Self-Publish or Perish: Why I Made the Leap from Traditional Publishing to Indie

THE Funky Man / Flickr
THE Funky Man / Flickr

Today’s guest post is by New York Times bestseller Eileen Goudge (@eileengoudge), whose newest novel, Bones and Roses, releases today. 


I read Claire Cook’s recent blog post with great interest and a jolt of recognition. OMG. She was telling my story! I wasn’t alone. There were other authors like me who were traditionally published in what now seems a bygone era, and who’d enjoyed runs on the New York Times bestseller list and all the benefits therein—book tours, media escorts, an honest to God marketing/publicity budget … Can any of us remember that far back?

I know from my husband, the aviation geek, that when a plane goes into what’s called a death spiral, as it reaches a certain altitude and succumbs to the pull of gravity, it can’t pull out. The same holds true for authors: fewer orders results in smaller print runs, a smaller marketing budget and lackluster sales, then a smaller advance for your next title, and the vicious cycle continues. In short, you’ve entered the “death spiral.”

The cold, hard truth is this: If the sales figures for your last title weren’t impressive enough to get booksellers to order your next title in sufficient quantities to make an impact, you’re basically screwed. It doesn’t matter if your previous titles sold a combined six million copies worldwide. You’re only as good as your last sell-through.

What’s even more dispiriting is that you’re perceived as a “failure” by publishers when your sales haven’t dropped but aren’t growing. You become a flat line on a graph. The publisher loses interest and drops the ball, then your sales really do tank. Worse, your poor performance, or “track” as it’s known, is like toilet paper stuck to your shoe, following you wherever you go in trying to get a deal with another publisher.

If you’re among the lucky handful to not only sell your first novel to one of the Big Five, but get a nice-sized advance, first of all, let me congratulate you—that’s a remarkable feat in today’s publishing climate. I don’t want to burst your bubble, but here’s the thing: Unless your book is the lead title in the publisher’s spring or fall catalogue, you’re more or less on your own as far as marketing and publicity is concerned. Marketing/publicity budgets for all but a handful of fortunate front list authors like my good friend, Kristin Hannah, are, sadly, a thing of the past. I’m only telling you this because it’s better to know going in than find out after the fact. You must do as much of your own publicizing, through social media outreach and whatever else you can drum up or afford, for your book to have a chance of succeeding.

So here’s what happened to me: My loyal fans, God bless them, were still out there and clamoring for my next novel. For the publishers who’d once courted me, it was “meh.” The recession only worsened what had begun with the less than stellar sales of a novel of mine that came out during:

  • the shifting sands of a corporate merger (Penguin and Putnam)
  • a falling-out with an editor
  • a divorce from my agent (literally, I was married to the man), and
  • the loss of a key executive who’d been my champion and who’d gone to another publishing house.

Any one of the above would’ve been a blow. The combination was crushing.

I won’t bore you with the details of what came next. Suffice it to say, my career never fully recovered. The irony was that my inbox was blowing up with emails from fans begging for a fourth book in my Carson Springs series. I had to break the news to my loyal readers, gently, that the series was no more.

Flash forward: Recently I found myself at a crossroads when my author friend, Josie Brown, suggested I go indie. She’d made the leap from traditional publishing a few years prior and was reaping the rewards. She’s also a savvy businesswoman with a background in marketing and advertising. I wasn’t sure I was up to the task. I’m a writer. That’s what I do—I write. I flunked math in school. I was one of those grumpy authors who had to be dragged into doing social media (which I’ve since come to embrace). She persuaded me by posing a question: “What’s the alternative?”

I realized the only alternative was to keep doing what I’d been doing that wasn’t working. I was like Charlie Brown with the football, hoping I’d get lucky and that, just once, the football wouldn’t be snatched from beneath me when I went to kick it. I’m at heart an optimist. But I’m not stupid. So I took heed of Josie’s advice and gathered up the courage to embark on a different path.

And something wonderful happened along the way.

My creative wellspring that’d been drying up, due to all the discouragement I’d received over the past few years, was suddenly gushing. An idea for a mystery series, something I’d long dreamed of writing, came to me during a walk on the beach in my hometown of Santa Cruz, California, where I lived before I moved to New York City. Why not set my mystery series in a fictional town resembling Santa Cruz? I even had my heroine, property manager/amateur sleuth, Tish Ballard, a recovering alcoholic who doesn’t buckle under adversity or authority, sketched out in my mind.

Bones and Roses by Eileen Goudge

Thus was born my Cypress Bay mystery series. I immediately got to work. I was on fire! The book practically wrote itself. Book One of the series, Bones and Roses, comes out today. Click here to read an excerpt.

I’ve also completed a first draft of Book Two, Swimsuit Body, scheduled for release in spring of 2015.

I’m excited again about the possibilities the future holds. Nothing is a given, of course. The self-publishing landscape is like the Wild West in one respect—it takes a hardy soul to carve out a piece of it and the mortality rate is high. I’ve never worked harder in my life, not even when my kids were little. I’ve had to learn a bunch of new tricks I didn’t think this “old dog” was capable of. I have more social media platforms than I do platform heels in my closet (I’m addicted to my Sketchers Go Walks, and besides, these days I no longer do power lunches, which means no executive threads, and who has the time to dress up for evenings out when they’re working all the time?).

Was it worth it? Only time will tell. Meanwhile there it is, beating in my breast: that feathered thing called hope. Something I thought I’d lost, regained. Something to celebrate.

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Ed_Cyzewski

Thanks for sharing your story. There’s been quite a stir lately in some of my circles because bestselling author Lisa Samson basically quit publishing books yesterday. I’m hoping she reads your post and considers going indie.

From what I’ve found, the mid-level publishers who are abel to market effectively are basically learning from indie authors. I’m open to indie or traditional publishing, but I’m certainly planning my future as if I’m going to be an indie author just in case traditional publishing stops being an option for me.

Eileen Goudge

Thanks, Ed. It’s wonderful that we have an alternative to TradPublishing these days. In the old days it was sink or swim, then you were done if you sank. Good luck with your efforts. I wish you much success!

Sam Belaqua

congrats

Eileen Goudge

Thank you, Sam!

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[…] Today's guest post is by New York Times bestseller Eileen Goudge (@eileengoudge), whose newest novel, Bones and Roses, releases today. I read Claire Cook’s recent blog post with great interest and…  […]

Every Day Poems

Love the red, Eileen. And I love that you have made writing a career and not simply a celebrity endeavor. Celebrities last only as long as outside systems take an interest in them. A writing career is built more sustainably from within ourselves and our through our long-term relationships with fans.

Eileen Goudge

Gosh, no, imagine being limited to 15 minutes of fame! What I love most is to tell stories, and that’s timeless. Also, I’m a barefoot & jeans kind of girl, so I wouldn’t want a glamorous lifestyle.

Amy Reade

Eileen,
Congratulations on Bones and Roses! I appreciate you sharing your story and am keeping your post marked as a “favorite.” Best wishes to you!

Eileen Goudge

I love being marked “favorite.” My hubby has me marked similarly 🙂

Deborah Smith Author

Eileen, I’m so glad you’re trying this alternative. I’ve always been an admirer of your work. Take heart in the fact that you’re not alone . . . I left the “majors” in 2005 due to a similar Perfect Storm of catastrophes; I concentrated instead on running a small press with several partners (also former authors) and turned to publishing my own books with a good deal of success. I know a lot of authors who’ve made the same switch. If you’ve got a strong base of loyal readers, that’s half the battle. I’m betting you’ll do fine!

Eileen Goudge

Thank you for your encouraging words, Deborah. It’s heartening to know others have forged the path in advance. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the encouragement of an author friend who’d made the switch (successfully), I might still be floundering and in despair. At least now there’s hope. I’m a believer.

Thomas Gillis

Hello Eileen – great post. I always figured as a newbie I would go Indie. But if the quality is there I might try TPub. But frankly, it seems like such a hassle, and so much work for a no-name like me. I would almost rather publish indie and send a copy to the right agents and ask if you want to rep me in the next book. Love you blog. Never fails to entertain and inform. thanks ~

Eileen Goudge

To TradPublish or not? That’s a question only you can answer, though for me the decision was a no-brainer. Hey, I’m no math whiz but even I can do the arithmetic: smaller advance + small piece of the pie (royalty rate), with my agent taking a cut of the net…well, it doesn’t add up to much. Nowhere to go but up, the way I see it.

Thomas Gillis

I am going to Indie Publish. I am going to try the TPub submission game just for the learning experience. But as far as the money. Indie is a better cut, no question. And if you have any social media followers- well you might be all set.?

Eileen Goudge

Social media is key whether you’re TradPublished or indie. I was lucky enough to work with one of the best marketing people in the business, but if I’d been flying solo I would have taken a course in online marketing to get up to speed

Writer Julie Valerie

What a fantastic, inspiring story from a writer whose been there, done that. I’m so very grateful for your personal publishing story and so thrilled to hear my appetite for your novels will now be filled. Congratulations to you on this exciting new venture!

Eileen Goudge

Thank you, Julie! And to think you’ve been with me every step of the way. I’ve used many of your social media tips. You’re the queen!

Marcy Mason McKay

LOVE this, Eileen. I’m still unpublished, but have several traditionally published novels that there were paid BIG bucks for. That’s what I THINK I want…and yet, I still how poorly they’re treated sometimes, and I wonder….do I REALLY want that?

I think 100% you made the right decision, and your new mystery series is proof of that. Good for you, and rock on with your indie self! 🙂

Eileen Goudge

From your lips to God’s ear, Marcy:) I still don’t know what will come of all this, but I have a gut feeling I made the right decision. What boils down to is that I want to be a storyteller not a number on the bottom line. Let the reader judge me, not some editor or publisher who only sees sales figures.

Marcy Mason McKay

Amen, amen, Eileen. You’re on a new adventure. I have a feeling you’re going to love it. Best of luck to you, and your new series!

Darlene Quinn

I see that Bones and Roses in an eBook.
Will you novels also come out in print.

Eileen Goudge

At this times Bones and Roses is available in digital only. If I sell enough copies maybe I’ll get a print deal. Wouldn’t that be nice?.

Nirmala Erway

Don’t forget that you can self-publish a print-on-demand paper version for not much extra effort or cost. You might as well serve your readers who prefer a paper book.