The new year is upon us. Will 2011 be your breakthrough year? Will it be MINE?

Folks, I want to close out 2010 with another word about the possibility of self-publishing, particularly for those of you who have a message burning within and are frustrated by continual rejection. You really should at least investigate self-publishing. In the current issue of Publisher’s Weekly, we read that six of the top 100 Kindle bestsellers last month were by self-published authors. The climate for self-publishing has never been better—IF you’re willing to promote your self-published book. If good sales follow, you will likely have editors like me and others pursuing YOU, instead of the other way around. The caveat is in the word “promote.” You do not want to self-publish and have a garage full of unsold books. Begin to lay out a publishing plan in advance and then follow through.

In addition to the article in PW, I’m reminded about self-publishing again this week because I just received in the mail a book that I had pitched hard to our publishing committee only a few short months ago. To my regret, they said no. So the author wisely found a self-publishing company that was able to get his book out quickly. This author does have a nice platform and a small but loyal following. The book is well-written and I hope it becomes a bestseller.

As 2011 unfolds, keep looking for a good agent, attend a writer’s conference, watch for fresh book ideas, write daily, read the writing blogs, and consider ALL your publishing options, including self-publishing.

Finally, several have asked me about how to subscribe to the blog. From my web guru, Erin:

To subscribe to your blog, readers have to have a feed reader already set up. Blogger has a free one, so does Google Reader, Netvibes and many others. Then they click on the RSS feed button, either in your sidebar where there are buttons, in the URL (on the right, a little orange box) or set it up using your address from their end on their reader. Using any one of these methods a reader can read your blog remotely and many probably already do.

The phrase “You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed” will subscribe a reader to the COMMENTS on that article only. To subscribe to the posts on your blog, readers will need to use one of the methods I listed above.

If you have any more questions, there is a little video here:

Thank you Erin.

Happy new year to all. And may 2011 bring us all the success we’re working and praying for.

9 replies
  1. Cindy Scinto says:

    GREAT posting and points. I self-published after the frustration of repeated rejection and am on my second book. Sales are good, schedule is full, and my platform has allowed me to network with many types of people.

    The best reward is having a book to sell or hand to someone knowing it is done professionally and the message will reach their heart.

    I’ve never been so fulfilled. 8^)

    Cindy

  2. Jan Cline says:

    I agree with Cindy…her book turned out beautifully and she is doing a great job promoting it. I would consider it for my current WIP (if you reject my one sheet) but like most authors with a smaller platform, I worry about getting my investment back. Also, this book is a collaboration – is that a greater risk for self-publishing?

  3. Michael K. Reynolds says:

    I really believe 2011 will be a breakthrough year in many areas. Looking forward to that ball descending in Times Square. Our family always watches the East Coast broadcast on satellite so we can get a three hour head start on the celebration.

  4. Sheila Deeth says:

    I self-published but wish I’d realized how rarely “You should get that published; I’d buy twelve for Christmas presents” actually turns into sales. Still, I sold quite a number of Christmas presents this year, and gave presents too; things are slowly looking up.

  5. Jan Cline says:

    Hi Nick, I was just wondering what you thought about Rachelle Gardner’s blog post concerning queries. It seems to me that this trend in diminishing agent availability will send more people to the Self Publishing table. It’s so difficult to find an agent and I think you are right about the future of SP – esp after reading Rachelle’s blog post.

  6. Nick says:

    I totally understand Rachelle’s situation. Think of it: 10,000 queries and not a single client out of all those queries! Would YOU continue to read queries if you were in her shoes?

    That said, for me, part of the fun of this business is finding that one gem of an unpublished writer and seeing their talent reach an audience. I love it! For that reason, I’m perhaps a litte lax in making rules.

  7. Jan Cline says:

    You’re right. I wouldn’t want to be an agent…it’s too much work!! I appreciate your enthusiasm for that undiscovered writer out there. It’s like that one great golf shot….keeps you coming back to the game, even when the rest isn’t so great!
    Thanks

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