Why I chose to self publish Fringes
To me, self publishing felt like the future of publishing books.
I had done some work with a career coach on leaving rugby and one of the sentences we agreed on was:
I want to own myself and boldly create a free and fulfilling way ahead.
Writing a book felt bold, a way of of owning my story. Waiting for a publisher, a gatekeeper in modern internet parlance, to allow me to tell that story to people, deferring responsibility to them and waiting to be 'picked' felt the opposite of bold and free and would probably leave me unfulfilled. The odds of being picked to publish something are not good and the process can become part of a book's mythos.
There are usually 2 big narratives when it comes to books getting picked by a publisher.
The Prodigious Talent - think Zadie Smith, fought over by publishers for the rights to her first novel White Teeth. She was rumoured to have been paid an advance of £250,000 while she was still at Cambridge University. More recently think Sally Rooney.
The Overlooked Genius - this is the JK Rowling story. Undiscovered author writes labour of love and is ignored by everyone. When her book is finally published, it becomes a huge success.
Generally, the process goes:
find an agent
they approach publishers
a publisher gives you an advance to finish the book - for 1st time authors these are usually very small
the book enters the publishing machinery, subject to scrutiny from editors, having a cover designed, marketing material created and the rest.
There are some incredible benefits to self publishing that much of the wider public are unaware of - now we'll look at the differences between the two routes.
The differences between traditional and self publishing
traditional publishing
requires a publisher.
This means that your book needs to pass a selection process. This isn't as simple as giving someone a draft. Each publisher has different submission requirements, whether that's an extract of a particular length, a book proposal or a combination. It might be worth getting an agent to approach publishers for you - this adds another layer of complexity and they need paying.
has an inherent filter.
A publisher acts as a bulwark against a mass of content flooding the market. They are traditionally regarded as a barometer of quality, giving you the kudos of having been picked.
does the work for you.
If you get a publishing deal, you enter the machinery. This is both good and bad. The good is that people who know what they're doing will guide your book through the process, providing editors, cover designers and some impetus behind marketing. The bad is that it will take a long time, you give up much of your autonomy as a writer and you receive a much smaller amount of the book's profits.
self publishing
is down to you
You will have to do everything. You will find your own editor and cover designer and do your own marketing. The downside is you have to cover these costs, or forgo them somehow, and you have to wear a lot of hats. The upside is that you'll learn a lot by doing it, have full creative control and can move as fast or as slow as you want.
you take the risks and the rewards
A traditionally published book earns it's author about 10% of each copy sold. This only kicks in after you out-earn your advance. If your advance is £6000 - not uncommon for a first time author - you won't see any cash until your book earns that back and recoups its other costs. On Amazon for instance, a digital book priced between £2.99 and £9.99 sees 70% go straight to the author. You see a much greater slice of the revenue but you'll have to offset your costs and get creative with your marketing.
is more of a digital business
The downside is that for the majority of self published books, your book will not appear in a bookstore - the buying audience and pleasure of seeing your book on a shelf is unavailable to you. If you follow the easy self publishing option with Amazon as I have, your book will be available as an ebook and a print on demand copy. This means that ebooks are delivered instantly to your e-reader or phone while a print on demand copy is just that - it is printed upon order and delivered right to your door. This de-risks the process for the author who doesn't have to invest in inventory.
My view - it's nuanced
There is a degree of snobbery around self publishing, largely in my experience, from older people who don't know what they're talking about.
It's true that publishing houses are barometers of quality to an extent given that there is a barrier to entry involved if you follow the traditional publishing route. Books bought in bookshops also still make up a large percentage of the books sold to readers - bookshops are almost completely stocked by produce from publishing houses.
If though, these publishing houses were true barometers of quality, then how come 99% of celebrity autobiographies or tie ins are published? Most of them are dross. But they still make it to a bookstore. The same goes for a fair few novels - many of them aren't necessarily 'good' but they are evidently regarded as sellable.
The other thing to consider as a purchaser is - have you ever purchased a book based on it being published by a certain publisher?
I doubt it.
The closest you'd come would be with a Penguin Classic. For the most part though, these books are incredibly famous. It's hardly a grand process of discovery.
Traditional publishers also get things wrong. There are countless stories of classic works being overlooked, from Harry Potter to Stoner, from The Martian to Catch 22. If they really knew everything then how come this happens so regularly?
It's because, and the casual reader probably doesn't stop to consider, publishing houses are essentially investment vehicles, reacting to the demands of the market.
A first time author, barring exceptional talent, circumstance or both like Zadie Smith, will command a tiny advance and won't garner much promotion from a publishing house. They will be assigned a junior editor, cover designer and the like while resources will be concentrated on books that attract a lot of attention or those that have warranted a large advance.
They need to earn their money back.
If you self publish you're on your own. You have to write the book, either edit it yourself or find an editor, get a cover designed, format it and publish it.
my route to self publishing
I spoke to some agents and publishers, took some advice from other authors and I felt that I wanted to self publish it. This way I'd learn some new skills, give myself incredible flexibility and freedom with the writing and get the whole process done much quicker than I would if I had a publishing deal. In the end, the whole process from inception to release took me about a year. The advice I received from publishers was that it would take over a year to release the book from the time I had an acceptable finished draft. I didn't want to wait that long.
One reputable agent, versed in representing sports books was particularly helpful. He said that:
Rugby books are tough generally (because the market is small and usually turns out in numbers only for the Goliath names: Wilkinson, Brian Moore, Johnson etc'
There's no point pretending that I received an offer from a publisher but most of them were complimentary of what I gave them to read. Rugby is a small market and if you're a first time author with no platform like I am, then you don't have much clout with these people. And that's absolutely fine.
This one agent in particular was complimentary of the writing and told me
If you are serious about writing then I would encourage you to keep going because you really can develop your skills. Self-publishing is certainly an option.
I was disappointed with not being taken on, even though he'd reinforced my existing opinion that self-publishing would probably be my best route. I was pleased that he thought the writing was of a certain quality, especially given that he received an early draft of the opening of the book. I think that it reads much better now.
how tech inspired my approach to the book
I've become very enamoured of the tech industry mindset and how it can apply to other problems. This is partly because it actually shares some sporting characteristics. In tech you need to remain agile, open to new ideas or directions and effectively use your resources to keep moving forward. It's the same in sport and it's how I wanted to approach my book project.
I've also become keen on the work of Seth Godin who advocates shipping authentic work. This book couldn't be much more authentic, having been completely written and produced by me. I've found an editor and a cover designer and harnessed their skills rather than being in thrall to them.
The process has enabled me to essentially project manage my creative endeavour, keeping control of it and learning some new skills on the way. I'm still learning!
If I was with a traditional publisher, I'd be at their mercy when it comes to an editor and designer, largely unable to choose what I wanted. Another author advised me that as a first timer, it would probably be 'a grad student' editing my book as a first project if I were to get traditionally published. I was better off finding a trustworthy professional myself.
In the end, self publishing was best for me for this project. It's not to decry the route I didn't get to take or claim that one way is way better than another. This route got me to the endpoint that I envisaged when I began. A published book, available to buy and a raft of new skills under my belt. To this end, self publishing has been a fantastic choice for me.
If you'd like to chat about a creative project of your own then give me a shout on Twitter or on email
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