At the Writer’s Digest Conference, and other events I’ve attended lately, one thing has become very clear: self-publishing is no longer synonymous with vanity publishing.
In fact, self-publishing can be a sound business model for writers with a more entrepreneurial bent. There’s even some fascinating research (a Digital Book World survey) suggesting that “hybrid” authors–who both traditionally publish and self-publish books throughout their career–tend to see more success than authors who choose one route over the other.
I’m working to learn more about this research so I can share it in detail with you. The implications for this research are huge and could mean big changes in how we authors approach our publishing careers. In the meantime, I think it’s clear that self-publishing has become an important component of our industry and it’s time we make it part of the DIY MFA conversation.
This week I’m excited to introduce a new series here at DIY MFA. While at Writer’s Digest Conference East and other events, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many talented self-published writers–including many “hybrid” authors. These talented and successful writers have agreed to participate in a DIY MFA Q&A series share their experiences in self-publishing.
The goal for this Q&A series is to get different perspectives on this same topic, so I’ll be asking similar questions to each writer I interview. The idea here is to bring together some of the top minds in this field and get a really in-depth look at how each writer approached the self-publishing process. We have some amazing writers lined up for this series, including:
- Eric DelaBarre, author of children’s book Saltwater Taffy, and comes to self-publishing with a TV background.
- Viki Noe, who created a specific niche–the Friend Grief community–and uses self-publishing to reach it.
- Guy Kawasaki, author of A.P.E. Author Publisher Entrepreneur, THE guide to self-publishing out right now.
…and others. I’ll be updating this list as more authors join, so check back here for the latest news. And stay tuned because this series is going to be EPIC!
