Self Publishing Quotes

“In old days books were written by men of letters and read by the public. Nowadays books are written by the public and read by nobody.”
― Oscar Wilde

“To be a successful fiction writer you have to write well, write a lot … and let ‘em know you’ve written it! Then rinse and repeat.”
― Gerard de Marigny, The Watchman of Ephraim

“You don't have to wait to be "Accepted" by a publisher or agent to become a Millionaire Author and live a glamorous life traveling, living near celebrities in Hollywood and California, and being able to be hired to speak all over the world. I did it without being traditionally published, and it is the greatest feeling in the world to have that freedom. - Kailin Gow, Millionaire Self-Made Author”
― Kailin Gow

“Go APE: Author a great book, Publish it quickly, and Entrepreneur your way to success. Self-publishing isn’t easy, but it’s fun and sometimes even lucrative. Plus, your book could change the world.”
― Guy Kawasaki, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. How to Publish a Book

“Most books on publishing deal with publishing by itself. Most books on marketing deal with marketing as a stand-alone project. I think this is the wrong approach. Self-publishing and book marketing have to be considered as an integrated project. That is what this book does; it treats publishing and marketing together as a unified project.”
― hank quense, How to Self-publish and Market a Book

“Social media is an essential part of your marketing plan and your branding. However, be warned. Social media is a major time suck and many sites are next to worthless when it comes to marketing and selling your book. Nevertheless, you must persist.”
― Hank Quense, How to Self-publish and Market a Book

“once, if you told people you were self-published, they'd look at you like you were a smelly old jobless hobo just come off a dusty boxcar with soupcan shoes and a hat made from a coyote skull.”
― Chuck Wendig, 500 Ways to Write Harder

“As you start your self-publishing project, you will come across tasks that are outside your experiences as an author. This is to be expected since the only commonality between writing a book, self-publishing the book and marketing the book is that all these activities involve the same book and the same person.”
― Hank Quense, How to Self-publish and Market a Book

“I’d rather be lucky than good.’ [Baseball player] Lefty Gomez said that, and I live and breathe that fortune-dwelling, fuzzy-dice-dangling creed. I was fantastically lucky to be taken in by Montag Press and its extraordinary managing editor, Charlie Franco. But I’m also a bit of a research freak and I'm convinced that homework helped me set up a situation where luck could flash and ignite. I spent an inordinate amount of time researching small and independent imprints. Here I reveal the flip side of thinking that any hours spent researching literary agents is wasted (in my unwashed opinion) while time spent reading and learning about quality independent publishers is essential. It’s the best and only way to identify the little houses in that vibrant village that might be just right for your own book. (Interview with Ruuf Wangersen on sevencircumstances.com)”
― Ruuf Wangersen, The Pleasure Model Repairman

“Choose wisely where to spend your money and where to spend your time.”
― S.K. Quinn

“Only a fool writes for anything but money,’ Samuel Johnson wrote in the 18th century. If that's true, and it probably is, I've been a fool more times than I care to count. I will say that I've been a much happier fool when I'm writing what I love to write. Here's the rough-and-tumble fact of it: The overwhelming odds are that when you're writing your first book (and even your second) you will be writing it for free, you will not receive a contract or advance from a major publisher, and you will not get an agent. I say this with utmost affection and empathy. I also say, let the statistical truth of all that, free us to write what we love, what we want to write, exactly what we would write for free. And once you're dancing down that path, write hard, write the thing the best you can write it, and who knows? Maybe the phone ringing on your bedside table is that literary agent and they're calling with good news. Best of all they're calling because they love your work as much as you do. And if that call doesn't come through, not right away, where does that leave you? With no regrets. All respect to Dr. Johnson, [but] the far, far better quote (for my ‘money’) is: ‘Never for money, always for love...’ Talking Heads. They didn't just write it. They sang it.” (Ruuf Wangersen interview, July 2018, sevencircumstances.com)”
― Ruuf Wangersen, The Pleasure Model Repairman

“Writing is bloody hard!”
― Me!

“We can’t be everything for our book. Sometimes, we must surrender it to people who can help.

It’s all about the book. It’s not a reflection of your competence.

But, please ask from the right people. Hire the right people. Approach experts. Friends are great for moral support, but when you need expertise and advise, then ask the experts.

Otherwise, you’d be a blind man being guided by another blind man telling you which way to go. A practice that is too common in this industry.”
― Eeva Lancaster, Being Indie: A No Holds Barred, Self Publishing Guide for Indie Authors

“When you're a new author, you have a fearsome enemy. ANONYMITY. We know this, and it's our biggest fear. The fear that nobody will read our work plagues most of us, keeping us awake at nights. No matter what some authors say, we published because we want to be read.”
― Eeva Lancaster, Being Indie: A No Holds Barred, Self Publishing Guide for Indie Authors

“First they told me: “build a following and the industry will follow.”

So I spent my entire 20s building a following on zero budget, getting by on donations.

Then they told me: “You need a literary agent. But a literary agent wants to see you have a following and something big going on.”

So I started my own small press and self published 5 books and spent day and night connecting with my people until I’d sold over 35,000 copies in 35 different countries
and now they tell me: “no agent wants to work with a self published author.”

Sometimes I feel like I was doomed from the very start, the very day I sat my food on that plane to London 12 years ago. Like the whole world keeps saying “you can fight all you want but we won’t let you in.”

But I do have freedom and I do have my following and I have vulnerable souls writing to me on Friday nights, about loss and hope and how my books or music or words played a small part in something they went through and sometimes I think I would throw all that away just to have a literary agent and a management and the contracts and headlines… because I’m tired.. of always fighting uphill.. but then I get that message, on a Monday night, and I take my computer to a bar close to where I live in Berlin, high above the city, and I write like never before because I have my people and vulnerable souls to find and I have so many books in me and time is not endless, time is crucial, and lately I’ve felt it running out, some nights, so I’m writing another book that won’t be noticed by the agents but I have my people and that’s all I will care about from now on. My people and my freedom, with time running out. That’s what I will focus on.”
― Charlotte Eriksson

“Pricing should be clearly and fully disclosed, with no hidden fees.”
― Jim Giammatteo, Choosing the Best Self-Publishing Companies and Services: How To Self-Publish Your Book

“Reputable service provides inform their clients; they do not hide vital information from them, especially key information like pricing.”
― Jim Giammatteo, Choosing the Best Self-Publishing Companies and Services: How To Self-Publish Your Book

“Predatory operators often have higher visibility than the legitimate ones, so comparing the first results you find on Google may yield highly inflated averages.”
― Jim Giammatteo, Choosing the Best Self-Publishing Companies and Services: How To Self-Publish Your Book

“You have a right to full and accurate information from a prospective service provider before you enter into any agreement. Pricing options, and process should all be discussed openly and these discussions should never be conditional on signing a contract.”
― Jim Giammatteo, Choosing the Best Self-Publishing Companies and Services: How To Self-Publish Your Book

“ALLi’s definition of a vanity publisher is one that engages in misleading or, in the worst cases, outright deceptive practices, with the intention not of bringing books to readers, but extracting as much money as possible from the authors.”
― Jim Giammatteo, Choosing the Best Self-Publishing Companies and Services: How To Self-Publish Your Book

“You need your book to appear to readers who are interested in it.”
― Jim Giammatteo, Choosing the Best Self-Publishing Companies and Services: How To Self-Publish Your Book

“Try to look beyond what the provider is offering, and focus on the motivation.”
― Jim Giammatteo, Choosing the Best Self-Publishing Companies and Services

“It’s imperative that you know what help you want and what you’re willing to do yourself.”
― Jim Giammatteo, Choosing the Best Self-Publishing Companies and Services

“When I cannot reason with my mind, I write with my heart and soul.”
― Div Manickam, A Book is Born: Guide to Self-publishing

“May your words inspire and be a guiding light in every corner of the world.”
― Div Manickam, A Book is Born: Guide to Self-publishing

“I believe that when it comes to selecting a self-publishing partner one of the most important things to look for is how the provider’s interest aligns with your goals.”
― Jim Giammatteo, Choosing the Best Self-Publishing Companies and Services: How To Self-Publish Your Book

“Editing can feel incredibly burdensome for self-published authors when you are tasked to reread your work, for what feels like, a thousand times. Because even with your sharp attention to detail, typos can still go unnoticed. My recommendation is to hire a professional editor to go over your writings as well. There are a plethora of freelancers who are highly skilled at ensuring your work is done with precision and more ease.”
― Robin S. Baker

“परछाइयाँ कई सच छुपा लेती हैं; लेकिन कुछ सच इतने काले होते हैं कि उन्हें दफनाया नहीं जा सकता।"
– A Death Day Saga”
― Samraat Singh, The Shadows Reborn

“Self-publishing will not save you from yourself. But it will show you what needs healing.”
— Sarah Kissane, SOS Survival Guide for Writers & Creators”
― Sarah Kissane, Obsolete: The Education Wake-Up Call

“Your first self-published book is expensive because you're paying tuition.”
― Heather Holmes