Has anyone had any success self-publishing? (Not including porn.) I've published three novels and eight novelettes and haven't sold a bean.
Has anyone had any success self-publishing? (Not including porn.) I've published three novels and eight novelettes and haven't sold a bean.
How do you publicise your work? Are your books e-books or paperbacks? Do you have a website? You have to shout about your work, Susannah! The big boys of publishing have a budget for publicity (though even they expect new authors to publicise themselves), and they can afford to advertise in papers, magazines, and on their own and their authors' websites.
Do you have a local newspaper where you could write a small piece about your work? Are you on Facebook? There are groups there for different writers of different genres - Historical, for instance, or Dark Fantasy, or probably pretty much anything you've ever imagined. If you have paperback copies, would your local bookshop be interested in stocking a copy or two? You'd have to make sure that the books looked professional, or they would refuse.
A publisher provides a service, and takes payment for it; as a self-published novelist, you have to do all the work he would otherwise do. It's one thing to get your work out there; it's another to make sure it can be noticed from amongst all the rest. Shout - as loud as you can, wherever you can!