In this article we'll consider:
Is a long-term self-publishing career still viable?
Publishing consistently
Building and maintaining an audience
Diversifying
Optimizing marketing
Maintaining high standards
A business mindset
Making room for downtime
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We're lucky to live in an age where self-publishing offers you the freedom to not only get your work out into the world without approval from a publishing gatekeeper, but also to manage every aspect of your career, from what you write, to where you publish, and how you connect with fans.
However, given the size of the ever-growing market – the number of authors publishing, the number of books available, the threat of mass-produced AI bestsellers – is a successful self-publishing career still a viable option?
In the early days of Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (launched November, 2007), writers found that, aside from the whole writing-a-novel part, they could upload their books, reach readers and earn sales relatively easily. Yet while the gold rush years swiftly passed, and finding an audience has become increasingly difficult, the potential to build, grow and sustain a successful long-term self-publishing career remains very much on the table for those prepared to go all in.
Why? Because no matter how many books are out there – or who or what has written them – there will always be readers looking for more, new, and relevant stories that reflect our diverse, ever-changing lives.
So let's take a look at some key strategies successful indies are currently using to ensure longevity in their self-publishing career, and how you can too.
1. Consistent publishing schedule
Most successful self-published authors stick to a new-release schedule, whether it’s one book per year or several per quarter; the benefits of which are several:
Keeps readers engaged, and keeps you front of mind – if, for example, you launch one new book every January and another every July without fail, your readers will soon expect and eagerly anticipate the next release when those months come around.
Increases visibility on platforms like Amazon, whose algorithms favour new releases and active seller accounts with regular sales and good reviews; in other words, if your books receive regular engagement from potential buyers, Amazon will assume they are in demand, and will therefore reward your books with greater visibility.
Maintains creative momentum – the more you brainstorm, outline and write, the easier it becomes. Okay, so writing a book is never easy, of course, it's a mammoth task requiring many skills at once; but my own experience is that I was never more productive, efficient and ideas-filled than in the 2–3 years I wrote consistently every day. Consistency keeps the writing muscles well oiled.
Streamlines marketing efforts – publishing consistently makes it easier to strategize, schedule and implement marketing (which for most authors is their kryptonite).
Take the stress out of marketing by having a fixed publishing schedule, around which you plan your marketing tasks and book promotions far in advance; such as, long pre-orders for new releases, cover reveals and sneak peeks, discounts on earlier instalments in a series, and periodic sales on other backlist books.
Many indies schedule up to a year or several years in advance, the same way any profit-driven business does.
2. Build and engage an audience
Your books are not the key to your career success and longevity – your audience is. While high-quality, engaging books are of course your priority, finding and maintaining a loyal readership is next in line.
In Build Your Reader Fanbase, I talk about three key components of your author business important for building and maintaining a core readership. These are: your author website, your communication channels, i.e. social media, and your email newsletter. They are your preliminary tools that allow readers to find you, learn about you, chat with you, and keep up to date with your books and new releases.
A dedicated fanbase is as heartwarming as it is essential for long-term success. Having readers devour all your books and wait eagerly for the next one is confidence-building and motivating. Your fans ensure you have strong book launches that boost sales and visibility, allowing your books to reach new readers, and in turn growing your fanbase further.
Additionally, the more dedicated your readers, the more opportunities there are to market and sell to them direct, as opposed to through platforms and retailers who are not under your control, and whose algorithms can change and threaten the stability of your career and income overnight.
Which leads us to...
3. Diversify revenue streams
As mentioned above, relying on one platform can be risky, as can depending solely on book sales for your income. Indies who've been publishing for many years have learned that peaks and troughs in sales are often seasonal, world events can impact sales for better or worse (see Covid: first a tightening of the belts, and then a lot of bored people downloading ebooks), and algorithm changes can affect advertising that once worked perfectly well.
To counter the unpredictability of events out of your control, you'll benefit from monetizing your business in as many ways as possible.
Publish wide, and sell direct: Many authors have built and maintained successful businesses by selling exclusively through Amazon's Kindle Select program. This has its advantages, and can be a great way for new self-publishers to gain experience and readers; however, ultimately your business is at the mercy of Amazon and its algorithms.
Instead, by publishing wide and establishing income streams across multiple retailers (including Amazon, just not exclusive), you are spreading the risk. If an algorithm or rule change on one platform results in a drop in sales, you will still have income from the other stores.
Once you have an established fanbase, you can sell to them direct from your website or an online store - which not only eliminates the risk of algorithm or rule changes, but also enables you to cut out the middleman and retain a larger proportion of royalties.
Multiple formats: Expand your reach to a wider audience by considering multiple formats of your books. Aside from ebooks and paperbacks, you might want to consider hardbacks, large print, audiobooks, special editions, and signed copies – some of which you may prefer to sell exclusively from your own website or store, to increase your store's visibility and keep a greater share of the royalties.
Merchandise: Branded products for superfans. T-shirts, mugs, bookmarks, keyrings, stickers, hoodies – the sky's the limit, particularly with the many print-on-demand manufacturers now available to dropship your products after an order is placed. Sell merchandise exclusively through your website or online store, and email your readers with news of any seasonal sales, new items, or special offers.
Courses, coaching or consulting: Some indie authors diversify by selling the skills they have learned during their indie author career. This could be anything from teaching writing techniques to aspiring writers or offering developmental editing in a particular genre, to sharing business and marketing advice with new and developing self-publishers. There's a large market of writers needing hands-on guidance, and willing to invest in the development and growth of their author career.
Subscription models: Platforms like Patreon or Kickstarter allow fans to directly support an author's work, for which they receive exclusive insights and bonus materials for doing so. More on this below.
4. Optimize marketing strategies
Like it or not, marketing is an ongoing effort. Even if you've grown a substantial reader fanbase, you'll still need to market to them to keep them engaged; and you'll also want to reach new readers to replace those who drop off over time.
It's a good idea to experiment with different strategies, and to find the sweet spot of marketing tasks you don't mind doing (or even enjoy!) but that are also effective. Here are some you may want to consider:
Paid advertising: This usually means either Amazon Ads, BookBub Ads, Facebook Ads, or some combination of the three. Indie authors have opinions across the board on these ad platforms, who each have different modes of operation and require different methods to achieve success.
The advice is to start with one platform, learning the ropes and testing, before trying another if you can't get to grips with it, it's not working out, or you wish to advertise in as many places as possible. Algorithm changes rule the roost here too, so again it's a good idea not to rely on one advertising platform as your only marketing strategy.
However, if you can get targeted advertising working for your books, it can drive consistent sales, making it a must-have marketing tool for growth and successful self-publishing long term.
Cross-promotions: Partnering with other authors in the same genre exposes books to new audiences. Collaborating on your marketing efforts might involve sharing news of new releases or discounted offers through each other's newsletters or on social media. If your books are very similar, you could even bundle them together as a special offer on your website or online store.
Two heads are better than one when it comes to marketing, so there's no end to the potential for promotional opportunities. It also helps to share the load with a fellow self-publishing-soldier-in-arms.
Content marketing: As an indie author with a fanbase, content marketing will inevitably be part of your regular tasks, even if it's just what you include in your newsletter or share on a social media post. But the scope of your content marketing is limited only by your time and inclination.
Blogging or podcasting about topics related to your books can be one way to bring in readers organically, e.g. true crime if you write murder mysteries. Other content might be: behind-the-scenes of your novels or the novel-writing process (e.g. research trips, snapshots of your office), deleted scenes, character sketches, showcasing fan art, bonus chapters, short stories. Anything related to your writing process or the books themselves can be used for content marketing.
You have the choice of making this content available publicly, or only to your newsletter subscribers, or exclusively for fans via a paid subscription. I'd recommend doing both the first and second – giving some content freely, while saving other content for your subscribers – and then also the paid-for content if you are using the subscription model.
Promotion stacking: This relates to paying for promotions of discounted books through sites such as Written Word Media or The Fussy Librarian, and stacking these promotions around a particular event, such as a book launch.
During a launch, authors will often book at least one promotion per day, through different providers, usually for discounted books in the same series as the one launching. This allows your books to be seen by new readers over a period of a few days to a week, thus – alongside your new release – increasing engagement on retailer platforms, encouraging sales, and leading to boosted visibility and higher ranking over a longer period.
Definition of ranking for those new to self-publishing – the higher your book ranks in stores, the greater its visibility to potential readers. Amazon, for example, is effectively a search engine, like Google, where the most relevant and higher-ranked results are shown first. It's nice, of course, to have your book ranked highly, but trying to keep it there will tie you up in knots. Instead, focus on reaching and engaging readers, and let the ranking take care of itself.
Pricing strategies: There are a number of pricing strategies you might consider periodically throughout the year, or on a longer term basis. These might include: a free or deeply discounted first-in-series book; discounts for bundles or boxsets; full price for new releases and temporarily discounted or free books from the backlist; seasonal offers; exclusive sales for your fanbase, if you sell direct.
It's good to do a combination of pricing strategies throughout the year – to attract new readers and reward loyal ones. For pricing at all other times, keep an eye on the current pricing trends in your genre so you remain competitive.
Crowdfunding: Since that time in 2022 when Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter for four secret books raised $41.7million, other indie authors (such as J.F. Penn) have been reaping the funding and marketing benefits of similar crowdfunding projects, too.
A large and engaged fanbase is key to crowdfunding success (Brandon was already a successful self-publisher and had a loyal following (and that record-breaker is an anomaly, before you get too excited!)); but for self-publishers who only receive an income for their efforts after their book sells, getting paid in advance to produce the next writing project in all its formats is a very enticing prospect. Crowdfunding could be a marketing goal you aim for as your business grows.
Remember to always record your marketing efforts, bearing in mind that what doesn't work one day may work another day under different circumstances, and vice versa. Marketing, like writing and publishing, is an ever-evolving entity. Avoid relying only on one marketing tactic or strategy, a combination is best; or at least be prepared to change and experiment if your usual tactics stop working.
5. Maintain high-quality standards
We all have to start somewhere in this business, and usually that means in the beginning doing as much as you can yourself, including the editing, the formatting, and sometimes the cover design too. But as the business grows (more books, more formats, more reach, more fans), you'll need to invest in it.
No matter how hard you may try to do everything alone, for the business to scale and be sustainable you'll need to build a team to help you. This team, at the very least, will begin with a cover designer and a professional editor. If you were a traditional publisher, you'd have a developmental editor, then a copy editor (and possibly a line editor), and also a proofreader.
There aren't many indie authors, I suspect (though correct me if I'm wrong), who go to this extent. But at least one editor and/or a proofreader is essential to maintain quality and consistency over your catalogue of books. Polished products build trust and long-term credibility.
Other help you may enlist as your business grows include: book formatting, social media content creation and scheduling, email vetting, accounting, marketing, project management of book launches, etc.
It may sound like a lot of additional cost, but this is a business, remember, and the benefits of paying for services like these outweigh the cost to you, your health and your business if you try to juggle everything alone all of the time. Benefits such as: greater efficiency, freeing up mental space, freeing up time spent in front of the screen, more time to concentrate on writing or researching, confidence in the quality of your work and products, meeting your deadlines.
6. Stay adaptable to industry trends
In case you haven't noticed yet, the publishing industry evolves rapidly. Inevitable, really, when the process of book writing, publishing and selling is grounded these days in technology.
Look out for new advertising or promotion platforms, changing algorithms and changing rules, new and trustworthy services for indie authors, and emerging book genres and trends. Being adaptable ensures you can pivot strategies when needed to stay relevant. Though you may set yourself a clear publishing schedule, this doesn't mean you can't switch it up if you spot an opportunity or if circumstances change.
I would caution against dropping everything to chase a sudden new trend (which may only be fleeting), but if something looks like it could work for you, and fits with your current audience, then you have the flexibility to pivot easily and give it a try.
7. Keep a business mindset
It might be a side hobby for some – and there's nothing wrong with that, the more writers the better – but to sustain a successful self-publishing career over the long term requires treating your writing and publishing activities as a business.
Register as self-employed, track your income and expenses, pay your taxes, etc. But also: invest in yourself and your skills.
You can never know all there is to know about writing, publishing, marketing, or running your business. There is always more to learn. Schedule in time for things like courses, or conferences, or coaching and mentorship. Or at the very least, read up on your craft with the mindset of always improving, and continue learning new ways to work more efficiently.
This is your homework. Your continuous professional development.
Having a business mindset also means knowing when to...
8. Schedule downtime
Skip this one and you're asking for trouble. Let's not kid ourselves, self-publishing is damn hard work. It takes effort physically, mentally, emotionally and creatively. Even the hardiest of business-minded individuals needs to step away from the desk and switch off once in a while, or risk burnout.
Yes, while regular screen breaks during the day are important, what I'm really referring to here are entire one- or two-week holidays scheduled throughout the year. It will give you something to focus on other than the business, something to work towards; and also the time away will give you distance from the work, into which might spontaneously spring new story ideas or new ways of operating your business.
If you're thinking a two-week break sounds frivolous in a schedule that's packed to the rafters, put it this way – your long-term business depends on it. You may be bursting with energy and ideas right now, but without scheduled lengthy breaks, that wall will sooner or later come up to meet you, potentially bringing everything to a screeching halt.
You must be able to step back, in order to return with fresh mind and renewed enthusiasm. If you need longer than two weeks, heck, book it in and go for it! You deserve it!
Finally...
Long-term success in self-publishing isn’t just about writing great books (although that helps!). It’s about building a career you'll be able to sustain. While you may hire a team as your business grows, ultimately the final decisions still come down to you. Hence, for the sake of longevity, it's important to find your unique balance of: a manageable work rate, comfortable working methods in terms of publishing and marketing, and also effectiveness so you can profitably sustain the business.
Lastly, a willingness to embrace change is key. Trends come and go, income will be unpredictable, the market will alter in ways you won't see coming – but by maintaining a steady publishing schedule, engaging with readers, diversifying income, taking care of yourself and your business, and staying adaptable, you absolutely can thrive as a self-published author for many years to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is releasing a book every other month the only way to be successful anymore?
No. To loyal fans, consistency matters more than quantity. If you're more comfortable releasing one book a year, you can still retain a loyal fanbase in the meantime by keeping them informed of your progress, perhaps including them in the decision-making process, giving them sneak peeks and exclusive updates, and letting them know when they can expect the next book.
How much should I spend on advertising?
In the beginning, only what you can afford to lose. Advertising is a process of learning, then testing, usually losing money, testing again and again until hopefully you land on a formula that works. Then starting over again when the formula stops working or plateaus. Scale up your budget incrementally only when you start to see a return on your investment.
Bear in mind that "a return on your investment" depends on your advertising goals, i.e. build awareness by increasing downloads on a free or discounted book (with the aim of leading new readers eventually to your higher-priced books), or profit from sales of a full-priced book.
It's important to learn the ropes of your chosen advertising platform before you begin, and also how to read results accurately over a period of time.
I hate social media; do I have to use it?
Indie authors use social media platforms to connect with other writers, reach new readers, and keep current readers informed and engaged. The advice is to use the platform where your audience is most likely to be, but most authors find that maintaining a consistent online presence over time is easier when using the platform they're most comfortable with (the two may or may not be the same).
I recommend having at least one social media account under your author name if possible, on the platform least irritating to you (I personally find Pinterest is an easy-going, stress-free environment to post updates and share blog posts). However, you're an indie author, which means you get to pick the marketing strategies that work best for you. Not everyone is a social media fan (I'm with you there), and in that case there's nothing wrong with bypassing it as a marketing tool altogether and concentrating your efforts elsewhere instead.
For most authors, social media is less a springboard to sales (BookTok and influencer sensations aside), and more a point of contact, a place to build a following, share news and increase visibility. So instead, you may feel more comfortable, for example, creating and sending regular, content-rich newsletters to your subscribers, or content marketing via a blog or YouTube channel that you upload to your website.
Can I build a career writing standalone books only?
It's not impossible, but it's likely to be harder. Writing a series has an abundance of benefits for the long-term self-publisher: readers always want more – if you write a series readers love, they'll keep buying as long as you keep writing; new readers may find you via any of the books in the series and go back to the beginning to see how it all started; wider range of marketing tactics, such as making the first book in a series free, and/or discounting earlier books ahead of a new instalment.
However, like all books, standalones can still do well if they're of high-quality, engaging, professionally presented, and marketed to the right audience. Most psychological fiction books are standalone, for example, and there's a big market for them.
Therefore, if your books are all in the same genre (or thereabouts), you can still use marketing strategies such as bundling them together into boxsets, and offering periodic discounts. Readers who love the voice and tone of your work will become loyal fans who purchase your every new release (think Stephen King).
Then, as long as you're implementing other strategies, such as advertising to reach new readers and content marketing to engage current ones, there's no reason you can't build, diversify, and scale your business over the long term.
Further Reading
David Gaughran, marketing blog
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Tina Williams of Fiction Yogi is a copyeditor and proofreader who works with writers at all stages, giving them the tools to improve their manuscript and level up their writing so they can meet their publishing goals.
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