Self-Published Bestsellers Top NY Times List

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Self-Published Bestsellers are Romance Authors

By Deborah S. Nelson, Author/Publisher Publishing SOLO & VRTG
Self-Published Bestsellers

Self-Published Bestsellers

Romance authors are some of the self-published bestsellers exploding in the self-publishing genre. With the middle man of traditional publishing out of the loop; books are less expensive and authors can make a real living from royalties. Interestingly, rejection letters from traditional publishing companies are commonplace such as with romance author Stevens, who hit number one on the New York Times Best Sellers List.

A recent event in Seattle covered by a local news station interviewed self-published bestsellers and romance author S. C. Stevens:

SEATTLE – Hundreds of excited fans will line up to see celebrities in Seattle this weekend. They aren’t movie stars or musicians, they’re writers, and some are best-selling authors with passionate followings.

They all started without the help of a publishing company, taking part in a revolution in the book world that lets writers print their own books, and make money while they’re at it.

Author S.C. Stephens is part of the Seattle author event, which is a short trek from her home in the Puget Sound region.

For Stephens, a day at the office starts with a cup of coffee in the kitchen. Next stop, her computer, just a couple rooms away.

Gone are the days of being a bookkeeper, commuting between businesses, and answering to multiple bosses.

“I usually worked over 40 hours in the week just to make ends meet,” Stephens described.  “It’s just completely changed all of that. I quit all of my jobs and I just stay home with my kids.”

She quit all of her jobs except her dream job. Stephens spends her days weaving romantic tales that have fans gushing over the “epic love story” that’s “utterly delicious, addictive and angst-filled.”

Those reader reviews on Amazon are for “Reckless,” the final book in a trilogy that began as a self published phenomenon.

Stephens launched the series with “Thoughtless” – a novel she first published, free to read, chapter by chapter online.

“They loved it. Almost instantly there were reviews and comments. They were falling in love with the characters. It was very strange,” she laughed.

When Stephens decided to stop giving “Thoughtless” away for free, she used a self publishing website called Smashwords. On the site, authors publish and price their own e-books, getting them directly to major retailers.

Mark Coker founded Smashwords.

“It’s been incredible fun to see writers who were previously rejected by the large publishers now selling hundreds of thousands of books,” Coker said.  “It’s great to see writers dreams realized.”

Coker knew what authors faced, after penning a book with his wife that no publisher would take a chance on.

“Smashwords allows me to take a risk on every single author.  It allows me to give every single author in the world, every writer in the world, a chance. A chance to publish, a chance to be read, distribution to the world’s largest retailers and the opportunity for the readers to judge whether that writer is worth reading,” Coker said.

He founded the company in 2008 and helped authors self publish 140 books. By 2012, Smashwords was a $20 million dollar company that published more than 200,000 books.

Authors are making money, too. Coker says an author earns about $2.00 by selling a self-published book for $2.99.

Through a traditional publishing house, he says the book would have to sell for $10.00 for the author to make that same $2.00 profit.

The driving force in the self published world is romance. Author Colleen Hoover was living in a Texas trailer park when she self published her romance novel “Slammed” through Amazon.

“I did try to query agents and I got a lot of rejection letters,” Hoover told ABC’s Nightline earlier this year. “The book had already come out and I was getting rejection letters after it hit the New York Times.”  (See More)

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How Can Your Book Be Among Self-Published Bestsellers?

Not all self-published books are self-published bestsellers, but many self-published authors make a good living by keeping 100% of their royalties. Are you a romance writer? Have a dream to publish a book among the self-published bestsellers? Want to learn how to self-publish in 3 days?

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Includes a downloadable interior template
Displays parts of a book in chronological order
Gives 10 easy steps to print on demand publishing
Sets up free ISBN number and self-publishing account
Gets your blueprint published in 3 days! (shipping extra)

 

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Widbook: YouTube of Self-Published Books

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By Deborah S. Nelson, Author/Publisher Publishing SOLO & VRTG

Widbook is just one more of the rich revolutionary developments in the new digital publishing age. Like the World Wide Web itself, Widbook was originally created as a tool for professors and students to collaborate on projects. Widbook, a self-publishing platform, has now achieved a membership of 50,000 readers and authors. More than a community offering free e-books, Widbook has become a hot spot on the net where emerging self published authors may reach a wider audience and build an author fan base.

“Widbook gives new self published authors a chance to expand their readership. I published my book ‘Churinga’ there and in a few weeks had many followers and views,” remarks U.K. Songwriter-turned-author Jonathan Broad, 57.

Publishing Solo encourages our community of authors in the making to join this community and reach out to the marketplace of readers. To read more about the Widbook self-publishing platform see today’s news release in Sys-Con Media:

“– Eight months after raising funds, Widbook (www.widbook.com), the digital collaborative publishing platform, has reached the milestone mark of 50,000 members worldwide. During times when technology is revolutionizing the publishing industry, Widbook’s fast-growth and exclusively collaborative tools position it as a leader in the crowd-writing and self-publishing industries.

More than being a platform for established authors and book lovers to publish and read ebooks for free, the community has become a doorway for new writers. U.K. Songwriter-turned-author Jonathan Broad, 57, is excited to be a part of the digital publishing space and is eager to see what’s ahead for the market. “Widbook gives new authors a chance to expand their readership,” he said. “I published my book ‘Churinga’ there and in a few weeks had many followers and views.”

Another notable trend is participation from younger generations who feel the self-publishing platform is an opportunity to get noticed in this competitive industry. Denmark’s 18-year-old Louise Warberg started using Widbook after seeing one of her favorite writers publishing there. “Widbook seems very professional, so I chose one of my more mature, serious stories to publish there called ‘Stories the Butterfly Told Me,'” she said.

Writing since childhood, Bryony Magee, an 18-year-old from the U.K., reached millions of reads with the adult novel ‘The Popularity Debt’ and is working on publishing in print. She’s currently writing the book ‘The Sleeping Arrangement’ on Widbook. “The platform is a great way to reach a wider audience — most of whom would not know about me otherwise,” she said.

In addition to its exponential membership growth, Widbook recently launched its Android app available via Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.widbook.widbookapp&hl=pt_BR), which enables reading books from anywhere.

Anyone can sign up for Widbook’s free platform by visiting widbook.com and simply creating a profile. (read more)

PSG-header02-transparent-02-27-14
Ready, Set, Go!

Boost your earning power & social currency by becoming a published book author in record time.

_______________________________________________________

publish my

Do You Dream to Publish a Book—
But Lack the Time or Know-How?

Look no further. This powerful learn-by-doing guide grants you the time and know-how. Learn to publish a printed book in 3 days by actually doing it! Once you become a published author, your friends, family, and peers will see you in a whole new light! This unique new system teaches both aspiring and seasoned authors every step of the self-publishing process. You won’t even need your completed manuscript to get started. This Book Blueprint system:

Includes a downloadable interior template
Displays parts of a book in chronological order
Gives 10 easy steps to print on demand publishing
Sets up free ISBN number and self-publishing account
Gets your blueprint published in 3 days! (shipping extra)

Want to learn how to publish a book in 3 days?

[aio_button align=”center” animation=”shake” color=”red” size=”small” icon=”book” text=”Publish a Book Blueprint in 3 days” relationship=”nofollow” url=”https://publishingsolo.com/landingpage/new-publishing-development/”]

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