I never dreamed in 2016 that I would see my little memoir’s audiobook up there next to blockbuster ones on Audible’s site. The hardcover version of When I Married My Mother (Da Capo Press) had been released in the spring of 2009, unintentionally timed six months after the devastating stock market crash. Everyone’s wallet was stapled shut. My then agent said, “Jo, these sales numbers are crazy low. They can’t be real.”
They were.
Most people would have thrown in the towel. What kept me going? The response from readers. There was an emotional connection so deep, a cathartic release so helpful, it wasn’t unusual for a reader’s eyes to well up with tears when they met me. Mine did as well. I could not abandon this book.
I almost did. Many times. Something would always happen to keep me going. Like Maya Angelou saying: “This book is important to every mother and daughter, and to every woman who wants to be one.”
She gave me the quote a year after the book came out. SONY TV had optioned it with Shirley MacLaine playing Mama Jo. A paperback version was going to be released with the movie. Her blurb would be on it. Two weeks after she gave it to me the movie option disappeared and the paperback plans were pulled.
I was eternally grateful for the quote. Okay, more like totally blown away. But it really was time to throw in the towel, I thought. Then one of the top agents in the country fell in love with WIMMM. She helped me negotiate procuring my rights back and tried to find a home for the paperback version. Could it be my book was going to rise from the ashes after all?
No. The publishing world was still reeling from the market crash. She urged me to publish WIMMM on my own. Self-publish? Oh, no. Please not that. Please, please, please not that!
I resisted and worked on a new novel. One day, as I was in the midst of selling off my mother’s massive doll collection one doll at a time because I wasn’t making enough as a writer, the Dr. Oz TV show called. They were looking for people with weird collections and had heard about mine. Since I was letting go of the dolls, I wasn’t the kind of guest they wanted, but it hit me that I could have been on the Dr. Oz show with no copies of my books out there other than a few used hardcover copies (FYI: used copies do not bring the author one penny. If you buy a “new” copy from a secondary seller it is probably a used book in good condition.)
I published WIMMM as an ebook and paperback. You can call it “indie publishing” now to avoid the dreaded S-word (self). Sales barely made a dent in what it cost me to create it in paperback and digital formats. It was throw-in-the-towel time again.
Then, incredibly, in early 2013, BookBub gave me a placement in their Ebook Bargains of the Day email when I ran a short freebie promotion on Amazon. I had heard giving a book away can lead to more sales and reviews. It’s called the “halo effect.” I had never heard of BookBub then (this was before they became the biggest thing there is in book marketing). 30,000 people downloaded WIMMM for free. At first I saw thousands of potential dollars flying out the window. Free? Couldn’t they have at least paid one penny?
[Obligatory PSA: I doubt there’s a published writer out there who will disagree with me on this. Yes, we love that our book is read. Even better, shared. Even much better, a glowing review is posted on a major bookselling site. But the idea that it’s perfectly acceptable to read a book for free and the author not receive something in return is like eating at a restaurant, not paying the tab and not feeling guilty about it. If we can’t make a living doing this, we can’t continue to do it. If you like a book you read for free, at least write a review! It feeds the ravenous search engines which helps the author. Thank you.]
Post-BookBub promotion, I not only had the best month ever in sales, the number of reviews skyrocketed. That fed into more sales. I was stunned.
Over the years I’ve done a few paid BookBub Deals. (A Deal is not the same as taking out an ad with them). Deals are are not easy to get because BookBub is extremely selective, which is why they are so popular. The price of a deal has steadily climbed. Each deal I ran was worth it. The only reason my audiobook hit the Best Seller list was directly linked to being a BookBub Featured Deal.
WIMMM now has over 1,200 Amazon reader reviews and 4.5 stars. My indie sales plus my initial advance from Da Capo has given me a nice profit. And it keeps selling. The royalty checks are modest now, but they show up every month and it’s been over ten years since its first publication. Incredible!
I still get wonderful emails from readers I call “God winks.” For a book I almost didn’t write because I didn’t think anyone would care, or like it, that’s the best reward of all.
It took me years to work up the emotional strength and to carve out the countless hours needed to record the audiobook. I read it into a microphone four times and made hundreds of edits before I was happy with it. Am I ever glad I did that now.
There you have it. The little book that took on a life of its own thanks to the internet and divine intervention. I will never complain about my high-speed internet bill again.
However, I released two novels myself that did not have the same result. I was happy they finally saw the light of day and were well-received by readers. I had a lot of fun promoting them. Without the support of a publisher to give them wide distribution and promotion, the return on my investment did not meet my expectations. Costs and time add up quickly if you’re doing it right.
I also didn’t like the kind of person I had become; the continual self-promotion and cajoling of others to buy the book, like my page, leave a review and on and on.
New Yorker cartoon by Klossner
To anyone considering self-publishing, I give this advice: If your book was already published traditionally, had great reviews and blurbs, and you now have the rights back: do it. If you are starting from square one: prepare to climb a mountain with your teeth while paying through the nose.
Indie publishers now request over 700,000 ISBN numbers from Bowkers (the number that identities your book) each year in addition to the 300,000 that traditional publishers release. [These numbers have been updated on the link below and are even more heartbreaking.] You do have a better chance for success if you’re writing in a genre that lends itself to a series with the same characters (such as mystery, thrillers, para-normal, romance). Just look at what sells.
I caution you to not spend any more on this dream than you would on a hobby. Most self-published books sell an average of 200 copies, if that. I did way better but I had a platform and a book with a quote from Maya Angelou. What you net will be quite different from total sales. You’ll make anywhere from 35 cents on a .99 cent ebook to a couple of dollars on a print version. You will give away lots of copies to promote it. Do the math.
HOWEVER! When you have a book in you that must get out, you will be filled with regret if you don’t do it. As one friend answered when I asked him how he would feel if he didn’t write his book: “Let me put it to you this way. When I’m laid to rest, I want my book put in the coffin with me.”
If that describes you, then you must do it.
To read more sobering facts about publishing updated during the pandemic, click here. Or throw all caution to the wind and enjoy the thrill of being a published author.
First sale of NAKED DJ to my dental hygienist. Worth it!
First published June 25, 2016. Updated December 21, 2020