Adam Croft

If you’re currently on the fence as to whether or not you should self-publish your crime novel, read on. Self-publishing is an adaptable, creative option for authors who would love to see their work published, and it can be particularly beneficial for crime writers. Here are some of the best reasons to self-publish your crime fiction.

• E-books are overtaking print books, and crime works really well as an e-book. Crime is a genre that lends itself well to the growth in e-reading; crime novels often have short chapters that are ideal for reading on the go, and the accessibility of e-books makes this a great option for authors
• Your brand as an author is what matters. When they’re looking for books, readers tend not to make their choices based on the publisher. They make the based on the author. This means you don’t need to worry about having the backing of a big-name publisher behind you; you just need to worry about writing good crime novels that people want to read.
• Success story numbers are rising. More and more authors are doing well through self-publishing their crime novels, and more readers are starting to read them. It’s a good time to get in on the game.
• The tools are there to help you do it. Even if you’ve never thought about self-publishing before and are slightly daunted by all that it involves, the tools are there to help you. There are plenty of professionals and others you can ask for help or hire to undertake bits of the process for you, ensuring your crime novel is as professional as it can be before it hits the shelves.
• You can be as creative as you want to be. You don’t have to write your crime novels according to what you think traditional publishers are looking for.  You can just write the crime novel you want to write, safe in the knowledge that you’ll be able to publish it at the end of the process.

Much has been written about the increase in choice bought about by self-publishing: more choice for authors, and more choice for readers. On the whole this is undoubtedly a good thing. Allowing authors to write and publish the books that they want to write and publish rather than what the publishing industry thinks they should publish is good for everyone involved. It gives writers more freedom and readers a greater range of books to choose from.

But there is also another side to this, one that poses a couple of challenges for writers and readers alike. For writers, self-publishing might have made it easier to get books published, but it has also increased competition. It is hard to get noticed and, for readers, the increase in choice can lead to a dilemma: how can you tell which books are actually good?

This can make it harder for self-published authors to get noticed, especially if some readers react by sticking to what they know, looking out for authors they already read and rarely taking risks on other books. It’s also why trial and error still plays such a part for both writers and readers. For readers, the increased choice is great but there’s no guarantee that every book they pick up will be their cup of tea. For writers, there is still a significant amount of luck involved in success.

However, we shouldn’t be disheartened. Despite the challenges it poses, self-publishing is a good thing. The extra choice is better than less choice and, from the perspective of both writers and readers, you never know when you are going to strike gold. That potential on its own is more than reason enough to celebrate the benefits of the choice provided by self-publishing.

The benefits of self-publishing to the wider book industry are plentiful, but sometimes it is worth having a look at a few key points to see just what it is able to offer. Of course, there is still a debate going on about publishing, and there are undoubtedly challenges relating to self-publishing as well as benefits, but as it grows in popularity, it’s impossible to deny that there is something important going on here. With this in mind, here are just some of the benefits that independent publishing has bought the book industry.

The publishing process is more appreciated

Now that more authors are getting involved in independent publishing, the process of publishing a book is more appreciated than ever before. Authors understand the work involved, and as the quality of self-published books continues to improve, the role of professionals is also important. This isn’t just good news for authors looking to get their work published, but also for others who work in the industry – editors and proof-readers and marketers. There is more choice and opportunity for them as well as for writers.

Authors understand the business better

When the only way of getting published was to go down the traditional route, a lot of authors didn’t really get that involved with the business side of things. With the rise of independent publishing, this is changing – and it’s a good things. When authors understand the business of publishing better, they are able to make more informed choices about what they want to do themselves and what they would like to use others to do for them. Better appreciation of marketing is also important, with tech-savvy authors taking responsibility for more and more of their promotions.

Authors have more power

We’ve looked before at how self-publishing gives authors more control over what they write, but it also gives them control in other ways. For instance, traditional publishers are starting to wake up to self-publishing success stories and are often keen to work with authors who have already had success. Since the self-published author has all their own rights, it puts them in a position of power. The hybrid model of publishing also opens up more options for authors, giving them choices that didn’t exist until quite recently.

More diversity in publishing

Traditional publishing with one of the big publishers. Self-publishing. Small press publishing. Hybrid publishing. Keepsake publishing. There is more diversity than ever before in the industry, which not only makes it more likely that writers will be able to find an option to suit them, but also gives more choice and power to readers. And, as self-publishing becomes seen more and more as a respectable, viable option for authors, there is arguably more of a level playing field in terms of publishing routes.

What do you think? How else has self-publishing benefitted the book industry?

Yesterday on this blog we took a little look at the news that e-book lending pilot schemes are due to start soon in the UK. Today we turn our attention to a related, yet slightly different, issue: that of self-published books in libraries. Namely, will there come a time when self-published authors are just as likely to see their work available to borrow from the library as traditionally published authors?

I think we are probably some way off from this yet, but there are signs that it could one day happen. For instance, more and more people are reading self-published novels by choice, and are buying them regularly online. As the books become more widely-read, it is possible that the demand for them in libraries will grow.

Related to this is the fact that there are now quite a lot of self-published authors who have gone on to be successful in traditional publishing careers; there is no longer the stigma there once was around self-published books, and books that were previously self-published are now available in the traditional manner. This also links to the hybrid model of publishing, where self-published authors can also be traditionally-published and perhaps more likely to see their books on the library shelves. The self-published author Hugh Howey (who wrote Wool) recently signed up to a print-only deal with Simon & Schuster, for instance.

Also, as e-lending schemes start to be developed, there might be potential in the future for self-published authors – who, as we know, are very keen on digital – to take part, depending on demand. There are undoubtedly still plenty of challenges to overcome before we see lots of self-published books on the library shelves, but as they become an increasingly important part of the publishing industry and what people read, one day it could become a reality.

What do you think?

While many things about independent publishing are up to you, there are also quite a few that are so important they can be classed as essential. Here are some of the main ones.

• E-book publication. In this day and age, you don’t necessarily have to do a print run of your book, especially if you are writing fiction, but you do need to have an e-book publication. And that e-book should be…
• Available on as many platforms as possible.
• Some form of promotion. A blog and a presence on social media are the two big ones – and they’re great because you can do them for free – but there are plenty of other forms of promotion you can get involved in.
• Business sense. If you are serious about self-publishing, you can’t just be a writer. Of course, being a writer is an essential, but you also need to understand about working for yourself and all that it entails.
• Editing and proofreading. You can do this yourself or you can ask someone else to do it for you, but you should never self-publish a book without making sure it is properly edited and has been proofread before publication.
• Focus and commitment. If you’re not committed to what you’re doing and don’t have the focus you need to get things done, you simply won’t get them done at all.
• An objective person. You can do most self-publishing tasks by yourself, but it still helps to have at least one other person by your side, if only because it can sometimes be hard to be objective about your own work. Someone who can be constructively critical and offer an unbiased opinion is a must.
• A good book. This must be the biggest essential of self-publishing: if you don’t have a book worth reading, it’ll be hard to get anywhere.

What are your self-publishing essentials?