Discoverability: Make readers aware of your books

A buzz word in self-publishing right now is discoverability. You can have an amazing book in a popular genre, a stunning, stand-out cover, even some great reviews and/or a major contest win and some press/social media, but very few sales. So how do you make your book discoverable?

Why? As of this writing, there are more than 1.1 million novels in Kindle ebooks alone, and more than 90,000 new releases in the lat 30 days. There are dozens if not hundreds of ways to browse on Amazon alone. By subgenre, best sellers, daily deals, countdown deals and of course author and title, just to name a few. There are of course other sites, libraries and even stores.

Here are the top three ways that have helped me:

1) Getting approved for a BookBub, currently one of the most powerful promotional e-newsletters out there for discounted and free books. It's competitive, so you may get rejected multiple times. Don't give up. I was fortunate to get one last Friday, 2/10 for my Wars of the Roses Brides trilogy .99 sale.

The trilogy zoomed to #1 in the smaller Ancient Worlds category, then #1 in the larger Medieval category, and even #1 in all Historical Romance. And, #48 in the entire Kindle ebook store.

Algorithms start to work in your favor. You get the coveted orange bestseller banner and, in also boughts, the #1 best seller banner. It even made most wished for

 Not only that, but for a short while I was the #1 Historical Romance author, above even Diana Gabaldon of Outlander fame.

Of course, sales have dropped precipitously. Yet six days later, it's still in Medieval top 10. And Kindle Unlimited page reads continue.

2) Partnering with other authors, preferably those more famous than you. I've been fortunate to have been invited into multi-author boxed sets. Despite the proliferation of boxes with sometimes as many as 10 books for just .99, I've made more money than I would have on my own, and reached new readers. I was also invited to write a novella for Amazon All-Star Kathryn Le Veque's Kindle World. This was time-consuming, but exposed my books to her vast readership. Also, group promotions such as giveaways, blog hops and Facebook parties can help.

3) My weak link but always mentioned as one of the best tools: Growinf your newsletter and filling it with interesting content. I keep meaning to work on this, but find the platform confusing, much less the administrative tasks of maintaining my list, watching open rates, etc.

Another issue is consistency. It's hard to and/or costly to sustain the visibility of major publicity, a big group event or a BookBub. What can you do? Write the next great book.

Book publicity: how much & what works?

I believe that, unless sales are through the roof, authors can't do enough to get the word out about their books. But what works for one author might not work for another, and we must balance time spent with cost, and still make time to write and release new product.

Do I currently have a formal marketing plan? No. Do I try to stay on top of promotional opportunities and regularly promote to develop a great mix of reviews, blogs/articles and ads? Yes. Of course I'd love huge sales increases, but I've read that the frequency of impressions needed to get people to take action has increased from seven to 10. So I'm focusing on growing awareness

Here area few recent and upcoming results:

THE BRIDE TOURNAMENT  received a great review from Publishers Weekly, and is currently front and center on Booklife.com. Highlights: "Kaufman hits her stride with this enjoyable third entry in her War of the Roses Brides series...."  "Appealing protagonists, a satisfying pace, engaging supporting characters, and numerous obstacles to overcome combine in this emotionally satisfying romance."

A post about TBT on Romance Lives Forever was tweeted and retweeted for several days. I stopped counting when the total reach passed 630,000!

And coming March 2: my first BookBub, such a popular and selective discount and free book daily email that I've been refused multiple times (as have many other authors I know). It costs hundreds of dollars, depending on your genre and countries you wish to include, but word on the street is that the thousands of downloads make it worth the price.

This and other promotion will be in conjunction with making AT HIS COMMAND free for 5 days. How many downloads will I get? Will sales of my other books increase? Stay tuned!

Top 10 reasons why your book isn't selling

In the online writing groups I follow, one issue is brought up again and again: how hard it is for new self-published authors to sell any books at all, much less gain some traction.

Why?

1) The competition. As of this writing, 11,667 new romance Kindle books released in the last 30 days, or around 400 per day. There are 326,894 romance ebooks to choose from. What's a newer author to do to compete in fields with so many flowers?

2) Free reads! Some readers will return a .99 boxed set. Though just a few years ago we willingly went to a bookstore and paid $6.99 or more for a paperback, these days there are so many permafree and temporarily free books that paying even .99, much less $2.99, Amazon's recommended sweet spot for my historical romances, can seem like a lit. Kindle Unlimited, which is $10/month, and Kindle Owners Lending Library are other options readers are choosing to lower their reading costs.

3) The rapid rise in book discount newsletters. I get at least 5 newsletters every day offering discounted, .99 or free books. I don't have to search online but merely open and glance at the books available that day. With a click or two, that free book is mine. Even if I never read it. I couldn't keep up with all of the free books I could get every day if I tried. These newsletters can be costly, so if you're not selling, it can be hard to justify buying more ads.

4) What I call volume authors. There are some authors who are so prolific and successful that they can dominate the new releases or bestseller lists, making it harder for newbies to rise to the top. In one of my categories, 4 of the Top 10 bestsellers are by one author and 3 are by another. In some areas on Amazon, only the top three show up as recommendations, which I'm sure helps those books sell even more. These volume authors already have a huge following and promotional machine in place, which most new authors don't.

5) The three bears syndrome. Novellas (usually under 40,000 words), shorter books and boxed sets (usually three or more books for .99) tend to dominate some bestseller lists, so that the standard full-length novel (300-400 pages) is no longer just right. Right now five boxed sets are in Top 10 medievals (I happen to have a book in the #2 box). In the Regency Top 10 are two boxed sets and four books under 300 pages (and that includes front/back matter and any excerpts) and one with 94 pages.

6) Reviews. Many newer authors may not be able to get reviews, so they can't take out ads on sites that require a certain Amazon rating or number of reviews. Reviews can also be used on websites, in promotion, etc., but not if you don't have any.

7) You only have one book. Everywhere I go, I hear that
a) one book is rarely enough. Some even advise waiting until you have four or five so you can set up a release schedule.
b) one release a year isn't enough...to help get your name out there and keep the Amazon algorithms working in your favor. I'd planned to release four of my own books this year, but was invited to be in two boxed sets. So I had a new release every three months...and some say that's too long.

8) The book itself and/or the book's presentation. I checked the Amazon page of one author who commented about not selling. The blurb was full of errors.
Did you hire a qualified editor, and then perhaps have that editor or another one read it after you made suggested changes? Did you also use a proofreader? How does your cover stack up against books that are selling well? A newbie author should still have a bestseller-like cover. Is your subject matter in favor? Trends come and go. There's the dichotomy of writing the books of your heart and writing something readers want. You should learn the market to know where your story fits. My fourth book might combine too many genres...time will tell.

9) Your platform. What have you done/are you doing to build your newsletter list (this is one thing I need to do better) and social media presence? Do you interact on Goodreads? Do you have a newbie website or one that looks professional?

10) Where is your book available? Is your book in the right Amazon categories? Are you "going wide," meaning you're available on many sites, or just on Amazon and perhaps going Select? I hear that more authors are going wide because of changes Amazon has made, but I sold far fewer books on B&N and iBooks, so I'm sticking with that.

What can you do to improve your ability to sell?

What is a "published author?" I am. Finally.

Not that many years ago, "published" was easy to define. You went to a bookstore, saw all of the full shelves, and knew those books were published. You might have even looked at the spine or copyright page, and recognized the publishing house. You knew that someone, perhaps several or many someones, had loved, approved of and paid for the rights to make that manuscript a book.

Now, anyone can write and make a book available to the world, basically for free via Amazon if they don't hire an editor(s) or cover designer. That project could be considered published, without any vetting whatsoever. It may be great, or, it may perpetuate the view that self-published books aren't as good as those that are traditionally published.

I've pursued traditional publishing since 1995. Despite many close calls and more than a dozen revision letters on various projects, never got "the call" that an editor wanted to buy my book(s). So after a lot of hemming and hawing, as you may know I finally self-published in 2015. I've released two books so far, with a third and fourth on the way. Both books have been reviewed by Publishers Weekly and have earned assorted praise and 5 star reviews. My first is in an Amazon bestselling boxed set. I didn't feel published, however, until yesterday, when my PAN membership was approved by RWA. I've wanted to join PAN for 20 years. What does that mean? Read on.

Some authors' organizations use member requirements to define published. For example:
Romance Writers of America, with more than 10,000 members, has a Published Authors Network, or PAN. The membership requirement effective 9/1/15 states, "Any RWA General or Honorary member in good standing who has earned at least $1,000 on a single published Eligible Novel* or Eligible Novella** shall be eligible for membership in PAN, provided however that works offered through Predatory Publishing companies shall not qualify." You must provide proof of earnings. 

I believe sales and earnings are part of the definition of published. For me, it's not enough to just see my book online or hold one in my hand. So $1,000 on a single book with no requirements to keep publishing and earning isn't that high. Others may disagree.

Novelists. Inc., which has around 800 members, has these options on their membership application:
"I have published at least two novels over 50,000 words with a traditional, royalty-paying publisher, with an advance of at least $2000 each, or with royalty earnings over $2000 each in a 12-month period."

"I have independently published at least two novels over 50,000 words, with earnings of at least $5000 each in a 12-month period (proof of earnings will be requested)."

Note that self-published authors are held to a much higher standard. Hmm. 

What do you think "published" means?

The .99 boxed set: trends in e-book pricing

Several months ago, the prolific Laurel O'Donnell reached out via e-mail to invite me to join in a boxed set with her and two others, Elizabeth Rose and Kathryn Loch. The offer was quite flattering...they've all released many more books than I have (so far), and are bestsellers. I'm not...yet? Also, Laurel's The Angel and the Prince is on my keeper shelf, so I was honored that she wanted one of my books sold with hers.

The process of putting the set together was easier than I'd expected. Fortunately her talented husband did all of the formatting, so the only expense was the set's cover.

We needed to decide on the title, pricing and release date. And how much promotion we were willing to pay for. After tossing around some ideas, we agreed on Castles, Knights and Chivalry.

I struggled a bit with pricing. Many, many boxed sets are priced at .99 these days, and usually range from three to 10 full-length books. Amazon gives 35% royalties for .99 books, or approximately .09 per author per sale. Recently I saw a set with 11 books...for free!

I see both sides of the issue. On the one hand, it's easier for readers to give unfamiliar or newer authors a chance if they're part of a low priced boxed set. Then, perhaps, they'll go on to buy the author's other books. On the other, what's happening to the value of books? My contribution, At His Command, currently sells at $2.99, and has only been available since January. Would joining the box cannibalize individual book sales? The other three books have been available longer. Do e-books have limited shelf lives (pun intended) at a regular price (already significantly lower than their print counterparts) nowadays because so many new releases? As of this writing, Amazon show over 10,000 new romance releases...in the past 30 days, including just over 800 historical romances.

CKandC has been on preorder and officially releases August 1st. I'm thrilled to say it's been climbing the Amazon's Hot New Releases charts, currently #2 in Ancient World, #7 in Medieval, and #54 in all Historical Romance. Out of the top 100 Historical Romance Hot New Releases at the moment, only seven are boxed sets. In terms of sales, we're at

• #5 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Historical Romance > Ancient World
• #11 in Books > Romance > Historical > Ancient World
• #44 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Historical Romance > Medieval

We'll be doing a small amount of promotion in addition to Facebook and Twitter. How will the set do? Many have become bestsellers, so there's that dream....Stay tuned!

Best intentions vs. pushing yourself

Yes, I really want to finish revisions on book #3 so I can release it. And I want to move on to my next trilogy (or series) and perhaps contemporaries, too. Despite my best intentions, I've been getting "must" tasks done, and simply running out of brain space for "really want" tasks. Or should I push myself harder to get more done faster?

This has been a feast week as far as acting is concerned (for which I'm grateful, owing to recent weeks of relative famine). I drove to Grand Rapids (3+ hours) and back on Saturday for a role in the indie feature, WIND. I had an on-camera audition Sunday, two at different casting agencies on Monday, plus several VO auditions throughout the week. I don't do much extra work any more, but I'd heard that a great director was filming another movie here...and I was able to work on that Tuesday. I'm getting coaching for a play audition next week and needed to start learning those lines. Plus I'm taking a class and have two scripts to prepare..and a casting director will be attending our "audition." And I got the proofs of my new headshots, some of which needed to be disseminated to my agents and casting sites.

Meanwhile, I needed to spend a bit of time promoting my current books, because Follow Your Heart received a great Publishers Weekly review, and Castles, Knights & Chivalry, the boxed set At His Command is in, is doing well on the Hot New Releases lists. And I've received several projects from a new freelance writing client, and must meet those deadlines.

All of this elucidates a key difference between an indie and a traditionally published author. If I had a contract and an editor (and agent, perhaps) expecting my next book, I'd have to find a way to fit in more fiction writing, no matter how tired I was, how much other work I had to do or how much I wanted to take a night off for a social event. On the one hand, there's no external pressure to produce. On the other, it's all on me to make new books a priority.

Maybe I should go on a writer's retreat!

What will you pay for books?

As an author, I'm always trying to grow my readership, and hope new readers of one book will buy the other and look forward to my next release. But as a newer author currently writing in perhaps not the most popular sub-genre, medievals, getting my books out there can be time consuming and costly.

What do you think the average self-published author earns a year (across all genres, not just romance)? Digital Book World says the median is $500-999 per year. Other sites, such as The Write Life, take a rosier view...but you have to pay attention to the source of the statistics and which books are included...in this case, 200,000 best-sellers.

I'm very fortunate to have exceeded $999 since my first book released January 14, 2015 (my second released April 14). However, despite my love of writing, I'm debating whether the time and effort are worth the rewards. Given the expenses of self-publishing (such as great editor(s), competitive cover(s), and any promotion or marketing), even earning back what you spent can be a challenge. And the sad reality is that many--probably most--authors will never get compensated for the hours they invested in creating each book.

Why? In my opinion, there are two key reasons:
1) The proliferation of online self-published books of all levels of quality plus many authors' large backlists.

As of this writing, how many romances do you think are available for Kindle? 288,798. And 30,710 of those were released in the last 9 days.

2) The recent market devaluation of the cost of books in general.

Remember the days when you had to travel to an actual bookstore and shell out anywhere from $5.99 to $7.99 plus tax for a paperback? Now you can hop online and instantly download e-books...for free, a mere $.99, or from $1.99-4.99.

One site, k-lytics.com, reports that in April, 2015,  the average price of romance Top 100 best sellers was $2.99. When you upload your book to Kindle Direct Press, Amazon presents a bell curve showing the price at which you have the best chance of selling the most books. 

Most of us love a good sale and enjoy saving money. But many readers now feel even $2.99 is too much to pay for thousands of words the author labored over. Thanks to the proliferation of bargain and/or free book e-newsletters such as BookBub (the hardest to get your book accepted into, even at a cost of hundreds of dollars depending on your book's genre), Bargain Booksy, and Choosy Bookworm to name just a few, readers can have access to dozens of free or discounted books every single day.

And there's Kindle Owners' Lending Library, via Amazon Prime, which allows members to download many books for free. Authors decide whether or not to place their books in the program, and get paid from a global pool of Amazon's money each month. This is great, because of course authors get nothing for books taken out from traditional libraries. But for authors of novel-length books, the payment is usually less than they'd receive from an actual sale. And Amazon announced changes to the KOLL program starting in July, when payouts will be based on how many pages each KU/KOLL reader reads. 
Here's The Authors' Guild's take on the changes. There are dozens of posts claiming this will be a good or a bad thing for authors.

It's great to have the opportunity to try a new author or a different sub-genre than you usually read for free or a low cost. But too much free, whether it's temporary or permafree, IMO, devalues books in general and raises expectations of more free stuff. Will readers go and buy that new author's next book, or wait for it to go on sale, too?

What do you think about book prices? 

What to release next...decisions, decisions

Follow Your Heart received a great review from USATODAY.com (yay!), and has garnered wonderful reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Publishers Weekly is considering it for review via BookLife, which could go either way. But these days most authors can't rest on any laurels and need to keep producing books for their readers.

The questions are, what kind, what length, and with what frequency?

I've been toying with the idea of writing a novella or an entire book telling Joanna from FYH's half-sister Margery's story, in part because I've had feedback that she's an interesting character and because I love the time period and setting. I have another medieval ready to go, and manuscripts in other genres from a medieval paranormal I'd like to create a series around to a humorous women's fiction that has a romantic comedy sequel. I'm particularly fond of a paranormal time travel to Elizabethan England that I think also has series potential....

Plus I have a partial of a romantic comedy I really want to finish...at least once a week something reminds me of the premise and urges me to get back to it. Yet much advice steers newer authors against genre hopping so readers know what to expect. Will readers follow if I release in multiple genres?

I see a lot of other advice that every three months is a good new release time period. On the other hand, I don't want to overwhelm potential readers. And obviously new content takes longer to create for most of us. I don't want to over think the process and become stymied, but at the moment my gut doesn't feel clear enough to trust so I can move forward.

A good thing about self-publishing is that you can try whatever you want whenever you want. If it doesn't work, you can try something different. But you can't reclaim the time and money invested, and so want to make the most productive decisions possible.

I'm going to set a goal: I'll review all of my options, and narrow them down to the top three over the weekend. Then one week from today, I'll make a decision. There. I feel better already!

What sells books: social media, ads, blogs, reviews?

I've done quite a bit of reading about what helps to sells books beyond writing great books.Unfortunately, there's no one size fits all. No panacea. What works for you as an author, or what inspires you to buy a book as a reader?

For me, so far:
Fortunately, both versions of AT HIS COMMAND have received great 5 star reviews. "If a book lingers in my mind for more than 2 weeks, I say it's a keeper!" for the Historical Romance Version, and "All the good stuff with none of the bedroom stuff," for the Inspirational Version. I have a great review opportunity lined up for my April 14 release, FOLLOW YOUR HEART (currently on preorder for only $1.99, if you're so inclined). Fingers crossed it and the AHC review I'm awaiting from Publishers Weekly will be good!

Goodreads giveaways have been great. They seem to take on a life of their own as more people enter to win and add my book(s) to their shelves. I hope some convert to sales. My current giveaway is below, and is garnering more interest than the first one I did for ACH. More interesting blurb? Cover? Same readers who entered for AHC?

I tried a few Facebook author page post boosts, which according to FB reached thousands of people (though not always as many as they said before I clicked the buy link). I didn't get as many new likes to my page as one boost estimated. I did get some clicks/interactions with another, but I can't tell if those converted to sales. I'm grateful to every friend who has shared my covers and helped get the word out. I still feel a bit lost in the Twittersphere, though I tweet once a day or so and am increasing my number of followers.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Follow Your Heart by  

Ruth Kaufman

Giveaway ends April 12, 2015. See the giveaway  details at Goodreads. 

Enter to win

I'm also guest posting on blogs. Other things I'm doing:
This ad on page 4 of the March/April issue of BTS Book Reviews magazine:

And, I'm participating in The Romance Reviews' Anniversary Party with FYH. I'll reserve judgment until the party is over, but there are so many ads I wonder how many visitors will notice mine or answer the question for my giveaway.

It'd be great if each ad I ran or post I wrote resulted in a big sales boost. So far, I haven't seen that. But it takes time to build readership. The concepts of reach and frequency from my media research days still apply for building awareness and interest. 

Press Release: Two Versions of At His Command Available 1/14/15

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Award-winning author Ruth Kaufman publishes

two versions of the same book to target two romance genres

CHICAGO, Illinois (12-17-2014)

On January 14, 2015, award-winning author Ruth Kaufman publishes two versions of At His Command, her romance novel set in late medieval England. One version, inspirational, is mild or sweet with a faith element, and features the heroine on the cover. The hero is on the cover of the historical romance version, which opens the bedroom door and doesn’t have a faith element.

“I believe I’m the first author to target inspirational and non-inspirational romance readers at the same time. One group prefers romances to be sweet or mild with faith journeys for the hero and heroine. The other prefers hotter books and isn’t interested in books where faith plays a significant role,” Kaufman says. “This story, about a young widow who wants to defy the king’s command to marry the man he chooses and the battle-weary knight sent to protect her from undesirable suitors, works well in both sub-genres.”   

E-books are available for pre-order on Amazon.com. The historical romance version is at http://amzn.to/1yZFJvh, and the inspirational version is at http://amzn.to/1vEC8my.

About the Author:

Chicago author, on-camera and voiceover talent, freelance editor and speaker Ruth Kaufman is available for appearances, interviews and/or book-signings. Contact ruthjkauf@aol.com. Learn more at www.ruthkaufman.com.    

At His Command e-books are on Amazon Pre-order!

Success! I figured out how create my Kindle Direct Publishing account and upload both e-book versions for pre-order.

The historical romance version, with the hero on the cover, is here.  The inspirational version, which features the heroine on the cover, is here. Pre-ordered e-books will automatically be delivered to Kindles on January 14, 2015.  Print versions will be available then, also, I hope.

I've been fortunate to get these great cover quotes for the historical romance version:

A wonderful debut sure to please lovers of romance!

  —NYT & USA Today bestselling author Madeline Hunter

With a bold knight and a strong-willed lady, Kaufman's story is positively medieval.

    — NYT & USA Today bestselling author Tracy Anne Warren

And this one for the inspirational version: 

A richly textured tale of love, danger, and history. 

— NYT & USA Today bestselling author Mary Jo Putney

Which will sell better?

I'm also doing a series of guest blog posts. My first was yesterday, at romanceuniversity.org, here, on Writing the Inspirational Historical: How Much is Too Much.  I'll be posting next month on another topic on Seekerville, a popular inspirational romance site, and have other posts in the works.

I enjoy blogging and looking for other opportunities to guest or write articles much more than all of the publisher-y self-publishing steps, yet it's time consuming and I need to get manuscripts two through four ready to release....

I'm also experimenting with getting the word out via a press release...and will post about that soon.

Self-Publishing is Like Cockroaches

I consider myself a smart person. I have two graduate degrees, passed the Illinois bar exam, managed a several million dollar territory for years and earned national top performer awards at two companies. Yet myriad steps to self-publish are making my brain explode.

It's like having cockroaches. You think you've zapped them all, breathe a sigh of relief...and then another appears. No matter what I'm doing, whether it's deciding what images to put on my cover or choosing a font for drop caps, everything seems to require two steps back before I can take one forward.

Today's example: my formatter (who I hired to avoid having to figure out all of the spacing and layout issues) suggested I upload the proof she'd sent to CreateSpace (CS), because the two-page PDF layout wasn't an accurate reflection of how the book will look.

But CS doesn't let you review just the interior of your book. No. You have to make many decisions and finish the whole setup, including having a PDF of the cover "measured exactly to your book's trim size, spine width (calculated by multiplying the page count by 0.0025 and allowing for 0.0625" variance on either side of the fold lines ), and .125" bleed. My eyes glazed over. I emailed my cover designer, and now have to await their response. Will this require an additional fee?

So many authors self-publish so many books, it often seems, with ease. Yet every step of this has been like pulling teeth. Like pulling teeth while cockroaches run around.

Will all of the time and effort I've put into this process be worth it?

Pick, Promote. Projects

My self-published novel(s) will release January 14, 2015. I might have been able to get them out sooner, but wanted to be sure I gave myself time to prepare, pick and promote.

Pick: This week I'm choosing fonts for the book text and chapter headings. And deciding what should be in the header and footer. Do I want anything between scene breaks? If so, what? Should every chapter start on the right hand side? What spacing looks good between lines? This part of the process is kind of fun.

Promote: There are so many options, it's hard to know which will work and are worth the time and/or money. Will guesting on blogs garner any readers? How hard will it be to come up with something new to say for each? Some things do need to be planned in advance, because spots fill up. Reviews...how much time should I spend on trying to get them, and in what publications and sites?

Projects: I'm also completing an article for Romance Writers of America's trade magazine and auditioning for VO and on-camera work. I recorded 2 radio commercials, prepared for a short freelance job this weekend, had a call with a newspaper reporter for an upcoming column (more on that later) and might have a photo shoot tomorrow for it.

Somehow I need to make time to work on the next book....  

Should I Self-publish?

Many people have suggested self-publishing as an alternative to selling to an NY publisher. (Others have suggested e-publishing...which perhaps I'll address at another time.)

First, a question, fellow readers: how many self-pubbed novels have you bought? My guess is zero or less than a handful.

The Pros:
1. You will get to hold a copy of your book in your hand, see your name on the spine and show it to your friends and family.

2. According to my research, self-publishing often works better for non-fiction. I am considering self-publishing a non-fiction book I'm working on with a friend. We wrote a proposal and got this feedback from a couple of big agents: great proposal, great idea. But you have no platform.
Platform means you're already well-known and highly established in your field, via the Internet, TV/radio, print media. My Web site gets a fair number of hits, but not enough (yet?) to equal a platform. My co-author and I haven't yet decided whether we want to try to build one.

3. If you work hard enough, and spend enough time/money/energy on promotion/publicity, you can probably make a little money.

The Cons:
1. It's not called a 'mass market' novel for nothing. In today's world you still need mass market distribution, availability in bookstores, any publisher support you can get to grow readership and sales. Most self-publishers I've researched charge extra for each service/benefit you'd receive from a traditional publisher.

2. I'd have to hand sell almost every copy. Sure, someone could stumble across it amidst the zillions for sale and buy it, and these days you can get an ISBN number via various self-publishers so you can sell your book in online 'stores.' Sure, my mom and some of my friends would buy my book. But though I know a lot of people, it could take a year to sell even 1,000 copies, which isn't very many to the agents and editors you might want to represent or buy your next opus. And if I'm spending that much time self-marketing, when will I write the next book? Some self-publishers offer various types of marketing packages, with separate fees for each type of media. These can run into the thousands of dollars.

3. It seems that anyone can self-publish almost anything. There is almost no vetting of quality or marketability, though some sites will evaluate your manuscript...for a fee. Traditional editors/agents won't buy or represent you if they don't love your work and see $ dollar signs when they read it, because they are putting their reputations on the line. Just because you and your best friend think your manuscript is amazing doesn't mean it is.

5. Only a VERY few self-pubbed novels are are picked up by an NY publisher.
But then, someone wins the lottery every week...

6. Will you get reviewed if you self-publish? There are hundreds of traditionally published books out every month competing for increasingly limited review spots in major newspapers and magazines. Sure, online sites can review more books, but how will yours stand out if they do?

The jury's still out on this topic...

For good news about self-publishing, see:

More Self-Publishers Hit the Big Time in Publishers Weekly

The Lace Reader in Publishers Weekly

On the other hand,

SFWA has this to say here

Tess Gerritsen's thoughts

And agent Nathan Bransford offers his pros and cons, with lots of reader comments.

Interested in self-publishing your Great American Novel?

Wikipedia says

LifeTips on self publishing

Check out these self-publishers:

Lulu.com

iUniverse

Xlibris

BookSurge