With so many factors beyond simply writing your novel to consider, the road to being self-published is a long and difficult one. The self-publishing route is not for the faint of heart, especially for writers looking to see real success for their novels in an industry that is oversaturated with books that sit on digital shelves, untouched and un-downloaded. Notable success from self-published novelists seems like a rarity these days, but there are some authors who truly stand out from the crowd and make a name for themselves as talented and respected authors in the literary world. Michaelbrent Collings is one such author.
Related: Writing For An Audience | A Writing Discussion
Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally bestselling author, produced screenwriter, and is the only person ever to be a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award, the Dragon Award, and a RONE Award. Best known for horror (where he’s been one of the top indie authors in the United States for years), Michaelbrent has written bestsellers in everything from scifi/fantasy to humor to mystery to thrillers to romance. His books have been downloaded close to a half-million times, and on Kindle Unlimited his books have tens of millions of page reads.
For self-publishing authors or writers looking into self-publishing, hearing the success stories of authors like Michaelbrent Collings can be a source of inspiration and fuel to keep working hard. But beyond hearing of their success, it’s important for self-publishing authors to hear from these authors to get a sense of how their success came about. Luckily for our HoC readers, Michaelbrent was kind enough to answer some of our questions about the self-publishing industry and his experience as a remarkably successful self-published author.
Michaelbrent Collings on Self-Publishing
There’s a misconception within the literary world that self-publishing is just a fallback for authors who aren’t “good enough” for traditional publishing. For anyone who bothers taking more than a quick glance at the work of self-published authors and the industry itself (which grew at a rate of 40% in 2018 with 1.68 million books self-published), it’s obvious this is not the case. Its merits are obvious; complete creative freedom and control not the least among them. Was self-publishing your first choice? Why?
Self-publishing wasn’t my first choice mostly because back then Kindle was such a new thing that I didn’t even know about it. But after trying to find a publisher all over North America over the course of two years or so, I’d called it quits when someone told me about this new-fangled e-reader thing. I was immediately interested, ran out and bought a Nook (though I’m mostly a Kindle guy now), and thought “I should get in on this action!”
Forty books later, I’m doing okay with it, so I’m glad it all worked out the way it did.
As a Dragon Award Finalist, RONE (Reward of Novel Excellence) Award Finalist, and multiple Bram Stoker Award Finalist, you’ve made quite a mark within the literary world. How has being self-published impacted your experience and reception? Does that misconception of self-published authors persist?
That concept of self-published authors being “not quite as good” definitely still exists. And, sadly, it’s largely warranted. But that’s just going to be the case for anything where the only bar to entry is the ability to upload something onto the computer. That’s NOT to say that all self-pub stuff is dreck, and it’s also not to say that all traditionally-published stuff is awesome. Neither is the case. But, again… you have a playground where everyone is invited, you’re going to naturally have a wider swath of people involved. Including people who maybe aren’t quite limber enough to play on the jungle gym with the big kids.
That’s why I’m so grateful to have those award nominations under my belt. Those, plus the fact that I’ve hit nearly every fiction bestseller list possible on Amazon (and most other ebook retailers) in a dozen countries gives me a level of credibility. Again, not to say that anyone without those things is terrible, but it definitely imparts a bit of confidence to potential readers. And I definitely want them to feel confident in my skills, or why would they pay money to read my books? Aside from my buns of steel, I mean?
Self-publishing is sometimes a stepping stone for authors who would eventually like to be traditionally published. Would you ever consider switching to traditional publishing or are you fully committed to self-publishing? Why?
My first and foremost priority is to feed my family. With that in mind, I’m not particularly “committed” to anything. I’d be amenable to publishing anywhere if it would provide me with the money I need to take care of the people I love. Heck, I’d even NOT publish books if someone offered me the right price for it.
Hmmm… I may have just come up with a new business model called “Extortive Non-Writing”–where you go up to people and threaten to publish terrible books if they don’t pay you for monthly “literature protection.” And if they don’t, the local library might have a little “accident” with a bit of “arson” by someone who uses too many “quotes.”
Aspiring authors are constantly told how crucial building an author platform is and how important having engaged followers is to self-publishing success. As someone with over 50 thousand followers across your social media platforms, what are your tips for building a sizable audience?
Work really hard for a long time.
Tongue in cheek? Sure. But I’ve been doing this full-time for a decade now, and I can tell you that for most authors there’s no one big thing that works. Instead, it’s a million tiny things that build over time. The keys for me are to constantly be willing to work hard and to learn from any source I hear about that might have more information than I do. I am forever, joyously, ignorant.
Building a large, engaged audience is far from easy. While an important foundation to success, a big following doesn’t ensure book sales. How important has your large platform been to your success?
Very. So much of today’s market is driven by algorithms of places like Amazon. So having their AI notice that my books launch pretty well is a gigantic shot in the arm. Having their AI notice means that Amazon will send info about your books to others, either in the form of “FYI, Michaelbrent has another one!” emails and in the form of the “Also Bought” books that everyone sees on Amazon’s book pages.
No, a big following DOESN’T ensure sales. But it definitely helps to have it!
Give us a rundown of how you manage your author platform. How much time do you spend creating content/posting/interacting with followers weekly? What social media platforms have been the most important to your growth and success?
Ugh. The answer to that question varies day by day. Some days I’ll work sixteen hours on nothing but wordsmithing. Others are nothing but marketing. Today, for instance (the day I’m writing this, that is), is the day before the book launch of my newest novel, Synchronicity. So I’m doing interviews like this one, emailing my Street Team, letting my online followers know to get ready for the fun, stuff like that. I haven’t written a single word in a story or book in a few days… and probably won’t do so for a few days more, either. Then it’s right into writing again–I have a story going up on my Patreon page, another due for a Kickstarter anthology (over 200% funded!), and then I’m working on two books simultaneously.
The one constant in my non-routine: it’s always busy. Always.
You publish both digital and print books. Were physical copies something you invested in from the start or did you wait until you’d had success with eBooks before adding them? Considering Amazon prefers (ranks higher) books with multiple formats, would you recommend new authors invest in publishing physical books right away or wait?
I didn’t do them at the start too much, but I do now. It’s less about the ranking than it is about the fact that I go to enough comic cons where I sell a lot of books to make it worthwhile to have physical copies. Even if I didn’t, though, I have a system down at this point where I can write the ebook and have it formatted, then the paperback formatting is done about an hour later. And I sell enough paperbacks online to make that de minimis time investment pay off in the end.
A lot of being an author is stuff like that: there are a billion things I could be doing, and any one of them would be “work.” The real trick is deciding which of those things would be most profitable for time and energy invested, and doing them.
Speaking of what Amazon prefers, tools like PublisherRocket exist to help self-published authors navigate and make the most of the Amazon algorithm so their books reach the right potential readers. But even with such tools, success is far from guaranteed. How do you stay relevant and successful within an ever-changing algorithm? What statistics do you pay the most attention to?
Gah. THAT’s the $10 million question. Things do always change–in fact, the digital marketing world is undergoing a real sea change right now as parties like Apple and Google tamp down on what kind of user info they share with third-party digital marketing platforms like Facebook. So how do I stay relevant?
Again: time. And being willing to spend some of that time every day looking for the most up-to-the-minute info that will help me navigate the VERY murky waters of digital marketing.
Your first self-published book, 2010’s Run, became a bestseller with little marketing from you. It’s remarkable, but not something any self-published authors should ever expect to happen for them. What has been your most effective marketing technique or plan for subsequent releases?
Probably my most effective marketing techniques have been to focus on my mailing list–which was around 1,200 people two years ago and has now reached 30,000-plus–and to focus on my branding. The latter in particular has been a huge help. Less about the book branding (I publish a little of everything, from humor to horror to romance and more, so I’m all over the place) than about the ME branding. When COVID started turning the world into an adult Lord of the Flies scenario, my family and I made a conscious decision to try and provide kindness and happiness to everyone within our spheres of influence, both online and in real life. People have really responded to that, and started sharing more kindness as part of their association with the MbC world. That’s incredibly gratifying personally, and a joy to watch as my fans (affectionately known as Michaelbrent’s Minions) really take up the kindness cause and run with it.
Self-published authors have to juggle everything from marketing and author platforms to the technical aspects of self-publishing like formatting, editing, cover design (or finding the right programs/people to do so for you) and so much more all on top of actually writing the book. What advice do you have for balancing all the elements of self-publishing without becoming overwhelmed or unmotivated?
First of all: like it.
Sounds a bit trite, but it’s true. If you don’t like marketing, focus on other stuff and see if you can hire it out. If you don’t like doing covers, don’t do them–have someone else subcontract that part of the job.
Me, I like marketing (most of the time), and doing covers, and being a part of the social media environment. So each one is a great break from writing from time to time. But if I didn’t like them, there’s no way I could have kept up the publishing pace I’ve stuck to over the last ten years, averaging a bit over four titles a year.
Has your writing ever suffered because of the demands of self-publishing?
Not really–not any more than it would with the demands of any other job. Sometimes you have the time to do your best work, and feel inspired. Other times you just do the best you can in order to get it in by the deadline. Both are acceptable; both are part of life.
What does a normal day as a self-published author look like for you?
Listen, I’m a writer, a dad, a husband, and an insomniac. So what is this “norm-all” day of which you speak?
What’s been the most difficult part of self-publishing in your experience?
Easy: the fact that there are some days where it feels like the only functional difference between being a self-publishing professional and just being straight-up unemployed is pretty much attitude and wishes. It’s a weird situation because you answer to literally no one but yourself… and yet, at the end of the day, if you’re very lucky you have thousands or tens of thousands or millions of readers (aka bosses) you answer to at the end of each year, month, day, and sentence.
What’s the biggest pitfall new self-published authors need to watch out for?
Being in love with themselves. Most people think in their heart of hearts that their book will make the sun weep for joy and cause unicorns to spontaneously combust into rainbows (which is how unicorns reproduce, FYI) at their words. But the sad reality is that most people aren’t that polished yet as writers.
At writing conferences, I tell new writers, “Your first book sucks.” A few get it–it’s a job, like any other, and it takes more practice to perfect than the great majority of jobs out there, so just walking in and knocking it out of the park your first try is about as likely as waking up on Mars tomorrow. I’m a member of the WGA, in fact (the screenwriters guild in Hollywood), and you LITERALLY have a better chance getting into Major League Ball than qualifying for guild membership. Think about that.
But most people would rather get that first book out there for posterity than reign it in for a couple years, really hone their craft, and THEN knock it out of the park.
What’s one thing self-publishers don’t know they don’t know about the process?
It. Is. HARD.
I used to be a partner at a big-city law firm. I work easily twice as long and hard as a self-published author as I did working the law job.
If you want to just dab a toe in, that’s easy–and it’s a legitimate choice, too! But if you want to swim around in the deep end where all the treasure is, you have to work your brains out to keep up with the others who are also flailing around over there.
Are there any books on the topic of self-publishing or marketing that have impacted your process and results that you recommend to other self-publishing authors?
Not really. There are some fantastic podcasts, though. I recommend that every author become a supporter of The Creative Penn and Six-Figure Authors. And not just because they’ve had me on their shows. Both provide TONS of information to new and seasoned authors alike, and both are run by people who are extraordinarily kind and generous to the writer community.
Tell us about your latest book and where we can find it.
The latest is called Synchronicity, and you can grab it at Amazon here. It’s about a psychopath named Kane who can project his consciousness into others’ bodies, take them over, and use them to commit murders that can’t be traced to him. Of course, there are also some good guys involved, including one of the most lovable rogues I’ve ever written, and they have to stop Kane before he fundamentally changes our world for the worse. It’s a lot of fun, because every time Kane jumps to a new body, he becomes more powerful–faster, stronger, tougher. It lays the groundwork for some really epic fight scenes that were just a blast to write. And they paid off pretty well, I think–one of the reviewers called it John Wick meets The Matrix, and that’s some pretty high praise!
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Thank you to Michaelbrent for taking the time to speak directly to the House of Cadmus writing community.