Self-Publishing a Year On - Lessons Learned and a New Approach

I’m gonna do it – I’m gonna self-publish!

Didn’t you already do that?

Um, yes, I did.  But if you read my last blog post, you will know I also recently un-published the three books I published.

Right…so you’re just sticking the books you unpublished back online?

No!  I’m doing something else, let me explain:

I’ve written six books in the Gallantrian Legacy series.  They all have pretty covers, as shown above (pretty covers that need work – but I’ll come to that, later).

The six books have been written in two trilogies with a twenty-year time gap in-between.  I deliberately wrote the second trilogy so it could sit as a stand-alone, as well as a sequel trilogy.  Think Star Wars episodes 4 – 6. After I’d written all six books, I proceeded to self-publish my second trilogy first.

Why would you do this?  Just because it worked for George Lucas…

Let me finish!

I did it this way primarily because I knew books 1 – 3 (especially book 1) needed a lot of work, and I wasn’t really in the head space to go back to my first trilogy and swing the axe.  That’s the real reason – although I often cite others, such as these:

-          It gave me the opportunity to have a second launch, I could start again with book one and run through to book six.
-          It allowed me to try to seek the traditional publishing route for book 1 (if you’re not aware, traditional publishers don’t normally touch books that have been previously self-published).
-          Books 4 – 6 needed less work, so I could get them to market quicker.

Mmm, I’m not sure the primary reason I cite is the best of my reasons, but you know what?  Looking back I’m certainly glad I did things this way.  Why?  Well, pull up a chair…

In January last year, I found myself newly unemployed and eager to get my books to market.  I was desperate to make a success of being an author, I ignored everything I read about author success rarely coming quickly, I thought I could buck the trend.
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So off I went, I threw money at editors and cover designers and did loads of random self-promo stuff online.  I published all three books of my second trilogy on Amazon, six weeks apart.  In the early days, things were looking good.  I managed to flog quite a few books and earned over £100 in each of the first two months.  But things went downhill from there, see below (I’ve no idea what the September blip is about, by the way).

£534 might look like a respectable figure for a self-published author, but when you consider what I spend on ads and ad agencies, I’m running at a significant loss.  I’ve not added up everything I’ve spent, as I know it would depress me.  But I know for sure its way above £534.

So, come January this year, I decided it was time to re-evaluate things (see my last post).  In summary, I realised my read-through wasn’t as good as it could be, and I concluded The General’s Son needs work – which is now underway.

This is all backstory, of course, I know I’ve not answered my own question about why I’m glad I did things this way.

Well, basically, its because I’ve just learned so much!  I’ve learned what is worth spending time and money on, and what isn’t. I’ve learned the importance of patience, of proper preparation for launch, of building an author platform, of making sure I have a good author presence on Amazon, Goodreads and my own website.
I’m no expert by a long stretch, but I think I’m far better placed to launch a book now than I was this time last year.  Which brings me to my current plan.
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I’m going to re-launch, but I’m going to start with book 1.  Last summer, I re-wrote The Queen of Vorn.  I queried it for a time; I’ve now given up.  Why?  Because I’m not convinced it’s the right book to attract an agent or publisher.  They’re after certain things, I’m not sure my book ticks the right boxes.  So I’m going to self-publish it instead.  But first, I’m going to do work on my covers.  I’m going to prepare a marketing plan in advance.  I’m going to make sure the book is as good as it can be before I release it into the world.  I’m going to do everything I can to set myself up for success.  Then I’m going to hope for the best.

Wish me luck!

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