I grew up knowing I wanted to be a writer. In high school I subscribed to Writer's Digest, which I believed to be the Bible for Those Who Would Be Published. In college I took every writing class and workshop offered, and began to send out my first tentative submissions. With each manuscript I sent out, my collection of rejection slips grew. I told myself I was 'on my way.'
After college, I used the Internet to connect with other like-minded folk interested in publishing their written words. I discovered a variety of genres I never knew existed, including M/M fiction. I was floored to find that not only did other writers like these sorts of stories, but people actually liked to read them! Without further thought I leapt head-first into slash fan fiction, sure I had found my true calling.
Unfortunately, fan fiction is not a paying market. So I began to explore original gay fiction, but there was nothing in the Writer's Market to point me to where I could publish this stuff. I knew nothing of e-publishing at the time, except that there was a big to-do made when Stephen King published Riding the Bullet as an e-book. I bought it, being a fan, and promptly never read it. So I didn't think that e-publishing had much of a shelf life. If I couldn't even be bothered to read a story by my favorite author, who would care to read anything of mine?
So I chose the self-publishing route. I told myself it was the best way to go - my first novel was science fiction and I didn't want to be pigeonholed into that genre; also, none of the sci-fi publishing houses listed gay fiction as a genre they considered, and my first novel definitely had plenty of hot gay sex in it. I had heard horror stories of the 'slush pile' and didn't relish the thought of my manuscript languishing for years only to find out it wouldn't work for the publisher. I had other stories to write, and I wanted to move on. With no options seemingly available to me, I scraped my money together and released Operation Starseed through iUniverse.
Then came the marketing.
I wasn't naïve - I knew I would need to promote my book if anyone was going to read it. But the subject matter made it difficult to talk about it where I lived. At my first author event, I sat on a panel among women who had written Southern cookbooks or personal testimonies to God. To say I didn't quite fit in would be the understatement of the year. I bought 10 copies of my book for the event, borrowing money from my father, and sold a total of one (I thought enough ahead to plant a friend in the audience). Obviously, this wasn't the ideal way to sell books.
With that fiasco behind me, I began devouring any and all information I could find on self-promotion. iUniverse had a wealth of articles available to new authors, covering everything from book signings to sell sheets to press releases. I read them all, took them to heart, and began a direct mail marketing campaign that targeted gay/lesbian bookstores around the country. With my subsequent releases, that campaign seemed to work - I received small royalty checks on a quarterly basis, and felt that I was once again 'on my way' to the life of a published author.
But self-publishing through a company such as iUniverse was cost-prohibitive in many ways. The company does all of the dirty work involved in publishing a book - they lay out your book's interior, they design the cover, they provide distribution, and they physically print the books - and they charge accordingly. When they changed their contract to include a non-exclusivity clause, their prices rose to cover any losses. And suddenly the cost of self-publishing couldn't be justified by the measly royalties I received in return. I had to find another avenue for publication or stop writing so damn much.
I still wasn't sold on e-publishing. I didn't even offer my books in electronic format, sure no one would be interested. So I looked around until I found Lulu, a print-on-demand or POD publisher who didn't charge exorbitant fees because the author did all the work. I would be the one in charge of designing the book's interior, the cover, etc. All I paid for was distribution and the purchase of an ISBN number. With three books under my belt and a new wealth of marketing experience to draw on, I whole-heartedly jumped at the opportunity to continue self-publishing.
Given my track record with fan fiction, you would've thought I'd be more interested in electronic publication, but it wasn't until I decided to explore short erotic fiction that I once again found an online audience. Once I started looking, I found numerous contests, web-based journals, magazines, and anthologies seeking short fiction, the hotter, the better. I turned my attention to short stories and began the tedious submissions process all over again. But to my surprise, there were fewer rejection slips - apparently I had found in gay fiction my calling as a writer after all, and the publication of my short fiction helped boost the sales of my self-published novels.
Then the editor at Aspen Mountain Press, an up and coming e-publisher, contacted me about re-publishing my novels as e-books. I was skeptical - the books were currently available in electronic format, but I had seen nothing in my sales figures to suggest co-venturing with a publisher. For one, I currently made 80% off all sales, and the standard e-book publisher's royalty rate of 35-40% paled in comparison. But the marketing person in me decided to take a chance, and sent the publisher a book I planned to self-publish. I negotiated to keep the print rights, and the book was released in both paperback and e-book formats simultaneously.
Suddenly, my sales skyrocketed.
It was eye-opening, to say the least. With the publication of one e-book, my other titles were now being downloaded left and right. Apparently e-publishing was no longer the 'red-headed stepchild' Writer's Digest and all the literary magazines made it out to be. My sales proved that there was a strong reader base I had not yet tapped. I felt behind the times, and rushed to catch up.
The self-published author in me has jumped at every opportunity to promote myself, whether it be my backlist or upcoming titles. I signed a contract with Fictionwise to sell my backlist of titles; Aspen Mountain Press showed interest in republishing them, but to be honest, the thought of editing them again after all this time exhausted me. This venture with Fictionwise has proven to be one of the best business decisions I've made. The sheer volume of traffic a site like Fictionwise receives has provided sales figures I would've never seen if I stayed self-published.
But there is a big difference between self-publishing and working with a publisher, electronic or otherwise. At the moment, my biggest issue has been learning patience. Because I've done actual editing and design, I find it hard to understand why I can't just release a book whenever I want. I have to force myself not to follow-up on outstanding submissions because it's only been a few days since I sent the story to the editor; once a story has been contracted, I have to sit on my hands to keep from pulling it back to publish myself. Waiting is the hardest part, but if I want to utilize the publishers' resources, I need to abide by their schedules.
Self-publishing is not for everyone. You have to be your own editor, which some simply cannot do. (I'm sure some readers would argue I can't, either). You need an eye for design, and need to know what works visually on a page and what will attract a reader's attention. You also need a good working knowledge of computers, to manipulate the documents to fit your designs. And you need to learn how to promote yourself.
Unless you're Stephen King, the truth is that your books will not fly off the shelves by themselves. Most electronic publishers ask new authors to think about their marketing plan prior to publication. With a traditional or e-book publisher, there may be cross-over sales from fans of your genre, and there is some level of marketing to announce new releases to the general public. But with self-publishing, you don't even have that to fall back on. You have to build the buzz for your book; you have to reach the audience intended for it. If you don't want to devote long hours to marketing and promoting your own writing, then self-publishing is definitely not for you.
On the other hand, I have learned things through self-publishing I may not have bothered to find out otherwise. I know more about marketing than I might otherwise - I've written my own sell sheets and press releases, mailed them to gay bookstores around the country, and called book buyers to inquire about stocking my book. Because sex sells, obviously, I've learned to choose provocative covers for my self-published books. People like freebies, so I have numerous short stories, e-books, and book excerpts on my website for free. Readers want to be able to contact the author with questions or feedback, so I've created a Yahoo! group and try to be accessible to anyone who contacts me.
I track my website visitors carefully, and exploit ad campaigns targeting certain audiences who may be interested in my books. I've joined the ManLove Romance co-operative, a group of like-minded writers who pool their resources to afford advertising in print magazines with a large readership. Because I started in fan fiction, I run a banner ad on a popular adult fan fiction site, drawing over 100 hits a week. Not bad for $15 a month. For my upcoming superhero stories, I plan to purchase ad space on a comic book site that focuses on queer readers. The trick is to learn who your audience is, who buys your books, who loves your style of writing, and do everything in your power to put your book in their hands.
I've also lost all shyness when it comes to talking up my books. It can be hard to be honest about writing gay erotic romance when a family friend or older relative smiles at you sweetly and asks what you write. But eh, it's the true. I'm the type of person to tell you straight up what my books are about, or what I'm writing now-if you're uncomfortable about it, you shouldn't have asked. This cavalier attitude has helped me gain a few readers as well. Many a cashier or bagger at the grocery store has been slipped my business card or a pen with my URL on it simply because he pinged my gaydar.
Self-publishing has also allowed me to achieve a certain level of comfort when editing my own work, which has helped when working with other editors. I'm savvy about what works and what doesn't, in marketing and design, both on and off line. Surprisingly, these skills have become invaluable to me in promoting my work to editors and readers alike.
An author of gay erotic/romantic fiction, J. M. Snyder began self-publishing gay erotic fiction in 2002. Since then, Snyder has released several books in trade paperback format and has begun exploring the world of e-publishing, working with both Aspen Mountain Press and Amber Quill Press. Snyder's highly erotic short gay fiction has been published online at Ruthie's Club, Tit-Elation, Sticky Pen, and Amazon Shorts, as well as in anthologies by Aspen Mountain Press, Cleis Press, and Haworth Press. A full bibliography, as well as free fiction, book excerpts, purchasing information, and exclusive contests, can be found at http://jmsnyder.net
