Becky Clark Cornwell http://www.beckyclark.net Self-Published YA Book: An UnCivil War—The Boys Who Were Left Behind

What are the advantages and rewards of self-publishing?

Speed, for one. If you’re talented, you can write, edit, and produce a good book within a year. Dealing with traditional publishers, large or small, can be as slow as a turtle on Valium. Also, all the money from a book sale goes straight to my bottom line. I was at a big book signing with a famous author. He watched in amazement as I stuffed $10 bills right into my pocket (the lion’s share of which was pure carnivorous profit). For every book he signed, he got only 18 cents, which he never actually saw for 6 months. (Of course, when he got his 6-month royalty statement, it had lots more money on it than what I had wadded up in my pocket over a 6-month period.) And I love the autonomy of it all. I can do whatever I want to promote or distribute my book. All the risk is mine, but so is all the reward.

What are the disadvantages and trials?

Self-publishing is like getting a Ph.D. in every aspect of book publishing while sitting on a lighted Roman candle. My biggest problem has been distribution. Grab a hankie and listen to my sad story. Three thousand copies of An UnCivil War were delivered to me in August 2001. Remember what happened in September? Yeah. My marketing plan was all about mailing free copies to reviewers and distributors, but no one was accepting any mail because it might be tainted with anthrax. I had to totally regroup and rethink my plan, which got scaled back to within an inch of its life.

So, I’ve sold those 3,000 copies in lots of weirdly fun ways, none of which I envisioned when I started. Mostly I sell books at book signings during conferences for teachers and librarians, at school visits, or at events for home educators. But I’ve sold books standing in line at the post office when someone asked about the 10 identical envelopes I was mailing.

The other disadvantage is that it’s exhausting doing everything yourself. My humble little business venture is easy compared to many, and I have the luxury of not having to work a day job. But still, I’ve found that I can either write and create or I can handle business. I can’t seem to do both consistently, even though I’m a fairly organized, self-disciplined gal. I find it easier—and certainly more fun—to write than to deal with book production or fulfillment or update my website.

What have you learned about marketing?

I’m one of the rare writers who loves marketing. I already had a solid foundation in it because my husband and I have owned a successful small business since 1994, and it was always my job to do the marketing and promotion. I’m a good schmoozer, I like meeting people, and I’m always happy to talk about myself and my book or writing and publishing. I read a lot of books about marketing too, especially book promotion.

What has surprised you the most about self-publishing?

I guess the most surprising thing to me was how hard it was to land distributors to get my book into bookstores and libraries. And I hear it’s even harder now. Just as I was getting into the Wunnerful World of Publishing, most of the big distributors redefined their terms and wanted the publishers they dealt with to have more than a handful of titles.

Now it’s easier to find distribution in nontraditional channels via the Internet, but that’s an increasingly noisy and crowded marketplace. You need to create some serious buzz to get noticed.

What’s the most important advice you have for people considering self-publishing?

Do your homework. Know what you’re getting into. Seek out people and organizations to help you in your journey. Understand that writing is rewriting and publishing is marketing. Hire an excellent editor who will do everything from checking your commas to seeing your manuscript as a whole. Spend money for a gorgeous, eye-catching cover and spine. If you’re writing for kids, know kids. Your father/mother/spouse/child/neighbor/dental hygienist is not your critique partner—find lots of people who don’t love you to tell you the truth about your writing. Get an ISBN. Barcode your book. Don’t let anything about your book look like you did it yourself. Solicit competitive bids for everything. Check references. Practice safe accounting. Embrace Becky’s Rule of At Least Two: Do at least two marketing things every day, add at least two names to your database, and write for at least 2 hours.