Good to remind myself of what I realised aeons ago. Having indie-published two books and enjoyed the challenge of design, ( not the loneliness of editing) I am now on the point of following with undoubtedly my swan-song memoir (one tip- it pays to wait, until all the hazardous mentioned are dead!) but, unlike you, I could not find a way to adapt to serialisation on substack. (Your solution of 65 might have tempted imitation!) but perhaps excerpts might be possible? It is a Life in stories. Apropos of this evaluation, pros and cons, I would offer one consoling point, that the failure to find readers as an indie would not necessarily be any better if you had waited the four plus years to be 'published! That part has little to do with beauty of prose or meticulously shaped music.
The Society of Authors strongly recommended I publish independently- they reviewed a contract given to me for my novel, The Poster, and said, 'You're signing your rights away.'
The SoA gave me a load of resources to help me publish. I'm glad I did. I published my second book. 'Coaches' Corner,' last weekend. There is a lot of work to do, but I'm highly motivated when I know the royalties are higher.
So many great quotable lines in this, Eleanor. I think we should retire the word "self-published" and revert to "indie". What you describe was very similar to my experience. Coming from commissioned popular non-fiction, thinking that entiteld me to push my own ideas (non-fiction and fiction) – and finding that the market-driven publishing houses just weren't interested. I still have a foot in that camp - because, as you say, it also contains some lovely, clever and talented people - but freedom and happiness are not there. Thank God for the technology that has allowed indie publishing to take off.
Never stop, never back down. I love that instead of twisting yourself and your stories to get published, you twisted the publishing industry to serve you.
A very interesting piece Eleanor. Can I ask what happens after the first year? I've published with their sister company, The Book Guild but terms have changed after one year, so much so, that I will not be able to continue
That's very interesting to hear, as I almost switched over to The Book Guild for my next novel, but in the end, didn't. With Troubador, it's a very straight forward arrangement. I retain full rights, they're contracted according to which services I've taken out, they store copies for free for 3 months, and after that there is a warehouse fee. That's it. What were the terms with The Book Guild, and how did they change?
40% royalties for the first year, they hold the rights, all costs of printing born by them. All good, and my book has sold well. The big however is after a year, this changes to all printing costs born by me with 85% royalties. The maths don't add up - if sold on Amazon I'll make a loss. I can come out of this contract and get full rights and production files but I'm now in the position of having a book that's selling really well now looking to be delisted and I need a new publisher. Wish I'd realised the short term nature of the contract originally.
Wow. That sounds like a very raw deal in year 2. No, my terms are literally contracted for the production of the book, and that’s that. Troubador have sole rights to distribute to the retail trade by dint of use of their ISBN, but I can sell privately to anyone. They take 15% , and then there’s the discount applied to retailers which can be anything from 35 - 60%. So on a 300 print run, if a reader buys my book from Amazon, I make a loss. The higher the print run, and more direct the sale (ideally from Troubador direct), the higher my return. They hold active production for 2 years, and after that the files are held for 10yrs in case of reprint. In theory I could sell the rights to a mainstream publisher, create a new cover and new ISBN, and republish at anytime.
I'm in a similar boat - first book published traditionally, can't get a second one signed. still trying but the indie route hasn't been the beacon i hoped it'd be either. waaah. but great interview - loved the virginia woolf reminder and the fist to the air!
I think there’s a public conversation to be had with publishers - or is it the marketing department - about their fixation with debuts, lack of follow up, and the negative impact that has on the careers of writers. There was a time when nurturing a writer was the whole aim of a house. No more…
Here's to the indie authors, out and proud. I'm finally getting the confidence to reply 'I do' with a broad smile when someone asks who publishes me. And to those who sneer (thinking of one industry maven who turned away from me while I was still speaking when I said I published independently) I have a bunch of reader reviews that say I was right to do so.
Your interview on swapping mainstream for indie publishing was incredibly insightful and inspiring. I loved how you shared your journey and the challenges you faced. Your experiences resonated deeply, especially as a fellow self-published author. The detailed comparisons and your passion for indie publishing truly shine through. Thank you.
Good to remind myself of what I realised aeons ago. Having indie-published two books and enjoyed the challenge of design, ( not the loneliness of editing) I am now on the point of following with undoubtedly my swan-song memoir (one tip- it pays to wait, until all the hazardous mentioned are dead!) but, unlike you, I could not find a way to adapt to serialisation on substack. (Your solution of 65 might have tempted imitation!) but perhaps excerpts might be possible? It is a Life in stories. Apropos of this evaluation, pros and cons, I would offer one consoling point, that the failure to find readers as an indie would not necessarily be any better if you had waited the four plus years to be 'published! That part has little to do with beauty of prose or meticulously shaped music.
The Society of Authors strongly recommended I publish independently- they reviewed a contract given to me for my novel, The Poster, and said, 'You're signing your rights away.'
The SoA gave me a load of resources to help me publish. I'm glad I did. I published my second book. 'Coaches' Corner,' last weekend. There is a lot of work to do, but I'm highly motivated when I know the royalties are higher.
This is good advice - to reference the SoA. They're very useful and here for us.
Thank you for this article. It has opened my eyes to different possibilities.
My pleasure!
This is great. I'm an indie author too and similarly disenchanted with mainstream publishing x
Indie is where the party is!!
So many great quotable lines in this, Eleanor. I think we should retire the word "self-published" and revert to "indie". What you describe was very similar to my experience. Coming from commissioned popular non-fiction, thinking that entiteld me to push my own ideas (non-fiction and fiction) – and finding that the market-driven publishing houses just weren't interested. I still have a foot in that camp - because, as you say, it also contains some lovely, clever and talented people - but freedom and happiness are not there. Thank God for the technology that has allowed indie publishing to take off.
Never stop, never back down. I love that instead of twisting yourself and your stories to get published, you twisted the publishing industry to serve you.
🙌
I have two words: Fuck yeah!
Eleanor, you’re a light for my aspirations!
✊🏻🙌
Wonderful article! I’m only upset bc now I’m itching to write but am still at work :/ .
Do you consult on indie publishing? (For a fee obvs!) If not, do you know anyone who does?
Hi Jeff, I'm happy to share what I've learnt so far. Email me at eleanoranstruther@substack.com
Bookmarking
A very interesting piece Eleanor. Can I ask what happens after the first year? I've published with their sister company, The Book Guild but terms have changed after one year, so much so, that I will not be able to continue
That's very interesting to hear, as I almost switched over to The Book Guild for my next novel, but in the end, didn't. With Troubador, it's a very straight forward arrangement. I retain full rights, they're contracted according to which services I've taken out, they store copies for free for 3 months, and after that there is a warehouse fee. That's it. What were the terms with The Book Guild, and how did they change?
40% royalties for the first year, they hold the rights, all costs of printing born by them. All good, and my book has sold well. The big however is after a year, this changes to all printing costs born by me with 85% royalties. The maths don't add up - if sold on Amazon I'll make a loss. I can come out of this contract and get full rights and production files but I'm now in the position of having a book that's selling really well now looking to be delisted and I need a new publisher. Wish I'd realised the short term nature of the contract originally.
Do your terms extend beyond the first year?
Wow. That sounds like a very raw deal in year 2. No, my terms are literally contracted for the production of the book, and that’s that. Troubador have sole rights to distribute to the retail trade by dint of use of their ISBN, but I can sell privately to anyone. They take 15% , and then there’s the discount applied to retailers which can be anything from 35 - 60%. So on a 300 print run, if a reader buys my book from Amazon, I make a loss. The higher the print run, and more direct the sale (ideally from Troubador direct), the higher my return. They hold active production for 2 years, and after that the files are held for 10yrs in case of reprint. In theory I could sell the rights to a mainstream publisher, create a new cover and new ISBN, and republish at anytime.
💯 agree with this. I'm indie and proud. I LOVE it.
I'm in a similar boat - first book published traditionally, can't get a second one signed. still trying but the indie route hasn't been the beacon i hoped it'd be either. waaah. but great interview - loved the virginia woolf reminder and the fist to the air!
I think there’s a public conversation to be had with publishers - or is it the marketing department - about their fixation with debuts, lack of follow up, and the negative impact that has on the careers of writers. There was a time when nurturing a writer was the whole aim of a house. No more…
Here's to the indie authors, out and proud. I'm finally getting the confidence to reply 'I do' with a broad smile when someone asks who publishes me. And to those who sneer (thinking of one industry maven who turned away from me while I was still speaking when I said I published independently) I have a bunch of reader reviews that say I was right to do so.
Shame on whoever that was who turned away. Ffs. Idiots. And all power to you.
Your interview on swapping mainstream for indie publishing was incredibly insightful and inspiring. I loved how you shared your journey and the challenges you faced. Your experiences resonated deeply, especially as a fellow self-published author. The detailed comparisons and your passion for indie publishing truly shine through. Thank you.
My pleasure. It’s been inspiring to discover so many people relate to my experience.