by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
On Monday’s post, I received a comment from Colleen…she was interested in hearing more about balancing or approaching life as a hybrid writer—someone who is both traditionally published and self-published.
She mentioned (and she’s right) that many self-pubbed/indie authors aren’t at all interested in being traditionally published. She was curious about how I handle both worlds.And…it’s interesting sometimes. But for me, a job is a job. I have traditionally published series with readers who want more books, so I’m providing them more books. I recently signed a contract with Penguin for more mysteries in the Southern Quilting series.
How I manage the two parts of my writing life:
Since I was traditionally published before I was self-pubbed, I don’t have expectations about my having much input into the production side for traditional publishing. I work well with my editors, I hit my deadlines, I promote in a quiet way. I’ve got readers who enjoy these series and I’m not planning on walking away from the series or those readers while I’m still being asked to write books for them.
That being said—my bread and butter is the self-pub—the Myrtle Clover series. While I put self-pubbed projects on hold to finish traditionally published ones (they’re higher priority because I’m paid in advance and because I have a deadline in my contract), I always return to the self-pubbed projects as soon as I can.
I’m not one of those who enjoys the control I get with self-pub. I enjoy the royalties I get there, but the production process always carries a little residual stress for me. But once it’s done, I do feel a sense of pride with the project—maybe more than I get from my traditionally published ones…simply because I was responsible for the entire package.
What I’ve noticed in the past couple of years:
Readers frequently don’t seem to notice or care which books are self-pubbed and which are my traditionally pubbed—at least, from what I can tell from Facebook messages and emails. But they will fuss that my traditional pubs aren’t on audio and will ask me how one series is and the others aren’t. I’ve never, oddly, had a reader ask me why they couldn’t find a Myrtle Clover book when they went to Barnes & Noble.
I’ve noticed that my print sales are definitely slipping in comparison to my digital sales. But there are still readers who contact me about the lack of availability of particular print titles (and they don’t want to read a digital book).
And, if something isn’t available on Nook, I hear about it. Unfortunately, one of my traditionally published titles isn’t on Nook—I had no idea until I heard from a reader a couple of weeks ago. I contacted Midnight Ink about it and haven’t heard back yet. I sent the reader an old print copy of the book that I had at home—she’d read all my other books but that one. I don’t think of Nook as sending too many sales my way, but there are obviously readers who have invested in that platform and aren’t going to read on other types of devices.
International sales take a while to start up, but once they do, they add up quickly. My international sales were dead until the last 8 or 9 months, and now books are selling briskly there. I suppose it works the same way as it does here with online retailers—once a few sales are generated, your title gets more visibility.
I somehow feel compelled to tell family and friends who ask about my books that I’m doing both traditional and self-pub. I have no idea why I feel this is important to disclose. My disclosure is usually met with complete confusion, which leads me to think that many non-writers aren’t really following the self-pub revolution. They always recognize that ebooks are less-expensive—I do hear that all the time. But they seem surprised that I’m choosing this path. Surprised…and usually concerned. Have my series been discontinued? I’ve found that a brief explanation doesn’t seem to exist.
The more avenues you can open up for already-published content, the better. I didn’t learn this until this year. So you’ve got some published ebooks. If they’re in demand, go ahead and offer them in print and audio. Make your content work harder for you. I’ve been so focused on creating new content that I didn’t think about branching out.
Are you a hybrid writer? Do you have any insights about publishing or self-publishing to share here?
A note: Congratulations to my friend Alex J. Cavanaugh for his new release, CassaStorm! Alex not only has a successful series, but he also has a terrific blog and a wonderful community for writers, the IWSG. You can find my interview with Alex in this month’s newsletter for the Writer’s Knowledge Base and here.
Elizabeth – Thanks for sharing what it’s like to do both traditional and self publication. I think there are real advantages to both, and I can see why you’ve chosen that route. And having read all three of your series, it’s clear that there is no difference in quality among them. To me that says that it’s possible to do both successfully.
Congratulations on your new contract with Penguin!
Interesting! I agree that most people I know don’t have a clue about the publishing industry and the changes it’s going through. Glad your books are doing well internationally!!
What an interesting post! I’m self-published, but I’m still seeking traditional publishing for a chapter book series I’m working on. I like the royalties with self-publishing, but I’m under the impression that if you are traditionally published, your work is seen by more people, and you’re respected as a “real” author.
My hybrid hero!
Hi Elizabeth – all your posts are so well thought out – I agree with Michael.
Interesting one about the traditional side and self-publishing side .. then the audio aspect, the Nook take …
I guess it’s working with what you’ve got and giving it your all – which you most definitely have done .. and caring for your readers – like sending that the lady the hard copy, as it wasn’t up on Nook.
So many different platforms now ..
People who don’t write, or don’t blog – won’t have an idea .. also they can’t see the advantages from our side of the garden fence … it’s green for us – for them it’s blowing little dust around.
Alex is amazing .. as are you – as you both help the community so much ..
Cheers to you – Hilary
Thank you, Elizabeth. You have given me a lot to think about as I start my writing career. Though my first novel will be traditionally published, it’s important I know every available avenue.
Congratulations on your contract with Penguin!
Hi Hilary–Thanks so much for coming by. Yes, I think that’s something else I’ve learned…take care of our super-readers. If there’s someone who reads everything I put out and they run into a glitch somehow…then I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep them buying/reading. If that means sending out a free copy of one of my last remaining copies of an old print book, so be it. :)
You’re right…so many different platforms. And readers who *only* read on the one they’ve got.
I know most of my royalties come from my eBooks.
You have an established platform and can continue doing books any way you please!
And I’ve found most readers don’t care which side of the fence you’re on. I know I don’t really care if a book is self-published or not.
I have found that, when non-publishing people ask about self-publishing, the answer “It’s a hassle but you make more money at it,” is all the answer most need.
I’m not a hybrid writer because I like to write across genres and in “dead” genres. I also enjoy doing the publishing side of things.
Margot–Thanks so much!
Jemi–I guess that we all follow publishing news so closely that we think everyone does!
Sherry–I don’t think your book is necessarily seen by more readers with trad pub–well, it would depend on the publisher. Penguin has a nice arrangement with Barnes and Noble, so I do have my new releases on a cardboard tower thing near the cafe for a month before it’s back on the shelf. But I’m not really sure that most people are shopping at brick and mortar stores anymore. But I know what you mean about the “real writer” thing. I’d say publish one traditionally if you felt you needed the validation…then you could go self-pub for the money.
Alex–Right. I’m not even sure that many readers care, as long as the books aren’t full of errors.
Jack–Ha! Now that would make an interesting super hero…Hybrid Writer. :) Although I’m not sure what my super power would be. Patience? Ha!
Jeanne–That’s the nice thing–you can do this on the side! Just make sure there aren’t any non-compete clauses in your contract. And congratulations!
The Daring Novelist–I think your acquaintances are more accepting than mine! Mine usually say, “Really? Why?” in this baffled voice. And then I end up giving them this, “Oh God” helpless look and having to delve into the whole royalty thing. I always think their eyes will glaze over, but they seem to be listening. I might not be giving them enough credit–they do seem to be interested in the topic once I end up getting into the subject.
I think the pubs are fairly open now to cross-genre, but you’re right about those “dead” or niche genres…not happening. And yet, the *market* is there. That’s what kills me. Can’t understand why they won’t publish to the market now that those genres can be tracked down online (yes, in a bookstore they might have gotten lost. But not on online retail). And hardly any risk to them if they do an ebook only.
“my bread and butter is the self-pub”
I find myself wondering why this is the first time we’ve heard this.
Really?
Here’s a little business tip: find the single best thing that’s happening, and focus relentlessly on that to the exclusion of all else.
Unless your publisher owns the characters in your other series, cut and run. If this involves flames or gunfire, we’ll cover you.
This isn’t about fear, is it? Of course not. Nope. Not you.
Joel–Yep. By about double. Maybe slightly more than double…hard to say because royalties vary.
And…ha! I can picture me and my posse taking back the series. :) Unfortunately…”it’s complicated”. And I think I promise not to talk about contracts when I sign them, so let’s just say that I don’t own the characters for one series and I’m contracted out through 2015 for the other and then it would take some time to get the rights back to those characters afterward. But honestly, it’s not that much of a time commitment…considering my total output of content a year.
Elizabeth, I love this peek into your hybrid writing life! I’ve also noticed that most readers don’t care who published the book, only that it’s a great book. The fact that you sent that reader your personal print copies of one of your books says a lot about you!
My publisher took most of the royalties, but I still had to do all the promotional efforts. Now I’m addicted to self-publishing. Another plus is that you can really be yourself as a self-publisher.
Julie–I felt bad for her, I really did. I’d have to be really frustrated to contact an author about supply issues, like she did. But now I have to figure out how to handle my dwindling print inventory…ha!
Vanessa–That’s true…we can do things our way with self-pub, for sure. Although it’s sort of like building your own house, you know? You get to pick out everything from the ground up–the faucets, the light fixtures, the cabinets, the counters, whether to have tray ceilings or not. The contractors put in all your choices. But then–that’s a ton of work. Yes, you’re happy with the finished product, but whew! The work! And all the decisions associated with it (and I can be a rather indecisive person. Sigh.)
Joel, though I am Indie-only, I can answer one good reason why a successful author like Elizabeth would want to stay hybrid in spite of the low return: she reaches an audience that she wouldn’t reach otherwise.
There is a portion of the audience that doesn’t do ebooks or online shopping — strictly bookstores and libraries. But they aren’t set in stone. That audience will shift and change like everything else in this world.
There is something to be said for having a very broad base of support.
Camille–It’s a good point. There are definitely readers (as I touched on above) who will *only* read print. I’ve received quite a few emails from readers who always read my books at the library, too. They do get discouraged when they can’t find older print titles of mine in a bookstore, though. Usually their library or a library that is linked with theirs will have a copy. I typically have an older demographic as my base, which may make a difference/skew some of my numbers.
I knew someone who didn’t like chocolate.
The idea that there are people who buy their books in a book store instead of online is just as hard for me to grok.
I know it has to be true. But like baby pigeons and sasquatch, they’re hard for me to picture because I’ve never seen one in real life.
Do you have any thoughts on what order to go hybrid? i.e. self-publish first and then find an agent or vice versa? I’ve heard that if your self-published books do well, it can help you find an agent, whereas if your books sell poorly, the stigma can hurt you when looking for an agent. Obviously the better your book, the better you’ll have a chance of selling well and finding an agent regardless of the order, but I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
Joel–As a former room mom I can think of *several* cases in which *children* declined chocolate at a sundae event. I just about fainted. :)
I do have a base that shops in stores…but my demographic is a bit older.
Kelsey–I think it depends on your situation. The biggest reason I hear writers try to trad pub is for validation…nothing wrong with that. As I mentioned in this post, there are many people who don’t understand the publishing climate right now. So if a writer has friends and family (particularly family) who are going to be less-supportive about a time-consuming writing habit because the writer chose to self-pub (and because they don’t understand that’s where the real money is to be had, much of the time), then…I’d be hard-pressed to persuade that writer out of trying to trad pub. If the querying didn’t work out (and the writer could set a sort of mental deadline as to when they’d want a contract–within 9 months? A year? More?) then the writer could always move to self-pub.
Age of the writer also plays a role. Very young writers don’t have that history of growing up in a bookstore…they don’t have decades-long dreams of seeing a physical book on a physical shelf. I did want to see a book on the shelf, but I was in my mid-30s at the time.
Means of the writer might play a role. How much editing is required? The more editing, the more expensive the project. So if a writer has limited means, a good story, but needs an editor (maybe even a developmental editor to improve the story to a different level)…they might want to query trad pub. If it doesn’t work out, they can always save up, get a great freelance editor, and self-pub.
The project itself plays a role. So if it’s a commercial project that can easily be sold….maybe it wouldn’t be bad to query to trad pub. But if it’s commercial, it’s going to sell either way (and I’m speaking as a commercial author who writes to a market).
If it’s a first of a series….no, I probably wouldn’t query unless I was committed to letting the whole thing be trad. pubbed. Although that did work out for me with the Myrtle series since the publisher discontinued it and I got my rights back…but I was lucky. I think publishers are more savvy now about relinquishing rights (unfortunately for us).
Just my thoughts on it…others may (will! ha!) disagree on this.
I just got done reading your article, and really enjoyed it, thank you. You can see some fun self-published books at http://www.fun2readbooks.com where they are in paperback, digital and audio also now. all of them are indie and self published, any questions or help, please ask me, I do this full time and would love to help anyone that needs help or advice, thank you, Vince Stead.