A Little Story About Self Publishing…

Once upon a time, an aspiring writer had to a) jump through hoops b) sleep with someone or c) petition the literary gods, to get a book deal.  Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit, but if you ask a few authors who received mainstream deals, maybe I’m not too far off the mark.  :-)

Then over time came a path less traveled then, but is all too common right now–self-publishing.   Self-publishing venues have made it easy for authors to get a book into print and into the hands of avid readers.  There are a great deal of authors who started on that path and eventually swept into a lane which put them on the New York Times Best-seller’s list.  Case-in-point, the Romancing the Stone series written by Catherine Lanigan writing as Joan Wilder, was on the NY Times for several weeks, then eventually made into a movie.  Robert T. Kiyosaki was turned down by several major houses before he published his own book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, then hit it big on the NY Times list.  Louise L. Hay’s self-published book, You Can Heal Your Life, was on the NY Times list for thirteen consecutive weeks.  She went on to publish other powerhouses such as Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Suze Orman, Doreen Virtue, Sandra Brown, Tavis Smiley and many others.  And it goes to show that what’s in, what’s popular, what’s perfect to publish with major houses is subjective.  Most people don’t even know that John Grisham’s A Time to Kill was rejected (that’s right, I said the “R” word), by several major houses before The Firm was picked up by one, then they went back to publish A Time to Kill (which, in my opinion, was his best work!)  While he didn’t self-publish, he didn’t let the “R” word deter him, either.

Now on the flipside, the authors who are probably most dear to the hearts of those reading this blog have their own story to tell:  Mary B. Morrison left a six figure government job to write, publish and promote her own book, landing a six figure deal with a major house shortly thereafter.  E. Lynn Harris, famous for the “pop the trunk” sales as he went door to door to beauty salons and other local venues for his first self-published title, eventually landed a deal and had several books on the NY Times list as well.  Kimberla Lawson Roby, too, enjoyed success as a self-published author before an agent landed her with a major house and eventually over the years of success she commanded a million dollar deal in the offing.  Zane gave away her short stories on a website, then self-published, then landed a book deal, then slammed onto the NY Times list, published other authors and eventually became an imprint of a major house.

See a trend here?  I certainly did.  Self-publish, learn the industry, set some goals, build a name, then spread your wings.  The people mentioned in this article inspired me to follow in their footsteps. So in 1999, though I never aspired to be an author, I believed I had a story to tell. I self-published in 2000, published others from 2001-2005, then became a little weary of the restrictions the major store chains were putting on self-published authors because in some places, they were outselling other authors. Though I enjoyed the control self-publishing gave me, I wanted a book deal with a major house.  At the last minute, as I prepared two other authors for Book Expo America, I threw a book together in a few days–four Fridays in a row from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., at a little hole in the wall on the South side of Chicago, had it edited a couple of times and a month later the finished trade paperback was in my hand.  That last minute book, Every Woman Needs a Wife, landed a book deal with an imprint of a major house, and later on the Essence Best-seller’s list and Black Expressions best seller list.  The novel is now required reading at a major Indiana University. I’m happy that I self-published first as it allowed me the opportunity to learn and grow.  Was the grass greener on the mainstream publishing side?  I’ll let you know in my next blog!

Naleighna Kai is the author of Every Woman Needs a Wife, co-author of Speak it into Existence and CEO of Macro Marketing & Promotions Group.  She is a publishing consultant, a developmental editor, interior book designer among other talents. Visit her on the web at www.naleighnakai.com or www.macrompg.com,  lissa@macrompg.com