This was so helpful as I repeatedly see writers claim that publishers are no longer interested in memoir. I imagine there are instances of individual publishers being disinterested in this genre but I have been suspect when I hear this.
Joy, so glad to hear it was helpful! Thanks for reading. My friend Darius talked about publishing his debut memoir a couple posts ago: https://substack.com/home/post/p-136164646
Thanks for sharing all your data. The one thing that authors looking at career paths don't have enough of is data.
After twelve years, I've come to the conclusion that one size doesn't fit all. I've interacted with a fair number of authors, some of whom were traditionally published and some of whom were indie. Some in each group were joyful. Some in each group were miserable. A lot were in between. And some were hybrids, with a foot in each camp. A lot of these transitioned from trad to indie or vice versa.
Way back in the early seventies, I submitted short stories to magazines. Rejections, but some encouraging notes. In the early eighties, I submitted my first novel to several publishers. Crickets. In 2012, after real self publishing existed, I tried with another novel. Not exactly a best seller, but at least, more than crickets happened. Twenty or so novels later (and a few other pieces), still closer to crickets than to bestseller, but at least, I've reached a fair number of readers who liked or loved my writing. Indies have higher royalties and more control over the process, but also higher expenses and less likelihood of hitting the very top (#1 bestseller, awards, movie deals). I do know some indies who make a living at it, though. I don't come close, but I'm happy, anyway.
Authors need a crystal ball, but we're never going to have one. Short of that, having clear goals and examining what data there is seems to be the best approach.
This was great, Cat. Thank you. 💜 As someone who has been long on the fence about what publishing model is going to give my work the most rewarding existence, it means a lot to see the realities of each book's journey discussed honestly. It's easy for writers to get stars in their eyes about "getting published" and "making it big," but "biggness" is such a rarity, and it's best (for our well being) that it not be the ONLY reason we write and share our books. My goal, (once I get a book or two of my own into the world), is to contribute to the burgeoning conversation around alternative roads to publication and "success." I appreciate you sharing your "travel" log with us!
And congrats on earning out! 🥂🥂🥂 Make sure you treat yourself. 💜
Meg, I agree with everything you said. And thanks for the kind words. What stage are you in with yours? Here's wishing you bigness, one way or another :)
I'm in various stages depending on the project ... And the day of the week. 😂 I have written several YA novels (One Watty Award winner among them), but I've mostly given up on them ever grabbing an agent's attention. The audience I have on Substack knows me for my short fiction, so I'm going to indie publish a collection this year. It may only make it onto a few bookshelves, but that's more bookshelves than none. 😁
Sounds familiar. I have watched Libraries "dump" best selling books in a shopping cart and gave them away for free. There WERE NOT many takers. The TV commercials are the deluge. My 2 AuthorHouse.com bookd won Awards on Film Freeway and both broke even selling for 10 years.
Excellent and helpful post! I was listening to the book podcast, Books, Beaches & Beyond, where they spoke of advance vs earn out. Apparently, some authors prefer big advances knowing they’ll never earn out but have money up front, and others prefer smaller so they can get that regular royalty check. It’s a personal choice, and of course, this is presuming you get to make that choice! 😂
Oooohhh, sounds like I should check out that podcast. It's not one I'm familiar with. I've heard authors say the same thing and successful friends have advised me to go for the biggest advance possible, rather than looking to earn out. I see the logic for sure. Agreed that the choice is a good problem to have!
Thanks for the great insights. I'm not sure if anyone else commented on this, re: self-publishing vs traditional publishing, but my time has value too. So just as you can't access your alternative self-published sales data, it's impossible to access the HOURS involved in self-publishing. What hiccups might come along the way that suck additional time from your life? Also, what projects are NOT being imagined and/or worked on while dealing with self-publishing business. When given the choice of having more time or more money, I've always chosen the time. I'd be lying to say I didn't hope the two might intersect at some point, but time is the gift that allows my imagination to kick into gear. That's an additional gift of traditional publishing, I think. It clears me to move on to something else.
Traditional publishers love books like yours. I'd be shocked if they don't offer you slightly better terms on your next one, but I'd hold their feet to the fire. If your royalty percentages don't significantly improve, I'd go with a hybrid publisher. In your case, the juice is more than worth the squeeze.
Absolutely loved this post. I, too, earned out. Though I only had soft cover sales to begin with. Appreciate your candid take and your positive views throughout this process. At the end of the day, "we're published!!"
A great post, thank you. I have written a little bit of everything for years - for other people. Now that I am trying to write for myself, I felt beyond overwhelmed as to how to go about getting it noticed, monetized, etc. All this data and tips are a huge help.
Very informative. It's reassuring when people are so transparent about an oblique industry. It makes us all feel a little less alone! Congrats on the book, and I hope those 2k checks keep rolling in. We writers deserve to earn more a living wage, don't we?
Thank you for sharing a part of your process. I'm sure it's been a very long one. You have a generous disposition to your approach, and it gives me food for thought surrounding having the adequate support to have experts help carry the weight of the particular outcome of the work.
Glad that you are reaping the first fruit of your labour. I trust that you'll see A LOT more happy dividends!💛
This was so helpful as I repeatedly see writers claim that publishers are no longer interested in memoir. I imagine there are instances of individual publishers being disinterested in this genre but I have been suspect when I hear this.
Joy, so glad to hear it was helpful! Thanks for reading. My friend Darius talked about publishing his debut memoir a couple posts ago: https://substack.com/home/post/p-136164646
Thanks for sharing all your data. The one thing that authors looking at career paths don't have enough of is data.
After twelve years, I've come to the conclusion that one size doesn't fit all. I've interacted with a fair number of authors, some of whom were traditionally published and some of whom were indie. Some in each group were joyful. Some in each group were miserable. A lot were in between. And some were hybrids, with a foot in each camp. A lot of these transitioned from trad to indie or vice versa.
Way back in the early seventies, I submitted short stories to magazines. Rejections, but some encouraging notes. In the early eighties, I submitted my first novel to several publishers. Crickets. In 2012, after real self publishing existed, I tried with another novel. Not exactly a best seller, but at least, more than crickets happened. Twenty or so novels later (and a few other pieces), still closer to crickets than to bestseller, but at least, I've reached a fair number of readers who liked or loved my writing. Indies have higher royalties and more control over the process, but also higher expenses and less likelihood of hitting the very top (#1 bestseller, awards, movie deals). I do know some indies who make a living at it, though. I don't come close, but I'm happy, anyway.
Authors need a crystal ball, but we're never going to have one. Short of that, having clear goals and examining what data there is seems to be the best approach.
Bill, thanks for reading! You're so right about us not having enough data. Couldn't agree more. Twenty novels is an extremely admirable number.
This was great, Cat. Thank you. 💜 As someone who has been long on the fence about what publishing model is going to give my work the most rewarding existence, it means a lot to see the realities of each book's journey discussed honestly. It's easy for writers to get stars in their eyes about "getting published" and "making it big," but "biggness" is such a rarity, and it's best (for our well being) that it not be the ONLY reason we write and share our books. My goal, (once I get a book or two of my own into the world), is to contribute to the burgeoning conversation around alternative roads to publication and "success." I appreciate you sharing your "travel" log with us!
And congrats on earning out! 🥂🥂🥂 Make sure you treat yourself. 💜
Meg, I agree with everything you said. And thanks for the kind words. What stage are you in with yours? Here's wishing you bigness, one way or another :)
I'm in various stages depending on the project ... And the day of the week. 😂 I have written several YA novels (One Watty Award winner among them), but I've mostly given up on them ever grabbing an agent's attention. The audience I have on Substack knows me for my short fiction, so I'm going to indie publish a collection this year. It may only make it onto a few bookshelves, but that's more bookshelves than none. 😁
Sounds familiar. I have watched Libraries "dump" best selling books in a shopping cart and gave them away for free. There WERE NOT many takers. The TV commercials are the deluge. My 2 AuthorHouse.com bookd won Awards on Film Freeway and both broke even selling for 10 years.
I am a library book sale ADDICT. That's impressive about the awards - congrats!
Thanks
Excellent and helpful post! I was listening to the book podcast, Books, Beaches & Beyond, where they spoke of advance vs earn out. Apparently, some authors prefer big advances knowing they’ll never earn out but have money up front, and others prefer smaller so they can get that regular royalty check. It’s a personal choice, and of course, this is presuming you get to make that choice! 😂
Oooohhh, sounds like I should check out that podcast. It's not one I'm familiar with. I've heard authors say the same thing and successful friends have advised me to go for the biggest advance possible, rather than looking to earn out. I see the logic for sure. Agreed that the choice is a good problem to have!
I am certainly not the expert! Just sharing the info I have heard from those that are 😊
Really interesting post, thanks for writing it. My only other comment is… Wells Fargo? Evil.
So welcome, Page... and yes, re: WF, you're not wrong. :)
I say you’ve done quite well, Catherine!
Thanks, Kathy! I appreciate it. All a work in progress but that’s all of us, right?
Thanks for the great insights. I'm not sure if anyone else commented on this, re: self-publishing vs traditional publishing, but my time has value too. So just as you can't access your alternative self-published sales data, it's impossible to access the HOURS involved in self-publishing. What hiccups might come along the way that suck additional time from your life? Also, what projects are NOT being imagined and/or worked on while dealing with self-publishing business. When given the choice of having more time or more money, I've always chosen the time. I'd be lying to say I didn't hope the two might intersect at some point, but time is the gift that allows my imagination to kick into gear. That's an additional gift of traditional publishing, I think. It clears me to move on to something else.
Traditional publishers love books like yours. I'd be shocked if they don't offer you slightly better terms on your next one, but I'd hold their feet to the fire. If your royalty percentages don't significantly improve, I'd go with a hybrid publisher. In your case, the juice is more than worth the squeeze.
Absolutely loved this post. I, too, earned out. Though I only had soft cover sales to begin with. Appreciate your candid take and your positive views throughout this process. At the end of the day, "we're published!!"
Carrie, congratulations, and I totally agree about the end of the day. :)
A great post, thank you. I have written a little bit of everything for years - for other people. Now that I am trying to write for myself, I felt beyond overwhelmed as to how to go about getting it noticed, monetized, etc. All this data and tips are a huge help.
Really glad to hear that, John. It can be a bit overwhelming for sure - here's hoping it's treating you well though.
Very informative. It's reassuring when people are so transparent about an oblique industry. It makes us all feel a little less alone! Congrats on the book, and I hope those 2k checks keep rolling in. We writers deserve to earn more a living wage, don't we?
Thank you for sharing a part of your process. I'm sure it's been a very long one. You have a generous disposition to your approach, and it gives me food for thought surrounding having the adequate support to have experts help carry the weight of the particular outcome of the work.
Glad that you are reaping the first fruit of your labour. I trust that you'll see A LOT more happy dividends!💛
Long is right, and thanks for the good wishes, Licinda! Same to you
Thank you, Catherine.
Thank you Cat. This is a real service to the community.
Nicole, you're so welcome!
It can, mysteriously…
Such good, valuable info here, Cat! Here’s to many more $1,900 checks. 😅
May they rain down on us all!