Do you expect your book to be a financial success, or did you self-publish primarily to establish yourself as a fiction writer?

Although self-publishing is not usually a sure or quick route to a financial windfall, one can always, hope, wish and dream. Behind that comes plain hard work. There are many successful self-published authors who have led the way, which gave me the encouragement to try. I’m not sure how it will end up, but the ride has been extraordinary. I did have an established Texas market for Jack Rabbit Moon, which was set in West Texas’ Garner State Park. This has helped regarding sales.

It’s difficult to establish yourself as a fiction writer without having your leg through the door, so yes to both questions.

What are your criteria for considering the book a success?

For me, hearing from readers is the best indicator. When I’m told someone couldn’t put the book down and another missed the characters when they were finished, it is touching on a level beyond monetary success. Many have also inquired rather I’m planning on a series for the novel. Although, I am not, it is splendid knowing I have given them something authentic, well researched and emotionally satisfying. In my mind, that is success.

Did you attempt to interest agent and/or traditional publishing houses in the manuscript?

Yes, to both. And there was interest in the book, but ultimately in each case I was told there was no market for coming of age stories even though the writing was worthy. No market for coming of age stories? I just didn’t buy it. There is nothing new under the sun and that goes for writing. What makes a book entertaining and worth being read is the way the author tells his/her version of the story. The passion in which they relay it. I felt Jack Rabbit Moon delivered, and so I moved forward with it. Writer's Digest believed so too. The novel was an Honorable Mention winner in this year’s Mainstream Fiction category of The Writer’s Digest International Self-Published Book Awards.

Why did you choose to self-publish?

I have been writing for nine years and knew this particular book was ready. I’d taken classes on novel writing and had worked hard. This was actually my second novel. My goal was, and always will be, to share what I do. I’ve always hated the words no and can’t. They are dream killers.

Why did you choose the publisher you did, rather than the less expensive ones like Amazon services?

After much research, I chose my publisher because they turned out quality books. I’d asked for sample books from different self-publishers and in comparison their covers were striking. Covers do sell books. The fact that I had hands on with layout and cover design also appealed to me. All rights to the book were mine as well.

Will you go that route for your next book?

No, and here is why. Although the experience was mostly positive, and my book was well received, it has been costly. Both for publication and promotion. With writing retreats, workshops, classes etc…I’ve continued to perfect my craft, and hope to receive the backing of an agent and publisher. My subsequent novel, and a YA series on the paranormal I’ll be working on soon will be making the rounds, hoping for that yes. Who doesn’t want to be paid for work infused with passion?

What other factors should first time self-publishers be aware of before embarking on a similar venture?

Have a business plan—You should know your budget and incorporate ways to promote your work long before it comes to fruition. It will cost you, in money and time, so know what you’re in for and be prepared.

Do your research—Make sure what you are getting into is right for you and your book. Ask others who have self-published to share their experiences. Take your time and learn as much as you can before you decide to publish your book.

Read the tiny print of the contract—Make sure there are no red flags before you sign. Remember, if you opt for a POD publisher, print on demand technology, your payment for sold books will come in the form of a royalty, which means you pay up front costs for the initial printing of your book, and then pay a fee each time a copy of your book is printed and sold.

Know your goals—Be aware of your strengths and limitations. Are you a people person who will be able to sell on the front lines? This means sitting at book signings and smiling until your face hurts, trying to entice perfect strangers to your table so they can not only see your book but buy it, too. A silver tongue is a plus. Charm is a must. Can you think outside the box and look for hidden opportunities? There are many layers to being a successful author. If that is your goal, make sure you know what it takes for every aspect of the process.

Major pitfalls:

Margin of profit—With rising costs, the authors margin of profit has decreased, making self-publishing a less attractive option.

Shoddy looking books—Let’s face it, there are tons of books vying for a reader’s attention. Why should they select ours? Really. Give them a reason. A clever cover design entices readers to pick up a book. An intriguing story, starting on page one, yanks them in.

Not being taken seriously—Here’s where it gets sticky. I’ve heard it said that self-publishing is where horrible writing comes to die. Dang, that hurts. But let’s be honest. We’ve all read some terrible, no good self-published books, have we not? Have we not also read some terrible traditionally published books? It happens. I think the best we can do is make our decisions based on facts, and put out an absolutely fantastic product. If we do it right, most won’t even realize our books are self-published.

What are you doing to market Jack Rabbit Moon?

I’m a hat-wearing mama. And boots and glittery shawls. These days an author must give it all they’ve got. Besides book signings, book club appearances, library workshops, blogging, writing forums, and writing for my community newsletter, I make wide use of the internet. An author website at www.dorrainedarden.com, along with twitter, face book, my space, your space, and the whole Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Right now, though I’m carving out time to write again. This is where it all begins.

Are you trying to get your book into libraries? If yes, how and how much success?

 

Most library titles are selected based on major library trade publications. Your self-published book will need to have a niche to have a shot at selection. Strong niche books are desirable regardless of being self-published. If you do decide to shoot for the library market, your chances will be improved if your book can be purchased via a wholesaler such as Baker, Taylor or Ingram.

 

Finally, I asked Dorraine for resource recommendations:

 

Books

 

The Fine Print by Mark Levine—The author is self-published and an attorney who breaks down the pros and cons of many POD companies. He also discusses fees and possible issues with contracts. What I liked about his book was his breakdown of 48 top publishing companies, ranking them from outstanding to ones to avoid. This book was easy to understand and a great guide to making informed decisions.

 

Plug Your Book by Steve Weber—Every author should read this regardless of how their book was brought into the world. You’ll find cutting edge promotional tactics and strategies you can implement with little cost. There are a virtual treasure trove of books on this subject and no reason to be uniformed.

 

Web sites

 

Go-Publish-Yourself.com was named one of the best websites for writers by Writer’s Digest. This site has cutting edge information on the latest in self-publishing. You will learn how to develop a plan, basics about the process, cost and how to copyright.

 

The Publishing Game is a splendid resource site on everything from self-publishing a book, to syndicating your articles.

 

Span-Small Publishers Association is an Independent Publishers Resource on articles, small publishers journal, a free internet newsletter and industry links. You can become a paying member but you don’t necessarily need to for access to some timely and helpful information.

 

Published.com—Writers and artists, here’s your free directory. You can upload your book’s cover, blurb and link to your sales page. With a high Google rank, you can improve traffic to your website.

Carol Buchanan's first foray into fiction, a self-published book, won the 2009 Spur Award for Best First Novel from the Western Writers of America, a prestigious national award. Past Spur winners include Larry McMurtry for Lonesome Dove, Michael Blake for Dances With Wolves, Glendon Swarthout for The Shootist, and Tony Hillerman for Skinwalker.

I contacted the author about this remarkable phenomenon and learned that she had not even attempted traditional publishing, although she is a traditionally published author of nonfiction books. She agreed to answer some questions about her experience.

Q. Why did you decide to DIY without any publishers or agents even reviewing your manuscript?

A. (LOL) Sheer impatience. I thought, why wait six months or longer for a rejection slip? I'll just go for it.

Q. Do you expect your book to be a financial success? Or did you self-publish primarily to establish yourself as a fiction writer?

A. When I started to think about self-publishing, I had no expectations beyond hoping the book would do OK. I had a hunch it might because no really good historical novel about Montana's Vigilantes had ever been published, and our history is important to Montanans. I had no thoughts then, that I recall anyway, about establishing myself as a fiction writer. In my view it's a financial success because the earnings are approaching the advances I made with two of my traditionally published nonfiction books. I had no expectation for financial success other than that it should make money and not lose it.

 

Q. It has already been a critical success, winning the Spur Award. Do you have any other criterion for considering the book a success?

 

A. Financial. I always knew publishing was a business and that once it was in print I would have to sell copies in order to break out of the "hobby" category.

 

Q. If you will share it, what is your break-even number of sales for this book?

 

A. 100 books, long surpassed.

 

Q. Why did you choose Amazon's BookSurge rather than the less expensive CreateSpace, another Amazon service?

 

A. At the time, March 2008, BookSurge offered more expertise in areas I'm weak in, such as cover design. I also liked the support I got from Whitney Parks, my account rep at BookSurge, before I decided on a company. She was patient and straightforward with my questions over a nearly 4-month research period. (She still is.)

 

Q. You are capable of handling all aspects of self-publishing on your own, so why did you choose to use any such service?

 

A. Thank you for the compliment, but "all aspects" overstates the case. I'm no graphic designer by any means! Also, printing and binding are beyond the capabilities of the machinery I have available. Print, bind, and trim have to be done by professional printers. I knew distribution would be a factor in getting the book out, so I needed the power of Amazon's distribution and fulfillment.

 

Q. Will you go that route for your next book?

 

A. Probably, but I may also add in Lightning Source so I can get in on Ingram's distribution and fulfillment. For that, though, I'll have to do more research.

 

Q. How are you handling sales to bookstores?

 

A. I contact bookstores in my area, the inland northwest, and usually when I describe the book in a sentence or two (the pitch), they're willing to give it a try. Whether it works for them or not depends on how well they market it in the store, so I try to call back about once a month to see how things are going. Developing a relationship with booksellers is important. I also have flyers and posters for them to use if they want to.

 

Q. What about distribution?

 

A. Distribution is a tough issue. I'm always grappling with it because different stores have different rules for how they will acquire books. Some will only go through Baker & Taylor or Ingram. Some will only do consignment, which is not to my advantage, and some will pay me up front for the books. POD is nonreturnable, so that is sometimes a sticking point also.

 

BookSurge has a relationship with B&T, but Ingram will only accept POD books from its own printing subsidiary, Lightning Source, Inc. And the distributors have their rules, too. Partners West, based in Seattle, will take no POD books. Period.

 

Q. What other factors should first time self-publishers be aware of before embarking on a similar venture? What are the major pitfalls?

 

A. This will sound harsh, but it's better to face a harsh reality than to go broke on a dream that flops. That being said, a self-publisher or any writer should be prepared for the ugly reality that we can pour our hearts into a novel or another piece and it might still be not very good. I'm always thinking that I might write whatever the current piece is and have it turn out to be junk. Because that has happened. Twenty-five years ago I wrote a story I thought was wonderful. When I dug it out in 2005 and read it, I was appalled. My initial reaction was, "Yuck. No wonder it never went anywhere. It didn't deserve to." That's when I set out to learn to write.

 

Even though God's Thunderbolt has won the Spur, I'm terrified about the current book, Gold Under Ice, the sequel. I'm in love with it, but what if it's crap? I say this because that's where successful self-publishing begins. With the book.

 

I read comments from writers who say they've promoted their books like crazy but no one is buying them, and my heart goes out to those people. Ultimately, word of mouth sells books. The best marketing method in the world is one person telling another, "I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. You gotta read this." That happens to God's Thunderbolt, but will it happen to Gold Under Ice? It's not guaranteed.

 

As an aside, people say not to depend on friends' reactions. After God's Thunderbolt came out, my friends started buying it and reading it. I enjoyed hearing the relief in their voices when they were able to tell me they loved the book. I could just imagine them thinking, "Whew. I don't have to fib."

 

After that, I'd strongly recommend gathering all the costs for printing and manufacturing the book, for marketing, for promotion. Locate people with the strengths that complement your weaknesses, like editors and proofreaders, and graphic designers, and get cost estimates. Check everything through the Better Business Bureau.

 

Problems inevitably arise in business, but what's important is how disputes are resolved. Remember Tylenol? That disaster turned into a PR victory for Johnson & Johnson.

 

Put all the costs together and make a budget that includes how many books you have to sell to get X profit. Figure the profit margin per book. Find out how the book might be distributed, and check with various distribution outlets. Which one works best for you? Add in postage and packaging. From all of that, revisit the pricing on your book. Once you self-publish, it's business. Profit and loss.

 

Q. Your book is targeted for people interested in Montana. What would you do differently if you wanted the book to sell to a more general audience?

 

A. Write a different book. Then I'd find a different, perhaps bigger, niche. I'd still think in terms of Long Tail marketing to a specific, albeit larger, audience rather than taking a scattergun approach to the entire world. In fact, I'm planning to do that with, I think, the fourth book. It'll be set in current time and have a female protagonist. Still set in the West, though, because that's what I do. What I am. A Westerner. As one of my blog posts said, Daddy was a cowboy.

 

Q. A national publicity campaign would take a much larger investment--how much money do you think such a self-publisher should have in reserve for marketing and promotion on a national level?

 

A. If I wanted to launch a national campaign I'd have to hire a book promoter, and they all have different costs. I'd recommend contacting promoters in advance of publishing, selecting one or two that seem best, getting cost estimates, and putting their numbers into a budget.

 

You can read more about God’s Thunderbolt and Buchanan’s other writings at The Swan Range, http://www.swanrange.com and she blogs at Writings from the Last, Best Place at http://www.swanrange.blogspot.com

Background:  Agualusa was born in Huambo, Angola, in 1960 and became one of the leading young literary voices in the Portuguese language. He has published several novels including two prize winners which were best sellers in Portugal and Brazil, where he lives in addition to Angola. He also writes poetry and nonfiction.

AWE: The Book of Chameleons has been favorably compared to others of “magic realism”. Do you think this is true and if so, please discuss magical realism and how it applies to your book or your writing in general.

JEA: English-language critics have classified this book as standing close to so-called ‘magic realism’. But in Portugal, Brazil, Spain, and even in France, I’ve never been asked this question so persistently. It’s true that the Latin American writers were very important to my development. Cubans, Colombians, and some Brazilians, such as Jorge Amado, move in a universe that is very close to my own. They are Afro-Latin Creole universes where the real is hard to distinguish from the marvelous. In Luanda you will find that fishermen – and the population as a whole – believe in mermaids, and so communicate with them just as naturally as in the middle ages Europeans communicated with angels, or mermaids too. You just have to read the accounts from that time. In 1570 Antonio de Torqemada published in Salamanca The Garden of Curious Flowers, a collection of wonders that influenced Cervantes. Among the witches, fairies and geographical oddities there is room too for mermaids. He says: “People often speak of these mermaids, saying that the upper half of the body has the shape of a woman, and the lower half that of a fish; represented with a comb in one hand and a mirror in the other; it is said that they sing so sweetly that they put the sailors to sleep and then they can board the ships and kill everyone sleeping.” And later, “While this is so, and there are fish of this kind in the sea, I hold the sweetness of their singing and everything else said about them to be just a fable.” That is, very sensibly Torquemada doesn’t question the existence of mermaids, only the quality of their singing. So to respond to your question, I try merely to explore in a literary way the possibilities that reality offers me.

AWE: Are any other of your works soon to be available in English?

JEA: I’m launching my latest novel in the UK now – My Father’s Wives, which was published in Brazil and Portugal in 2006.

AWE: What are the benefits of reading literature of a very different culture from one’s own?

JEA: The benefits are obvious: we get to know more about ourselves. About us, human beings. Before we are English or American or Angolan, we are all citizens of the world.

AWE: What can English language readers do to encourage publishers to offer more translated works? (besides buy the ones already available).

JEA: Being read is the greatest tribute a writer can aspire to. If there were demand there would be supply, and British and American editors would bet on more translations.

AWE: Do you believe in reincarnation?

JEA: No. I’m a very curious skeptic. I like going to places where Candomblé is practiced, and to talk to medicine-men and magicians. I enjoy anything Mysterious. I don’t believe in God, but I believe in my grandmother. I talk to her every day and I know that she is watching me and protecting me.

AWE: Did reincarnation play a part in the plot beyond being the vehicle for a tribute to Borges?

JEA: Yes, it is an homage to Borges and also a narrative strategy. Curiously the use of the gecko as a narrator is something that startles Europeans a great deal but didn’t strike my African readers as the least bit strange. All oral literature in Africa is based around fables. Apart from this, animism continues to be a powerful force, even though it might not seem so.

AWE: Does your poetry inform your novels?

JEA:Yes, poetry has always been very important to me. I started off writing poetry, and to this day I’m a voracious reader of poetry. Poetry is everywhere, often where you least expect it. On a minefield. In a country which has been destroyed, in the mouth of a soldier or a murderer. I’ve always been fascinated in Angola with the possibility of people producing poetry without realising it, as they speak Portuguese with African languages interfering in it.

AWE: The following question won a copy of The Book of Chameleons for Sonya Chrisman, "If you could be any character in your book, which would it be, and likewise, which would you not want to be?"

AWE: It's a good question. I'd choose not to be the old torturer. I think it's always preferable to be the person tortured than the torturer. A person who has been tortured can forgive. It depends only on them. A person who has tortured can hope to be forgiven, but it is no longer up to them."

Background:  McNicholl was born in Northern Ireland, attended law school in Cardiff, Wales, worked in London, and came to the U.S. in the 1990's. He says he slaved as an underpaid attorney, and he taught himself to write fiction while commuting between Long Island and New York City. In 2005 his debut fiction, A Son Called Gabriel, garnered nominations for three national awards. He's now working on another novel "from the depths of bucolic Pennsylvania, within easy reach of principal cities and airports" because he "likes distractions."

 

AWE: Was A Son Called Gabriel your first novel written?

 

DM: That’s an interesting question. I’d written a first novel--also set in Northern Ireland--about a young woman and her Protestant boyfriend that remains as yet unpublished. It was what I refer to now as my ‘cutting-your-teeth’ novel. It’s too long and too unwieldy and needs a lot of work, but I’m not ready to revisit it yet. What gets published first is out of the author’s control, but I’m happy A SON CALLED GABRIEL is my first published novel.

 

AWE: Why did you write it?

 

DM: I wanted to write about my homeland at a time when the Catholic minority was marching in the streets for basic civil rights and sometimes being shot to death for it, as well as tell a story about a kind of protagonist that had not yet appeared in Irish literature.

 

AWE: Will there be a sequel to it?

 

DM: Yes, I shall write a sequel to A SON CALLED GABRIEL when I’m ready to revisit Gabriel’s world.

 

AWE: What's next on your book publishing agenda?

 

DM: I’ve just finished a novel entitled UNUSUAL STEPS. It’s set in London and is a dark comedy about a young Irishman, an assertive Englishwoman who finds herself blackmailed at work, and their inquisitive elderly neighbor. I’m also currently working on my next novel, the first to be set in the United States.

 

AWE: What does it mean for your book to be "A Book Sense Pick of the Year"?

 

DM: It’s an honor. Book Sense titles are selected by the American Booksellers Association which is a body that represents the interests of independent bookstores throughout the United States. I was extremely fortunate in that, when the hardcover of A SON CALLED GABRIEL was published last year, many booksellers read the book, liked it, and enough of them nominated it so that it was selected as a Book Sense Pick for August.

 

AWE: CDS publishes few books. What is the significance to be picked up by them? Why do you think they chose it?

 

DM: You’re right they’d don’t publish many and now that they’ve been purchased recently by The Perseus Group, I don’t know if there’ll be more or less books published by them. Many people at CDS Books read my novel before an offer was made. I think they chose it because they loved the story and wanted to publish it. I think that’s the significance, really.

 

AWE: It is said to be almost impossible to sell fiction without an agent. How did you get your first agent?

 

DM: I found my agent the old-fashioned way. I sent a bunch of queries out and got the usual stack of rejections and a small number of agents who wanted to see either a partial or the entire manuscript. Jim Levine read the manuscript and loved it, passed it to his wife who also loved it, and then he called me within days of receiving it to say he wanted to represent it. A few days later we met in NYC and I knew immediately he was the right person to handle my novel.

 

AWE: Speaking of your novel, is there loss of more than one kind of innocence in this coming-of-age novel?

 

DM: The novel is much more than a coming-of-age. While it examines that element in detail of course, it also looks at the protagonist’s education about his religion, country and Northern Irish politics and his reactions to those. Gabriel is very innocent yet intelligent when the book opens and loses all kinds of innocence--sexual, political and religious—as the plot develops. Moreover, when his parents learn of their son’s sexual confusion, they lose innocence, or perhaps naivete is the better term in this instance.

 

AWE: Did you include abuse by clergy because it was/is a popular news item?

 

DM: This novel was written before all of that surfaced in the media. The abuse is an isolated incident in the novel that is essential because it affects the protagonist deeply and causes him to question himself tremendously and eventually ask for help from his uncle at a very critical time in his life.

 

AWE: Do you think cities are more accepting of "different" people, as Gabriel was, and are rural areas still unwelcoming?

 

DM: People living in rural areas are generally conservative and
intolerant of people who aren't like them in any way and people like me, who don't fit in to that way of thinking, will leave. From my own point of view, I was fascinated by different cultures and other countries as a young boy. I loved to read about different places and knew I'd travel when I grew up. That's why I left Northern Ireland to go to law school in Cardiff, Wales after high school. That's why I studied German in Germany.