Why Fantasy Authors Should Self-Publish Their First Book
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There are two big questions likely to weigh heavily on the minds of the many unpublished fantasy fiction authors who are considering what avenue to take to publish their first book:
Should I pursue traditional publishing, or self-publish my first book?
What are the advantages and disadvantages to these different methods of publishing?
There was a time in the not-so-distant past (I’d say three decades ago) this question was a non-starter. Traditional publishing was The Way. It was the only viable way for fantasy authors to acquire critical acclaim, financial success in the writing world, space in major bookstores, and just about every other advantage that most fantasy writers seek. That’s why so many continue to pursue an agent, get a book deal, and have a “Big Four” house emblem on the spine of their book.
But the landscape is changing and evolving. For many fantasy authors, self-publishing is becoming quite lucrative, gaining them fame and recognition (just ask Will Wight) and achieving all the dreams they may have initially felt was exclusively tied to big trad publishing. Some self-published fantasy writers still make the leap to traditional houses after successfully publishing their own books, while others even come back to self-pub after making that leap.
So, what should YOU, who wants to publish your first fantasy novel, do?
This post doesn’t aim to discourage anyone from trying to be published one way or another. Yet, to assist you with parsing the two major questions above, I’ll provide two big reasons for you to consider self-publishing your debut fantasy novel. Both reasons have to do with a finite resource: time.
1. You'll be a published author a lot faster
Over the past two years since I finished my debut novel, the FriesenPress bestselling A Drowned Kingdom, I have been fortunate to make a lot of amazing friendships amongst many fantasy authors who publish via a variety of methods. I can say emphatically that both my self-published and my traditionally published fantasy author friends are generally happy with just being published because it is a huge accomplishment. Most are also happy with the medium by which they published.
The one stark difference I have noticed, however, is that most of my self-published fantasy colleagues have often published multiple books in that two year span. One fantasy author in particular — the brilliant Ryan Cahill — is an award-winning, Amazon bestselling author who has published four books in less than two years and sold 40,000 books in that span!
Meanwhile, the vast majority of my traditionally published counterparts are still trying to secure a literary agent via querying over the past two years. These writers have not yet published their first book!
Amongst those fantasy writers who have already secured an agent, most of those writers do not yet have a book deal. Again, they have not yet published their first book. The process of querying (and securing) an agent can be very time-consuming and you will face many rejection letters before you find one. On average you can expect anywhere between 100 to 1,000 rejection letters before you ever sign with a reputable agent. Once you sign with an agent, there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to sell your manuscript. This is the dreaded “dying on sub” phase, meaning you have to write a new book and try again.
For those fantasy writers who have secured both an agent and a traditional publishing contract, the vast majority is either waiting for their book to be published (although it is completely written and edited) by their traditional publisher, or they have published only one novel. Most Big Four houses limit in their contracts how many books an author is allowed to publish within a certain span (with that publishing house or any others) so that they can control the marketing around the book they release.
Comparatively, although I do not consider myself nearly as prolific as some of my other author friends, I have already published two fantasy novels with FriesenPress, and anticipate my third being published in the spring of next year. By that time, some of my friends with book deals will still be waiting for their first fantasy book to be released!
My point is that expedience is not an advantage of being traditionally published. Traditional publishing is a phenomenal way to publish your fantasy book. Receiving an advance for your work, not paying out of your pocket for publication costs, and having the huge distribution and marketing power of a traditional publication house are enticing advantages. In exchange, the traditionally published fantasy author has no control over how long it will take to secure an agent, a book deal, or how long the publishing house will take to actually put your book on the shelves.
2. You don't have to be a household name to self-publish (and it may help you get traditionally published!)
Let's look at another key factor when you are considering querying to find an agent in order to land that six-figure book deal and see your brilliant fantasy novel well-stocked on the shelves of major book outlets all over the world — next to the likes of Miles Cameron, C.L. Polk, Steven Erikson, Kelly Armstrong, Guy Gavriel Kay, and Margret Atwood.
I mention the names of these Canadian fantasy luminaries for a reason that relates to my next point: they are already well-known and established writers.
Unless you’re very well-connected in the traditional publishing world, have a ready-made audience, a lot of influence, or are already a “known” commodity, it is very difficult (but not impossible, of course) to get an agent and a traditional publishing book deal.
Traditional publishing houses are businesses first, last, and always. That means they tend to be risk-averse and want a surefire sales success — a “good investment” for that advance. If you’re a new author who happens to also be an ex-political leader, movie star, or some other sort of celebrity, the likelihood of you obtaining an agent and a book deal is extremely high because the traditional publishing house will be confident you can sell. If you’re not one of those people, the likelihood is much, much lower.
Sometimes, if you are a successful self-published fantasy writer with a proven sales track record, with a robust readership and fans, have some writing awards to your credit, upkeep a strong social media presence and following… you could attract the attention of a big traditional publishing house. Recent examples like TikTok star Olivie Blake prove it can happen. Look no further than some of the self-published authors who have been semi-finalists, finalists, and winners of traditionally published fantasy star Mark Lawrence’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO). Several of the authors who earn at least a semi-finals berth in this very public and renowned showcase of self-published fantasy talent (most of whom are well-known Indie writers) have managed to gain a lot of additional credibility and draw the attention of big traditional houses.
On the heels of SPFBO success, writers like Justin Lee Anderson, Josiah Bancroft, and Jonathan French have won the big book deal after ticking the box of “some writing awards to your credit,” and have signed on the dotted line with traditional houses.
While winning any writing contest, or even winning lots of them, won’t assure you get a large advance, there seems to be a (growing) correlation between being a lauded and popular self-published author and having someone like Random House be willing to gamble on your ability to make them lots of money. To learn more about the upside of competing for writing awards, and some of the other benefits of entering a contest like SPFBO, check out Mark Lawrence's blog. (Full disclosure: I am one of the judges in this year's SPFBO.)
Though being a well-established self-published author with tons of great reviews doesn’t guarantee you will get picked up by Hachette or HarperCollins, being a successful self-published author does provide your agent with much more ammunition when they attempt to shop your book to one of those big publishing houses. That’s partly because traditionally published authors are expected to do more and more in terms of marketing of their books nowadays. Self-published authors tend to have a lot of expertise with this facet of the business: printing, copyright, cover design, website design, running book sales, participating in podcasts and book fairs, and much more. An established, experienced, and business-savvy self-published author is going to have a great chance for success as a traditionally published author.
Or, you may simply decide, in time, to remain self-published if it works for you. Someone like Will Wight has self-published over 20 books in approximately six and a half years, reaching a million dollars in sales and hitting New York Times Bestselling lists. There is indeed success to be enjoyed being self-published and remaining that way.
In the end, self-publishing is limited by your budget (a factor you can potentially control), while being traditionally published will entail a lot of factors completely beyond your control, such as an agent — and a publisher — choosing you and your work.
And self-publishing gives you more agency over that key factor we, try as we might, cannot control: time.
P.L. Stuart lives in Chatham, Ontario, with his wife, Debbie. The Last of the Atalanteans is the second novel in The Drowned Kingdom saga, and the sequel to the FriesenPress number-one bestseller: A Drowned Kingdom.
To learn more, you can visit his website at plstuart.com or follow his social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
