When it comes to how people get their works published over the years, whether they are cookbooks or full-length novels, the vast majority of work in this field has been done through publishing houses, companies whose entire business model revolves around selling and distributing books, newspapers, and so much else.

However, in the past 30 years or so, there have been an increasing number of ways for people to circumvent traditional publishing companies and publish their work on their own.

These are self-published authors, and they make up a massive portion of published works and creators on sites like Amazon Kindle.

But how successful are self-published authors exactly? And how do they fare when compared to publishing houses? Just how successful can a self-published author be?

Well, with some of the examples we have found, quite well! At least, if you have the right frame of mind and plan, that is.

This guide that we have constructed will show you everything you might want to know about becoming a successful self-published author, from the realities of working in this framework, as well as show you some of the best success stories when it comes to self-published books and authors that have managed to do quite well here.

How Much Do Most Self-Published Authors Make?

However, before we get any further into that topic, we first need to discuss one of the metrics that many authors would probably measure their success by: How many copies of their book are sold, and how much money do self-published authors tend to make?

Well, if we’re talking straight numbers, then depending on how much you promote and market your book, many self-published authors will often sell 250 to maybe 350 books a year on average. Depending on pricing, that can work from anywhere between 250 to maybe a little over 500 by that same average.

Pros Of Self-Publishing

Now, those numbers might not seem like they paint a very encouraging picture at first, so let’s quickly go over some of the things that self-publishing has as advantages when discussing why people choose to self-publish in the first place

No Fees

Let’s get to probably the most obvious point first. A lot of the money that is made from books goes back to the publishing company.

After all, marketers, artists, editors, graphic designers, and plenty of other professionals worked with the authors to help create and publish the book, so it’s only fair that they are paid for their hard work.

Still, it does mean that authors don’t make most of the money that the book earned. The same can be said for royalties too. 

Going self-published means that you won’t need to split the earnings from a book’s profits quite so much, and royalties are often less, depending on the platforms that you sell your book on.

Greater Author Vision

Another big reason that people are often tempted to go self-published is that they have more creative freedom.

While publishers can undoubtedly be a big help, there is also a lot of input that goes into books from the publishers and editors that can infringe on the original author’s creative vision.

Self-publishing your work means that you’ll have total control over what goes onto the page, and what goes to print, so to speak.

Wide Distribution

if you’re publishing your book on a large platform like Amazon, you’ll have a potentially huge audience that can see your work.

Not only that, but Amazon will also allow you to share reviews of your work on your Author’s Website, giving you even better publicity.

Cons Of Self-Publishing

From the looks of things, it’s no wonder that so many people are tempted by the idea of trying to self-publish their work.

Now is about the time when we should probably pull back the curtain a little, and explain why so many people will often struggle when compared to publishing companies.

It’s Tough On Your Own

Working on your own might seem like a tempting option when it comes to returning book profits to you. But if you have tried 

You’re not just an author with a self-published book. You also need to be an editor, a marketer, a graphic designer, a spokesperson, a social media manager, and countless other roles at the same time. Jobs that otherwise would be handled by professionals in a publishing company.

Difficulty Going from Self-Published To Traditional

Another issue that has historically been an issue for self-published authors is the fact that many authors who started out writing self-published works have often struggled to make the jump over to traditional publishing.

It’s hard to say what exactly causes this, although one thing that is almost certainly a factor is the general disdain that many publishers have for self-published authors.

What causes that disdain? Who’s to say?

Self-Publishing Success Stories

So, that seems pretty definitive.

While it is clear that an effective strategy and managing expectations can help make a self-published good pretty successful, many authors just aren’t going to see the same large numbers on average that they may expect from a publishing company.

However, those are the averages. With the right mindset, a good book (and a healthy helping of luck to boot), there are quite a few examples of self-published authors becoming major success stories.

These are some of our favorite examples of what self-published authors can achieve for themselves!

E.L. James (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Starting with perhaps the most famous example that many people are aware of, we have Fifty Shades of Grey, written by Erika James, although she is perhaps better known by her pen name, E.L. James.

This work famously started life as a piece of Twilight series fan fiction, but as the work progressed and more details changed, James eventually ended up changing many of the characters out and publishing the work as its own story.

The results speak for themselves, with the book becoming one of the best-selling self-published books when it first came out. E.L. James would continue to write novels in the series, even after selling the publishing rights to Vintage Books in 2012.

Beatrix Potter (Peter Rabbit)

In case you thought that self-publishing is a young pursuit, it is worth remembering that Beatrix Potter’s most famous work, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was a self-published work.

Potter tried going to several publishing houses, before deciding on self-publishing her work herself. After initial success, a publishing company would then approach her to publish through Frederick Warne & Co., and the rest is history!

Andy Weir (The Martian)

Proof that self-published works come in every genre, The Martian is a hard science fiction novel that was first written by Andy Weir in 2009, starting as a shorter chapter in his writing blog posts.

As interest grew, Weir would eventually compile all of the posts together into a single novel that he would sell to widespread success and acclaim, with 3 million copies sold, and even being turned into a movie in 2015.

Final Notes

So, based, on everything we’ve shown, you should hopefully understand by now that self-publishing is a legitimate writing decision that you can consider, though not without serious work and luck.

Still, it’s reassuring to know that many of the best-selling self-published books have been released in the last 15 to 20 years.