How to Not Lose Money From Self-Publishing

 

Singaporean author John Lim wrote an article on TODAY describing the challenges he faced as a self-published author. Being a self-published author myself, I sympathise with his situation. With that said, he made the kind of mistakes that the successful self-pubbed author cannot afford to make.

I am Singapore's first Hugo and Dragon Award nominated writer. I started writing professionally in 2015. At present, I have published 17 books. 2 of them became Amazon bestsellers. Almost all of them generated income. Only 2 did not. It's not much money, to be sure, but I can say that I haven't lost the sums that Lim had.

I am an artist. With every series and every book, I seek to push the limits of my abilities. I am also a businessman. With every book I write, I think in terms of revenue and expenditures. This is how I managed to sustain my writing career for so long, without incurring thousands of dollars in losses.

Writing for profit is a business. Starting a business does not guarantee income, but at least most entrepreneurs see some sales. Authors are the exception. Having a book does not guarantee income. The publishing world is brutal, more so for self-published authors. You can spent thousands of dollars and months to create a book, only to see no return. If you want to make money from writing, you have to treat it as a business.

You have to start with why.

Deep Stories and Hyperreal Tales

 

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 13:1-9, King James Version

We live in a hyperreal society.

Fresh philosopher Jean Baudrillard uses the term hyperreality to express the inability of the consciousness to distinguish between reality and a simulation of reality. Fact and fiction are blurred together. The questions of truth and origins fall to the wayside. There is merely what is perceived to be real, seen through the lens of the eternal now.

Breaking News: Pulp Legend J. Manfred Weichsel Releases The Calydonian Boar Hunt

 

J. Manfred Weichsel’s newest satirical adventure The Calydonian Boar Hunt is live on all stores!

Upon discovering alcohol, the drunken king Oeneus forgets to honor Artemis at first harvest. In revenge, the angry, man-hating goddess sends a wild boar to ravage the kingdom of Calydon. The king organizes a party of the greatest heroes in Greece to hunt the animal. Will one of the men make the kill, or will they be humiliated when the prize goes to a woman?

You can find The Calydonian Boar Hunt at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Nook, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, and Smashwords. 

International readers can use the Universal Book Link.

Get The Calydonian Boar Hunt today and be one of the first to read this hilarious new adventure based on a classic Greek myth.

Super Summer Book Sale 2022!

 

Sick of woke culture? Looking for exciting indie fiction? The Super Summer Book Sale has got you covered.

Organized by Hans Schantz, there are over 150 titles priced at $0.99 or FREE! The sale is so massive, it is split into three sections. You can find the details here.

The sale runs from 15 to 22 June, featuring veterans like Chris Kennedy and Declan Finn, as well as rising names in the space. Of course, my own books are part of the sale.