These Indie Authors Prove that Success in Self-Publishing is Possible
Authors now have more options than ever before for publishing their work. Outside of traditional publishing, there are small presses, hybrid publishers, and the option that gives them the most control of all: Self-publishing.
Though stigma still exists in some traditional publishing circles, gone are the days when self-publishing was easily laughed off as a waste of time — indie authors are building audiences, making sales, and creating fresh, exciting art. What’s more, recent data collected by the Alliance of Independent Authors found that the incomes of self-published authors are rising, with 28 percent of those surveyed earning more than $50,000 in a year.
Success in self-publishing is possible, and these indie authors are proof. Read on for their thoughts on breaking into the self-publishing industry.
Freydís Moon
Freydís Moon is a bestselling author, tarot reader, and poet. When they aren’t writing or divining, Freydís is usually trying their hand at a recommended recipe, practicing a new language, or browsing their local bookstore. They’ve been published in many markets, including Strange Horizons and The Deadlands, and they are a #1 Bestseller in Transgender Romance across multiple titles. They have been reviewed in The New York Times and won the Queer Indie Award for Best Erotica in ‘22. You can find their novellas and novels wherever books are sold.
As an indie author, what does “success” mean to you?
That’s such a good question! Success is so incredibly subjective and it takes many shapes and sizes. For me, personally, success means being able to make writing my career. I’d love to be secure and stable enough to focus entirely on books and change my full-time day-job to my part-time hobby. A basic switcheroo, if you will. I also think it’s really, really difficult to nail down what success actually means when every author has a different perspective. Some authors associate success with the New York Times “bestseller list” (I am not one of those), and others see the height of their success at receiving fanart, or penning an audiobook deal, or maybe selling film/TV rights. Some people are super comfortable with their success coming to fruition the moment they’re published, or the day they organically find their book in a bookstore. Success can be finishing a manuscript, finding the perfect peer network, partnering with a savvy agent, but all in all, it’s determined by hope. What’re you hoping to find as an author? What’re you hoping to gain? There’s success in watching what you hoped for become reality. Connecting with readers, editing a complex scene, selling to a new territory—those are all successes!
What accomplishments are you most proud of so far in your self-publishing career?
At this point, I think I’m most proud of HEART, HAUNT, HAVOC. Hmmm, I mean, I would say WITH A VENGEANCE, too, because that book truly terrified me to publish, but I always knew it would be messy, turbulent, and a little chaotic. The reception to VENGEANCE was so warm and heartfelt and surprising—I can’t wait to unleash the fully remastered version in the near future—and even though I’m super happy with how VENGEANCE tore through the bookish world, I’m still most proud of HEART, HAUNT, HAVOC. I’ve talked very openly about this on social media, but I really questioned the worth of Colin’s and Bishop’s story due to how many strange rejections I received from both agents and publishers. Agents couldn’t see the market for a queer gothic novella; small publishing houses didn’t think it was weird, horrific, or specific enough to find a readership; an editor at a Big 5 simply ghosted me after requesting the full during a pitch contest. I was really, really disheartened.
But I partnered with an incredible illustrator, M.E. Morgan, who designed the exterior and interior of the novella and—after seeing it so lovingly packaged—I decided to put my all into marketing, promoting, and tossing HEART, HAUNT, HAVOC into the world. Surprise, surprise, we’re about three months post-release and #hearthaunthavoc has almost 90,000 views on TikTok, 200,000 pages read on KU, and has sold thousands of copies. It’s an interesting thing, knowing I was at my lowest with this little book, so close to giving up, and it’s the project that caused my entire career to rise. I’m nowhere near where I’d like to be (speaking to the question above re: success) but if I would’ve listened to critique from gatekeepers, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am. The entire experience with HAVOC taught me to trust my gut and I’m extremely proud of who I am as a creator today because of it.
What misconception about self-publishing do you most want to debunk?
Oh, wow. There’s so many, but I think the big ones are: “You won't make as much money if you self-publish” and “You won't have the same kind of editorial support in self-publishing.” These, in relation to traditional publishing (finding an agent, going on submission, finding a publisher, taking a deal) are completely false. You can definitely find financial stability within self-publishing if you’re savvy, adaptable, and if you package a trendy product. You can also hire private editorial support that is on par with editorial staff at any traditional house. Being in complete creative control of my stories, timeline, cover art, and marketing techniques is a huge selling point for me, personally. I know a lot of people don’t want to be in charge of any of that, but most traditional publishers and agents strongly encourage authors to do the majority of the heavy-lifting when it comes to marketing/events/etc, anyway.
So, honestly, with what most major houses are typically willing to pay (it’s low, it’s really low), how agents have been treating authors, and the overlap of editorial staff maintaining careers as authors, it’s just a better formula for success to invest in my own business as a creator. There’s been a wave of transparency at an author-level lately. Writers have been speaking out about the realities of traditional publishing, how much they’re really getting paid, how many books they’re really selling, how opaque and volatile the market really is. My biggest hope is that this trend continues, creators talk frankly and kindly about realistic career roadmaps, and that gatekeepers are sufficiently humbled. I think there’s merit to going the traditional route, of course, but I don’t think the industry has been fair, realistic, or graceful with its primary asset: authors. And I sincerely hope writers who are on their publishing journey realize that the industry would cease to exist without them.
What is your best piece of advice for aspiring indie authors?
Be kind. I think that’s my biggest one. Lift up your colleagues, be honest, lead with kindness, and find a network of peers who will encourage you, vent with you, and give you advice. It’s much, much easier to build bridges and it’s certainly not productive to burn them, so I would always suggest staying away from Goodreads (once you’re published, I personally believe it’s impolite to star-rate or review books unless you’ve been asked to provide a professional blurb/endorsement). Take breaks from social media. Seriously, do it. Go on hiatus, work on your craft, get away from the discourse. Have fun! Writing and creating is such an exciting, complicated, beautiful skill, and it takes a lot of energy to nurture it, grow it, and sustain it. Take your time, be nice, and never, ever pull the ladder up behind you.
M.A. Wardell
M.A. Wardell lives near the ocean with his husband and cats. When he isn’t writing, he’s snuggling those cats, reading all the rom-coms, walking to unravel plot points, and taking long hot baths. Teacher of the Year is his fiction debut, and he’s plotting to play matchmaker again soon.
As an indie author, what does “success” mean to you?
Success means writing the stories I want, how, and when I want. Wow, I sound like a control freak. Ha! But that is part of it. A massive draw for me to self-publish was just that—control. Naturally, I have a vision for my book, but also the marketing, the cover, all of it. My goal is to support myself with my fiction writing, and I am still determining how long that will take, but I’m optimistic.
What accomplishments are you most proud of so far in your self-publishing career?
I’m blown away by people’s reactions to Teacher of the Year. I don’t know what I expected, but this wasn’t it. Knowing I’ve written a story that has touched people, that causes them to write reviews, create videos, bake cakes, and draw fan art, overwhelms my heart. Engaging with readers, reading reviews, and hearing how my book touched people makes me incredibly proud.
What misconception about self-publishing do you most want to debunk?
That you can only reach readers with a traditional publishing house behind you. The fact is, most traditionally published authors still do the bulk of their own marketing. If you believe in your book, your passion will sell it.
Another misconception, if you give your book away for free before publication, nobody will be left to buy it. Yes, each ARC is the loss of a potential sale, but the fact is, you need people who love your book to champion it. There’s a reason traditional publishers give away HUNDREDS (sometimes thousands) of ARCs on NetGalley. It’s a numbers game. As indie authors, we play the game on a much smaller scale, but we need to play it.
What is your best piece of advice for aspiring indie authors?
Make author friends! Most authors (indie and traditional) are incredibly gracious, friendly, and helpful. Writing can feel solitary. The key has been to have friends I can go to with ideas, venting, and support. They've done it before, are going through it now, will go through it, or know someone who can help.
Rachel Bowdler
Rachel Bowdler is a freelance author, editor, and sometimes photographer from the UK. She spends most of her time away with the faeries. When she is not putting off writing by scrolling through Twitter and binge-watching sitcoms, you can find her walking her dog, painting, passionately crying about her favourite fictional characters, and co-hosting the Swords and Sapphics podcast with her best friend. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @RachelBowdler_. Head to her website: rachelbowdler.co.uk.
As an indie author, what does “success” mean to you?
My idea of “success” changes often depending on where I’m at in my journey. As a young indie author, I try not to peg too much on the end goal. Success was completing my first novella, then releasing my first paperback, then getting my first sale/review, etc. As a queer writer, I think the thing that makes me feel “successful” is just to have my books reach their intended audience, and hopefully for the stories to resonate and inspire the feeling of warmth and acceptance in the way that LGBTQ+ books often have for me. Of course, sales are a huge part of it too, but even during the slow months, getting tagged in a random review or receiving a kind message from a reader who enjoyed my stories is something to be proud of. It’s easy to feel disheartened if you look at the numbers, and in an ideal world, mine would be much higher—so to sustain my passion for writing, I try to focus on the feeling I leave my readers with and can only hope one day my books will be loved widely.
What accomplishments are you most proud of so far in your self-publishing career?
I always have a real moment of pride when I receive my physical author copies. When I was younger, I always loved to imagine holding my own book and smelling the pages (I love that book smell!), so the fact I now get to experience something I once only dreamed about makes me happy. Also, any time I’m invited to do a blog post like this or appear on a podcast, etc., I have a little moment where I realise that my writing isn’t just contained within the few people in the community I chat with, but it’s reaching beyond that slowly too. People I don’t know are reading my books without me pleading for them to! In a more general sense, I’m just proud to be part of the conversation in whatever way I can, whether that’s on social media or through the characters in my books. It’s easy to forget how important it is to see underrepresented identities having their stories told, so that I even have the opportunity to contribute to that pride is something special.
What misconception about self-publishing do you most want to debunk?
That we are failed authors unable to get an agent or book deal! Many people in the community never entertain the idea of traditional publishing simply because of the restrictions it can impose on their creations, so while I’m lucky to be a bit of a hybrid author, with an agent and publisher and my own indie career, most self-publish as a first choice, and neither option is worse than the other. There are pros and cons to both! Another thing that irks me is the stigma surrounding self-published books; the idea that it’s automatically lower quality because it hasn’t come from a huge publishing house full of industry professionals. People seem to be searching for typos and mistakes when it comes to indie books, whereas we skip over ones from traditional presses every day! Indie authors still put in a great deal of time, money, and effort to get their stories to the highest standards and it’s unfair that many readers don’t want to give them a chance because of preconceived ideas.
What is your best piece of advice for aspiring indie authors?
Don’t forget to put your love of writing first. There are lots of genre conventions and tropes in mainstream literature that people assume they have to adhere to in order to be successful, and in that, they lose sight of the story they originally wanted to tell. I’m guilty of it. But when it comes to writing, you have to put the external factors aside and write for yourself. You can focus on the rest once the draft is done, but it’s going to be difficult to even get that far if you aren’t enjoying it—and difficult to market that book once it’s done!
That, and be sure to engage with the community. I’ve found that if you support authors, they will support you right back, and it’s been proven recently that shouting loudly about indie books can have a huge impact on the industry. It’s such a welcoming place to be, and so lovely to be able to share this passion with others, so don’t be shy—chat with people, share their work, make a few friends, stay inspired and true to yourself, and you can’t go wrong.
