This Book Will Fail: The Truth About a Self Publishing Industry In Denial

by Noah Murphy, Dan Gamito, Noëlle Alexandria

The self-publishing Industry was once hailed as a new day for authors. Freed of greedy publishers, they could chart a new course to success, Instead, the self-publishing industry has produced a sea of garbage written by people following bad advice from self-publishing “experts” with ulterior motives. Even talented writers still face a near impossible task of standing out, or even finding affordable editing.

Self-published author Noah Murphy takes you through his failures and successes during his two years in a broken industry in denial about the risks facing authors, and the true rewards it can offer them. In addition, Noah will share four essays written by others in the self-publishing industry who have also decided to speak up.

If you are a self-published author, or are thinking of self-publishing, you must read this book.

59 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 19, 2013

About the author

Noah Murphy grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland which features prominently in his writing. After graduating from Goucher College with a double major in philosophy and religion, he began a pet sitting service. In his spare time Noah volunteers at a not for profit parrot rescue. His love of animals provides inspiration for many of the anthropomorphic characters in his books.

Part of the generation just before autism awareness began, Noah was diagnosed at age 26. For him, a later diagnoses was a hidden blessing. Being forced to be “normal” gave him the skills and knowledge to publish and run a business. Autism also unhinges his mind, allowing him to approach situations and characters in strange new ways, and seriously enough to make them work.

An avid writer, Noah Murphy is the author of the fantasy novel Deltan Skies, and the superhero novel Ethereal Girls. He also enjoys sharing his opinions on life, literature and popular culture with his 29,000 followers on Twitter and on his blog.

Reviews

[Noelle Takes the Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recall this book. It was somewhat controversial at the time since self-publishing was looked down on even more than it is now, and anyone not running straight to querying was seen as likely being a bad writer. But the issues in this book are more valid now than ever. It’s no longer seen as unreasonable for beta readers to charge hundreds of dollars. I know of one who charges $500, and she makes a full-time living at it. A cheap editor is a grand. A cheap developmental editor is a few grand. A few rounds of editing are expected. It’s not seen as unreasonable for a writer to spend $5k or more per book. When the return in a single book might be all of $5, a writer needs to sell enough to be a mild best seller to recoup, and that’s before profits.

An industry that was supposed to be an equalizer, giving everyone a chance, is reserved for those with deeper pockets, just as this book goes over. It’s worse now than ever, as writers who try to save money they don’t have to spare risk being accused of killing editing jobs and being bad people for it, then told to spend all their family has, or else they don’t believe in their books.

Ironic that the very people without whom the industry could not exist at all are the last ones to ever see a dime, and in some ways, they’re the ones financially propping up an entire industry that places them last in the pecking order.

I’d like to see an updated version of this book.