December 16, 2011

Going Indie with Catherine Bybee

Hi Sarah, thank you for having me here today.

I’m going to talk a little bit about Self Publishing… or going Indie as people are starting to say.

I need to start by saying that Self publishing isn’t for everyone. An author may think that if they self publish they get to skip a few steps, get published faster. Although there is some truth to the ‘getting published faster’ part, there are more steps to doing it yourself than there is when going with a publisher. However, and this is a BIG however, Indie publishing means you need to hire a editor, hire a cover artist… might even have to hire someone to format your work. You have to set up all of your reviews and do all of your promo without the help of a publisher.

There is a ton of work…. However, the pay off can be huge.

I decided to self publish Wife by Wednesday not because I couldn’t sell it, but because I wanted to get it out there. I wanted control over my release, over the price, over how many copies I gave away. I could have sold Wife to any number of small press publishers and done just fine with it. But I wanted something else… I wanted more readers that happen when you price a book low enough to get it into new reader hands. This was my first contemporary romance, my readers were paranormal readers, time travel readers… erotic readers. I needed to find new readers. Indie publishing was perfect for this book.

Did I say the pay off can be huge yet?

Let me tell you just how huge.

Wife by Wednesday made the Amazon Bestseller list for contemporary romance just 35 days from her release. I released Wife on Oct 5th. By Thanksgiving I had made the #1 position in Romance on Amazon… then in the next couple days made the #2 spot on ALL ebooks on Amazon.

Are you seeing the HUGE part yet? Getting on these bestseller lists gives the ball a steeper hill to roll down, or for me up… up in readers, up in sales. I managed these lists by having a marketable product, great cover, and a .99 cent price. For me this worked and I can now call myself a USA Today Bestseller.

I’m so happy I made the decision to go Indie… so happy I didn’t stray from my path and go a more traditional route.

So if you’re tired of hearing the word no from publishers yet everyone who reads your work says they think it’s good (Not your Mom, she’s always gonna tell you what you want to hear) then what do you have to lose?

Go Indie.


A Contemporary Romance with a dash of humor and a whole lotta sexy…

Blake Harrison:
Rich, titled, and charming… And in need of a wife by Wednesday so he turns to Sam Elliot who isn’t the business man he expected. Instead, Blake is faced with Samantha Elliot, engaging and spunky with a voice men call 900 numbers to hear.

Samantha Elliot:
Owner of Alliance, her matchmaking firm, and not on the marital menu... That is until Blake offers her ten million dollars for a one-year contract. All she needs to do is keep her attraction to her husband to herself and avoid his bed. But Blake’s toe-curling kisses and charm prove too difficult to combat. Now she needs to protect her heart so she can walk away when their mercenary life together is over.

10 comments:

Suzanne G. Rogers said...

So happy for you Catherine!

christine warner said...

Congrats on going indie! Your books sounds fantastic and I love the cover. Always the first thing to grab me :)

Always nice to hear an encouraging story about taking a different route to becoming pubbed :)

Sarah Grimm said...

Catherine-

Thanks so much for visiting today and giving us a glimpse into why you chose to self-publish. I know a lot of author's out there are thinking about going that route and are full of questions and a bit of apprehension. Seeing someone achieve such great success with their indie release is encouraging!

BTW readers, Wife by Wednesday is a wonderful book. I highly recommend it!

Mona Risk said...

Catherine, you're my hero! Wife by Wednesday is on my TBR list. Yes self-publishing is not that easy and takes a lot of work. A fellow Indie, but much poorer. LOL

Susan Macatee said...

Congratulations, Catherine! That's a huge accomplishment. Don't know if I'm ready to go indie yet. I love my editor too much. She's like a mind reader. lol

Catherine Bybee said...

Suzanne - Thanks as always!

Christine ~ There are many routes to success in this business. They all begin with the best story you can write.

Sarah ~ So glad you kicked me in the butt yesterday to get this post to you. It's been a crazy week as I'm sure you can imagine. Thanks for having me and for your support.

Mona ~ *blushing* Hero... I like that! *head expanding* For many of us, we did a ton of work and have had little say in publishing our books. So it's great that there are other avenues to walk around.

Susan ~ Indie isns't for everyone. And I love my editors, too. That made it harder.

Katherine said...

Congrats on hitting the USA Today bestseller list. I'm intrigued about going the indie route but I'm so technologically inept, I don't know if I'd be brave enough to try it, not to mention the lack of funds to pay a cover artist, editor, etc. Hope you continue getting great sales. :o)

Sherry Gloag said...

Cathrine, I have seen your latest book everywhere I go and it's on my wish list. What a wonderful achievement. Congratulations and thanks for sharing. have a wonderful holiday.

LaVerne Clark said...

Thanks so much for sharing your newest publication journey Catherine and I'm beyond thrilled for you! Big woohoos!! :)

One day, once I've written and had a few more books published, I'm going to try the indie route too. Not sure I'm quite ready yet... but I love the idea of having a bit more control over pricing.

Wife by Wednesday is on my wishlist at Amazon. All hubby has to do is click to buy them all - Christmas sorted! :)

Would you consider doing a post on your blog about your recommendations for cover artist, editor to help out those clueless on the subject (me!) :)
May your wonderful sales continue and congratulations!

Catherine Bybee said...

Katherine ~ I think it's important to remember that when you first started writing you had to be shown how to use track changes or setting margins. We can learn anything so don't be afraid to try. And besides, there are people out there who will do this part for you for a price.

Sherry ~ Seeing it everywhere is why it is selling so well. :-)

LaVerne ~ you touched on a very important point. Wife by Wednesday was my 10 published novel and my first Indie novel. So I've been around for a while.