I’ve stayed pretty silent on the independent fiction endevors of my husband Tee Morris and I—not because I don’t have opinions on them. I have mentioned in a few places online that I feel the hybrid author route is the one most likely to succeed.
Heck, I have plenty of opinions, but I always like to have some statistics behind me before I start holding forth on things. I’ve also had plenty of conversations with authors I know—some who are succeeding at indie publishing, some who are not so successful, and some who haven’t tried but are in desperate circumstances due to the bizarre metamorphosis now occurring in the publishing industry.
However, after pounding our own numbers for last year, and comparing them to 2012, I am starting to get an idea of what is working for us…and since everyone is jumping in with their opinions, it’s time for the kiwi to throw her hat in the ring.
First off, the usual…your mileage may vary…these are my personal opinions take them with a grain of salt…etc etc etc…yadda yadda…
Second, these observations are from a two writer household, one full time, one holding down a full-time job, so do bear that in mind if you use these to make your own decisions.
All of that stated, I can say that our numbers from 2012 to 2013 have gone up 50% — which as a business model is not half bad. It’s not our sole writing income, but it is definitely a sizable contributor. It is something that we are going to continue to build up and another 50% would be a win in my book.
- You need the numbers. And by numbers I mean a large body of work. We have mixed it up with short stories, probably close to 90 between us, but I think it would need to double before it is more of a viable income. If you are doing novels then you would need less since you get more for a novel, but still that’s a lot of work so don’t quit that dayjob until you have those numbers.
- You need variety. Thank goodness for pen names! Don’t restrict yourself to just one genre. Bear in mind you will need to build up each pen name separately unless you want people to figure out it is you, but you should really spread yourself wide over as many genres as you think you can manage. Romance. YA. Crime fiction. Dabble…honestly—it’s fun.
- You need S & C. Selection and collection. Readers love series! Seriously, the more series the merrier. The first might do OK, but write a second and it’ll give the first a bump, and so on with each additional book. Also, readers like to spend time with characters they love, so when they look up your name and see a series they are comforted that you haven’t left them out to dry. Once you have series you can then bundle them neatly into collections. Make sure to knock of a small amount for those that shell out for collections, it is a nice bit of encouragement.
- You need patience. Alright everyone knows about Konrath and some others who is making huge bucks with ebooks…but they didn’t get there overnight. Of course there are exceptions, but from my research those that are making crazy dollars at indie publishing have also put in the hours in the basement telling friends and family to leave them alone.
- You need quality. Sure the erotica market doesn’t seem too discerning with cover art, but other genres are brutal if you get things like the cover and editing wrong. Some people might be able to look past it, but why take the chance? Find some professionals to help you if you haven’t got the skills. Most importantly, do not be the only person to edit your book. You need someone else. Seriously.
- You need to make it easy for readers. Whatever format and whatever location the reader wants to find your book, that is where it should be. It may also take more effort, but you should definitely have it available in print. The Amazon Kindle program where you sacrifice spreading your book over all platforms, for the chance to give your book away for free and increased readership, used to be really useful. I think it’s about done. I stopped doing it in 2013 and noticed no change in income. If you must do it, then use it in a series where you make the first one free.
- You need to keep track. Make Excel or some other program like it your friend. I keep a spreadsheet for every year, with all sales of all titles month by month. It helps me know which titles have earned back the money we put into them, and which ones have not. I also can spot trends in the different genres, which I color code on the spreadsheet.
- You need to remember tax. Absolutely. Do not forget this bit. Even if you are only get a car payment in a month, it adds up, and no one wants a nasty bill at the end of a year of success.
So this is the path Tee and I are following. If we get another 50% increase I will be very happy…if we do better than that I will be nigh on ecsatic.
What do you think? Have I missed anything you think are also essential to make decent money at Indie Publishing?
