taking spots away from traditionally published authors. Hard stop. With that said, it’s also true that successful self-published authors are signing deals with far more frequency than ever before. But the problem is that, when looking at those deals, one key factor—or key word—is being overlooked: successful.

So let’s start by defining the term, successful, as it applies only to self-published authors hoping to get traditional book deals.

1. A successful self-published author is one who has a proven record of understanding the industry and their readers, and has the knowledge and ability to promote both themselves and their product.

2. A successful self-published author usually has astronomically high sales numbers and reader loyalty.

3. In most cases, a successful self-published author doesn’t need a traditional publishing deal. They’re usually already making four to six figures per month, so they neither need the money to pay their bills, nor to define their success. They can and do walk away from the deal if it doesn’t meet their needs.

Simply stated, becoming a successful self-published author doesn’t begin and end with writing a really good book. In fact, the best way to become an unsuccessful self-published author is by not understanding that key piece of information. And, for what it’s worth, my humble opinion as an agent is that becoming a successful self-published author by industry standards is far harder than becoming a successful traditionally published author.

Let me clarify, there is no right or wrong way to publish, and choosing your path is a very personal decision. With that said, then, I’m sure you’re wondering why I think self-publishing is harder. Let me break it down for you:

A successful self-published author is not only the writer, but also the financial backer, the business manager, and the the marketing guru. The job of making that book successful isn’t just about writing a great book, but it’s in learning how to sell that book. It’s a job for two or more people, each working a 40-hour work week, often done completely by the writer.

On the traditional side of publishing, the author can usually wear only one hat and hand over almost everything after the writing and editing process is done. They can usually work a second job, if they need. But the self-published author has to put on multiple hats, often stepping entirely out of their comfort zone by marketing when all they really want to do is write. It’s usually their full-time job, and they need the income from the books they sell to put food on the table.

To get a clearer view of what successful self-publishing entails, here’s a list:

1. The successful self-published author has a release strategy. They’ll usually have written at least two books—often three—before ever putting the first one up for sale, and and those second and third books are ready to go when the first book drops. When that first book releases, the purchase links for Book 2 and a relase date is clear so they can immediately pull in readers of that first book to purchase the second.

2. The successful self-published author studies the industry. They know their genre and the demographics of their audience. This piece is critical in learning how to market their book and “categorize” it for best placement on Amazon after it’s written.

3. The successful self-published author starts with a clear marketing strategy, and they’re not afraid to make tweaks to that plan for what’s working or not working for best success.

4. The successful self-published author bankrolls the entire project. This means they dig deep in their usually limited bank accounts to pay for a good editor (sometimes as much as $3,000 per title), a good cover artist (can cost several hundreds of dollars), sometimes purchases marketing software like RocketReach (about $200), and maybe even purchase formatting software like Vellum (about $250).

5. The successful self-published author will pay for targeted marking ads (price varies depending upon platform, frequency, etc).

6. The successful self-published author will spend hundreds of hours a month building their platform through social media, newsletters, and personal appearances.

7. The successful self-published author is a creative thinker, often thinking “outside the box” for how to improve and better market their product.

8. The successful author isn’t only a writer, they’re a business person—the CEO of their own company.

Bottom line is this: successful self-published authors very rarely fly by the seat of their pants, and they almost never just write the book and upload it to Amazon. Still, even taking all of these “right” steps isn’t always enough to make a title successful enough to secure a traditional publishing deal. From my experienced even a successful author has to meet other criteria which often includes:

1. The title(s) in question must be “newish,” meaning usually not more than two or three years old.

2. The title(s) in question must usually have a thousand or more positive reader reviews.

3. The title(s) in question usually must maintain insanely high Amazon rakings—the higher the better, but better than the top 500 in each category is optimal.

4. The title(s) in question often requires a million or more Kindle Unlimited page reads per month since publication. (Personally, I think any author who boasts hundreds of thousands of page reads per month is successful; but for traditional publishers, that’s often not successful enough).

5. The author usually needs tens of thousands of newsletter subscribers, and probably a Facebook Group with thousands of active users.

6. It helps if the author has gone viral on BookTok.

In the simplest terms, successful self-published authors are not just good writers and storytellers, they are meticulous business people. They’re doing all the leg work and paying all the expenses in the hope that their books will be successful. And sadly—regardless of how much planning they do in advance or how much money they throw at their projects—many don’t find the level of success necessary to secure a traditional publishing contract.

But, when they hit some of these goals, a self-published author can be very attractive to publishers, and for good reason. In today’s publishing world, many publishers have less money than ever before to take a book to the top of the charts, so they’re looking for self-starters—from all of their authors. As a result, they want authors who aren’t sitting back waiting for someone else to do all the marketing. They want authors who are hungry to be partners; those who are willing and able to work equally for the book’s success from beginning to end. And honestly, a successful self-published author is, to editors, a proven self-starter as evidenced by their marketing track record and sales numbers—and that’s very appealing to publishers.

So while I fully support any author who chooses to self-publish, please don’t see it as “the easy way” to get a traditional publishing deal. There’s nothing easy about it. Even when you do everything right, there’s a good chance your self-published title—through no fault of your own—won’t take off in ginormous ways. I’ve seen self-published authors do all or most things right and still never get more than the ten or fifteen sales. And, on a few occasions, I’ve seen self-published authors do very little “right” and take off organically in major ways. But for most self-published authors, going it alone in the indie world is very hard work that requires a lot of self-starting, motivation, constant trial and error, and an unwillingness to give up.

To those trying to decide whether to go the indie route and self-publish, do it for the right reasons. Do it because you want the control and you want to get your book out into the world. Do your research and make sure you financially back your product so it sells. But don’t do it if your goal is to get a traditional publishing deal. Because all things considered, I believe most authors with agents have a better chance of securing a traditional publishing deal than even the most successful indie authors. Because at the end of the day, the best you can do is write a good book and decide which path you think is the best fit for you. And if you’re not sure, try both.

For tips on self-publishing, check out Ines Johnson’s Craft Courses.

For help with social media marketing, consider purchasing a copy of Mal Cooper’s Help! My Facebook Ads Suck.

For a list of vetted editors, check out my website. I’m constantly adding to this list as I find new editors.

If you’re new to the querying world, check out QueryTracker.

If you don’t know where to start and want to know more about publishing in general, check out Writer’s Market 100th Edition: The Most Trusted Guide to Getting Published.

And if you have other helpful resources for those trying to make this difficult decision, please feel free to add them in the comments.