How to Break into Publishing after Self-publishing
This is a quick followup to the previous post on the stigma of self-publishing.
With the big houses in New York primarily focused on the big-profit books and authors, those who have previously self-published may be better off getting into them through the back door.
How do you do that?
First, make yourself famous, to some degree or another. (I hear you laughing.) There are lots of great websites, blogs and newsletters with tips on developing your “platform” and expanding your reach or your audience base (i.e., your book’s ready-made potential buyers). This takes time, but is do-able with well focused efforts.
Second, aim lower, push farther: Sell your books to smaller, boutique publishers to break into “legitimate” publishing, then promote the hell out of those books to prove you can make money for your publisher.
Now, consider one more thing: If you can make money and develop a good, solid readership with a small publisher, why switch to one of The Big Houses at all?
As I’ve learned in hiring creative agencies to develop marketing campaigns for my client/employer companies: bigger isn’t necessarily better. With a small agency, your account gets the attention of the best people on the team…because that’s all there is. On the other hand, with a big agency, you may be paying for the most creative and successful people in the industry, but finding only the less brilliant players assigned to your account and projects…unless, of course, your company represents a huge potential income to the agency.
Big publishers may have the most money, but you may get less support for your book from them than from a small publisher that really wants and needs your book to succeed.
Remember that small publishers may be just as concerned about picking up your self-published books for the same reasons the big houses will be. But they may be more impressed by your promotional efforts and sales of your previous books and more willing to give your next book a chance. Once they’ve published the first book and made a little money, they may be more interested in buying and re-publishing your self-pubbed books under their own imprints to leverage and enhance whatever momentum your previous books have created.
Small publishers want to make money, just like big publishers…just like authors. But they operate on a smaller scale: smaller advances, smaller print runs, smaller risks, smaller profits. Being a little closer to the ground, they can afford to take risks because the fall won’t kill them if things don’t work out. Your previous efforts in self-publishing and promotion can show them that you are a safer risk than the next author.
