Like most writers, I’ve heard and read a lot about self-publishing, with most articles and stories advising that it’s nice to get your name in print, but you’ll need to keep your day job. Granted, some self-published books sell few copies beyond the author’s friends and relatives, yet some of them do well enough, including attracting the attention of a traditional publisher and landing a profitable contract.
I first became familiar with this phenomenon after I read, The Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun, written by a college teacher in southern Utah. Wess Roberts, Ph.D., wrote and published this gem in 1985. Over the next four years, the small book reported good sales, ranging from 8,000 to 486,000 copies (depending on your source).
About this time, Warner Books became interested in Roberts’ exploration into the leadership principles of a barbarian who died in 453. Thus, in 1989, the author signed a contract with Warner, after which the book skyrocketed to the best-seller list, was translated into 13 languages, was released as an audiobook, and sold hundreds of thousands – probably millions – of copies. Wow.
The next self-publishing success I discovered was The One-Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. Once again, this was a small non-fiction book. Since I liked it, I looked into its publishing background, where I learned that it too had been self-published. The authors sold over 20,000 copies (mostly in their local area) before they sold out to William Morrow. That’s when the book became a New York Times bestseller, was translated into 47 languages, and sold over 15 million copies. Wow again.
During my early research for self-publishing success stories, I discovered mostly non-fiction books that had transitioned from limited or just local sales to best-selling status. This included Life’s Little Instruction Book, In Search of Excellence, and The Joy of Cooking, along with many self-help and spiritual books.
After a couple of decades in the tech writing world, I began to work from home, which gave me more time to read fiction. After reading The Martian, I was surprised to find the author had self-published the book first. At 99 cents a copy, he sold enough to garner attention from Podium Publishing and Crown Publishing Group, after which his book became a best-seller and a movie.
I became curious as to how often this phenomenon actually occurred – where someone sold digital copies of their novels for one or two dollars apiece before being “discovered” and offered a traditional book contract. I have yet to find a statistic for that, but I’m pleased it’s still happening, like it did for Hugh Howey and John Scalzi.
Write on!
