My First Year as a Self-Published Author: The Hard Truth

As I write this post, I can’t help but feel a little melancholy about the past twelve months. It was exactly a year ago that I unfurled my hand and released my debut domestic thriller/time-travel novel, TimeBlink, into the world.

Even if you haven’t gone through the process yourself, you can probably imagine the thrill of the ride. The scenes you dreamed up, the characters you brought to life, the worlds you crafted out of thin air were now floating around in the universe for God and everyone to see. And there was no going back.

It’s not for the faint of heart.

After the initial hullaballoo dies down and your friends and family members have scooped up copies for themselves, reality sets in. Hard. Your book sales flatline, your ranking plummets, and little by little, the dignity and optimism you enjoyed previous to launch day trickles out of your wounded soul. At least that’s how it went for me.

As much as I wanted to extol the triumphs of the past year, the purpose of this article is to talk about my whole journey, be it good, bad, or downright awful. Buckle in. I’m starting with the awful so I can finish off with the (mostly) happy ending.

Revelation #1: My book wasn’t floating around in the universe for God and everyone to see.

Nope. It was, in fact, a teeny tiny speck of dust whirling through the literary cosmos without a hope in hell of being discovered—that is, unless someone pointed to it and shouted, “There it is!” Someone who knew my book inside out. Someone who’d invested huge chunks of time, energy, and money into its creation. Someone who knew, without a doubt, that there indeed existed an audience for a novel with a slightly unconventional mix of genres. Someone who was invested in the book’s success a hundred and ten percent. You guessed it: that someone was me.

But how on Earth was I going to convince total strangers to take a chance on a nobody first-time author like me?

If you’re even moderately acquainted with the business world, you’re probably thinking: Well, duh. It’s called advertising.

Okay, I’m not that naïve. I didn’t really believe the book would sell itself. BUT, I will admit that I was wildly underprepared for the mammoth task of doing all my own marketing and promotion. I just hadn’t given it much thought before launch day. Granted, my self-publishing mentor, Lee, had done his level best to educate me on that front (read about it here). I’d also immersed myself in the indie-author community up to my earballs, talked to other authors, and read all the books. The problem was that I’d already invested so much money in my novel, and the thought of spending another dime made me nauseous. On the other hand, I knew that if I allowed my book to languish on the shelf with a “wait-and-see” approach, I might never sell another copy.

Would that be so hard? I’d achieved my goal of publishing a book. Couldn’t I just carry on with life as before? Maybe go back to my old job as a medical transcriptionist? But that wasn’t an option for me, both emotionally (I’d come this far, why would I quit now?) and legitimately (due to the changing landscape in the health industry, my old job had become obsolete.).

So, with no solid plan, I chose to give marketing a whirl.

To minimize throwing money into the cosmos alongside my book, I decided to dip my toes into the waters gradually. I experimented with several Facebook ads ($20 at a time) but only had success when my book was discounted or free. Then I tried some paid promos with Bargain Booksy ($65) and Book Adrenaline ($20), which are book promotion services boasting huge mailing lists of voracious readers. I ran these promos when my eBook was on sale for 99¢. The campaigns were moderately successful and garnered about a hundred downloads each, but if you’re doing the math, you’ll realize they were essentially a wash. The best I could hope for is that those readers would go on to leave a review. (I’m still waiting!) Anyway, it’s taking all my willpower to resist spending any more on promoting my book, but resist I must…for reasons that tie into my next point.

Revelation #2: Standalone novels are almost impossible to market.

Months before TimeBlink came out, I joined a bunch of author groups on Facebook. It was there I discovered a widely accepted mantra among self-published authors: in order to sell one book, you must write at least two more. And in quick succession.

I estimate no less than 99% of the successful authors on that platform held this conviction. Yet, I was leery. My book was well-written, tightly edited, and the product of six years of (albeit sporadic) hard work. Surely the quality would measure up against all those hastily written five-book series out there, right?

Wrong.

The top indie authors have reached their level of success using one main strategy: writing books. Lots of them. Not at the expense of quality, mind you. They’ve mastered the art of writing compelling stories—quickly—that readers can’t resist. It’s not unheard of for the more prolific writers to pump out six books a year, a production schedule I aspire to but will never achieve (let’s be real). To put this in perspective, I wanted to launch my second book this month, a year after my first, but I’m currently only about two-thirds finished the first draft. If I really put my mind to it, maybe it’ll be ready by the spring of 2022, but I’m not holding my breath. I have a long way to go. Which brings me to…

Revelation #3: Squirrels can kill a writing schedule.

To be successful in this industry, one needs a combination of three important things: passion, self-confidence, and unwavering self-discipline. Innate talent is helpful too, of course, but without the other three, all the talent in the world isn’t going to guarantee success. Of these traits, fortunately, I’ve got the first two covered. As for the third, if my writing routine were a human condition, it would be labeled bipolar. I’ll go on wild writing binges for days at a time until a squirrel outside my window lures my focus away, and suddenly a week has passed, and the cursor is still flashing in the same spot on my screen as it was seven days before.

The squirrel, of course, represents all the things that pull me away from working on my novel–although I would argue that most of those endeavors relate to my writing business in some form or another. For instance, much of my “Squirrel Time” is spent coming up with content for my Facebook and Instagram pages, writing my monthly blog and newsletter, checking out social media to see what other authors are doing, watching how-to videos on YouTube, tweaking my Amazon blurb for the thousandth time, creating ads, making TikTok videos…you get the idea. Squirrels are busy little creatures.

Revelation #4: My book ain’t gonna make me rich.

Not that I was deluding myself on this point. I didn’t honestly think I’d be the next Liane Moriarty or Lisa Jewell, but I did have high hopes of breaking even during the first year. Wow, did I miss that mark!

For those of you considering embarking on your own self-publishing journey but are wondering about the price tag, here’s a list of what you can expect. Services such as editing, cover design, and formatting can vary greatly in cost, so I’m giving ranges on those instead.

• Website purchase and design: Free to $3000+ (kudos if you can manage this yourself; I found out pretty quickly I am NOT that person)
• Editor: $750 – $5600 depending on level of editing desired (proofreading/basic copy editing/full developmental editing; here’s a great guide to editing costs)
• Copyright Registration: $65
• ISBN number: Free in Canada; $125 in the US for one number (read the basics here)
• Cover design: Free to $500+
• Formatting service: $175+
• MS Office 365: $65 (annually)
• Atticus: $147 (book formatting software which I’ll be using instead of hiring someone)
• Canva: $149 (a graphic design platform that charges annually for the pro plan, but I’ve downgraded to the free version this year)
• Adobe Stock: $30/month (10 assets per month. There are plenty of cheaper—or free—sources for stock images, but Adobe has a massive repository; plus, I prefer the peace of mind of obtaining licenses for the images)
• Marketing & Promotion: Zero to kajillions (I myself have used Facebook, Bargain Booksy, Book Adrenaline, StoryOrigin, and Hidden Gems for a total of about $350)

As you can see, the cost range for self-publishing is wide. One can spend a few hundred dollars by taking a DIY approach or end up spending thousands to get the best of everything. Mine fell somewhere in the middle. Fortunately, now that the big costs are out of the way, my expenses moving forward are going to be drastically reduced. My website is done, and I’ve bought all the programs and apps necessary to do almost everything myself this time around. I’ve also found a much more reasonably priced editor (for a third of the cost of my first one) so already I’m way ahead of the game. Hooray for small victories—which brings us to…

My journey thus far hasn’t been all doom and gloom. I’ve had several encouraging wins to buoy me through the big, disappointing disasters. If you’re still reading this blog, you’re actually contributing to one of my successes. Thank you!

Good Stuff #1: My blog and newsletter

If there’s anything this blog has taught me, it’s the discipline of working on a deadline. It’s no easy task coming up with relevant content every month, especially if you’re a painfully slow and meticulous writer like me. Honestly? I’ve fantasized about discontinuing this blog more than once. And my newsletter, too. Add the ridiculous amount of time it takes to write them to the hours I dedicate to feeding that eternally ravenous social media monster, and well, there’s not a whole lot of time left for my WIP.

Fortunately, I inherited a bit of a stubborn streak from my mom, and I refuse to give up. As it stands, I have just under 500 subscribers to my newsletter, and it’s growing by the day, which will be important when my next book is ready for release. Sign up here to get in on contests, book deals, writing updates, and a hodgepodge of book-related fun.

Good Stuff #2: Sense of accomplishment

Remember the excitement I mentioned earlier? That feeling doesn’t go away. Not completely. There’s a certain kind of satisfaction seeing your book listed on Amazon and Barnes & Noble next to psychological thriller masters like Ruth Ware, Alex Michaelides, and Gillian Flynn. It’s also incredibly motivating. It fuels your desire to keep at it!

Good Stuff #3: Skill development

Oh my goodness, the things I’ve learned how to do, not just in the last twelve months, but also in the year leading up to my book launch. It’s amazing what you can do if you just put your dang mind to it! In a nutshell, here’s what happened after I wrote THE END on my manuscript:

Sent it to beta readers (January 2020); revised it based on their feedback; sent it to my editor (April 2020); designed my cover (hired a graphic designer to put it together); obtained ISBN (August 2020); launched my website (September 2020); wrote my first blog post (October 2020); started my Facebook and Instagram pages, registered for copyright (November 2020); did final editing; worked with publishing coach who formatted my book then walked me through the process on both Amazon and IngramSpark; launched my book (November 11, 2020); launched my newsletter (November 22, 2020); created a YouTube channel (February 2021); produced a book trailer for TimeBlink (February 2021); got my book into local bookstores (May 2021); formatted and published a TimeBlink bonus chapter (Spark) on StoryOrigin (June 2021); joined TikTok (September 2021).

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve also dabbled in designing my own video ads and have learned how to create an ad campaign on Facebook. I’ll be educating myself more on advertising on both Facebook and Amazon once I have more books out.

Good Stuff #4: My fans and supporters! (I saved the best for last)

Whether you’ve read TimeBlink or you’ve checked out this blog or follow my Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram pages, guess what? You’ve supported my writing journey. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done; you have no idea the difference you’ve made, even if it was simply reading this article.

It all boils down to this…

At the end of the day, I’ve certainly evolved as a newly published writer over the past year. I don’t view the public’s apathy toward my brand or even the lack of book sales as failures. They’re learning experiences. They’re character-building exercises. And they are necessary to keep me motivated, humbled, and hungry for success. After all, it’s only been a year. Watch out 2022! I’m coming for you.

Your turn!

Are you an aspiring author? Do you already have a book (or several) floating around in the universe? How’s your marketing going? Better than mine, I bet. I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below. Or email me! I answer all my messages, usually within a week.