Publishing is changing. Some for the good. Some for the worse. But all in all, I feel it’s a grand time for authors to make a way for themselves.

I once called e-publishing the “revenge of the writer” because it opened doors previously closed to writers. It was a new chance to put their work in front of the buying public. As I watch the e-revolution, I’m encouraged but maintain a bit of caution. This revolution has just begun. The outcome is yet to be seen.

E-author success up ‘til now is unique and constantly changing. But the e-reader phenomenon has created some great author success stories.

Yet things are still shaping. Trends are shaking out, slowing down, finding a rhythm, and driving toward permanent change.As you pursue your own writing dreams, e-publishing might be a valid option. It is worth considering.

There are plenty of testimonies of authors making several thousand a month, but we don’t really know how many authors are making next to nothing on their self published e-books. One UK Guardian article that said most self-published e-authors were making less than $500 a year.

Consider that the more self e-publishing grows, the larger, more crowded the e-publishing world will be . E-authors could be a dime-a-dozen.

Smashwords alone grew 12,000 independent publisher and authors since 2010, up to 38,000.

38,000! That’s a lot of publishing. Already, the publishing world puts out a million titles a year. Of those million, only 25,000 sell five thousand copies or less. Only a few hundred sell a hundred thousand or more.

Here’s a list of stats from a self-publish site. Take a look at these. The one that stood out to me was 81% if all people feel they have a book in them. What if each one actually self published that book? What if half of them published?

Imagine you’re in a room with another romance authors. You each sell ten books to readers. Then four more show up. Now you only sell six books. Because each of the four have taken from your market share.Then suddenly, twenty more authors join you. All talking. All trying to sell their book.

Now, you can’t get anyone to even pay attention to you let alone buy your book. You have to shout louder and louder, come up with more wild hooks and pitches just get someone to stop at your book table.

The economics of more and more authors entering self-publishing e-world demands that everyone will sell less for less money. As competition in the market increases and the novelty wears off, people will stop downloading “free” or $.99 books just “because they can” and start looking for books of value.

Just like they do now.

This is the value of publishers who vet their books and authors the acquire. It’s not really a difference between e-books or traditional, it’s a difference in quality and breadth of the field.

Should every one who has a story in them write it and publish it? Probably not. But can they? Yeah.

There are a few success stories where an author published an e-book, sold several thousand copies a month for several months and ended up being acquired by Amazon’s publisher, Montlake.

Dr. Debra Holland is such an author. She doesn’t blog much. Doesn’t have a large Twitter or FB following, claims she only sent out 6 review copies, but she’s sold over 67,000, of her fist book, Wild Montana Sky.

This is highly unusual, but it happened. She had a sweet historical with a great title and cover.

On her site, you can also see how series trend. Book one sells the most. Two and three considerably les. This is why publishers constantly tell us, “series don’t sell well.”

There are e-authors exhorting unpublished authors to “get their rejected manuscripts out of the closet” and put them up on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

“You’ll make tons of money!”

Maybe. Hopefully. But probably not.

If your goal is to be a selling, working, money earning author enduring in this business for a long haul, do not have a knee jerk reaction and slap up your rejected manuscripts in an e-book and upload to the web.

Think about what you ultimate want. Think about your goals as a writer. Consider the field of other authors just like you who are trying to do the same thing.

Up ‘til now, the wildly successful e-books have been paranormal, horror, sci-fi, fantasy and erotica.

Holland’s sweet historical romances are a surprise success, IMHO. Especially since she did not promotion whatsoever. But she’s the exception not the norm.

Here are a few things to consider before e-publishing your work.

1. Hook! You have to have a hook. Here’s a link to another self-published success. “Diary of a Mad Fat Girl.” Who can’t relate to that? A marketing hook is essential. And often times, most times, that’s what books lack for the publishing world as well as the self publishing world.
2. If it was rejected by a publisher, consider why? Do you want this manuscript up on the web when and if you do get traditionally published? My first book was an e-book way back in 2004. It was a sweet romance and I liked it at the time, but I kind of wish I had time to make a deep editing pass at it now.
3. If you’re considering e-publishing for your rejected manuscript because the genre just doesn’t do well in CBA, then great. But you’ll need to get it professionally edited. Not copy edited. Not proofed. You’ll need a substantive edit. Nearly all traditionally published novels go through the skilled hands of an editor who writes a letter requesting/suggesting ways to improve the book. EVERY writer needs an editor. And it can’t be your best friend or mama. Be prepared to pay for a good editor.
4. You’ll need to get your manuscript copy edited to fix little things and anomalies. After that, you’ll need a proofer.
5. You’ll need a good cover artist.
6. Total cost to have a manuscript ready for publishing? $2000 – $4000 dollars.
7. You’ll need a hook. What’s the marketing hook to your book? What will grab the readers attention?
8. You’ll need to set aside time and money to promote. While Holland and Hocking had great success with a few blog reviews, don’t count on the same for yourself. I hope you do, but set aside $3000ish for promotion. There are great companies like LitFuse who will help you promote your book.
9. Considering possible out lay to publish your book, consider how many you need to sell in order to earn your money back. Let’s say you spend $3000 to prepare and promote your book which you’re selling for $2.99. You’ll keep about $2.00 per sale. To earn back your investment, you’ll need to sell at least 1500 books. Sound easy? How are you going to attract 1500 readers? How do you get their attention with 1000s of other authors are also vying for their attention. There are some states where I have zero sales. E or traditionally published books. So, think this out. Make a plan.
10. If you’re writing a series and hope to eventually be picked up by a traditional publisher, don’t self-publish the first in a series hoping to sell the second book to a traditional publisher. They can’t do anything with that kind of combination. Once in awhile, publishers buy a back list novel and revamp it but that’s rare. So, if you e-pub a book in a series, work on something else for your target traditional publisher.

Publishing literature needs publishers and editors. We need gate keepers. One, to help us to improve as authors! Two, to keep the bar of good writing at a reasonable level.

Yeah, I’ve not been excited about some bestsellers or Pulitzer Prize winning novels. I’ve read lots of drivel the rest of the world thinks is stellar, but I’ve also read manuscripts by up and coming authors who feel they are ready for publication and they are not.

Be patient. Work the craft. I can’t stress how much I learned from my editor, Ami McConnell, at Thomas Nelson. I wouldn’t be here without her.

So, what’s good about e-publishing?

1. Options. A chance to do something with a book traditional publishers just don’t k now what to do with. We see that reality a lot. “We love this book, but the marketing team doesn’t know how to sell and promote it.”
2. A chance to make more money. We see established authors leaving their publishers to self publish in order to make money. We see the same thing in the music world. If I was J.K. Rowling, I’d self publish too. She has the money and clout. You and I don’t.
3. Independence. You can publish as fast and slow as you want. You can write what you want, when you want.
4. E-publishing is the wave of the future. Getting in early may (or may  not) have it’s benefits.
5. If you have a platform, e-publishing is chance to have more control and earn more money.

I hope this helps. As a traditionally published author, I am not prejudice or bitter about e-publishing. Well, actually, I do have an e-book too!

But I am cautious with e-publishing as an option for new authors who might not be ready. I want you to achieve your first goal: to be a good, established author writing well written stories.

Seek the Lord about the steps you take. Be patient. Trust Him.

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Best-selling, award-winning author Rachel Hauck loves a great story. She excels in seeing the deeper layers of a story. With a love for teaching and mentoring, Rachel comes alongside writers to help them craft their novel. A worship leader, board member of ACFW and popular writing teacher, Rachel is the author of over 15 novels. She lives in Florida with her husband and her dog, Lola. Contact her at: Rachel@mybooktherapy.com.