Why I Chose to Self-Publish Hey, June Instead of Traditional Publishing
The Personal Reason
I wrote Hey, June in 3 days. An insane feat that couldn’t have been accomplished if it were just a writer writing a book. No, I wrote Hey, June because I needed to. I was a month away from turning 23, and four years prior, at age 19, I had lost my two dear (and only) (and first adult) friends, who were 23 when they died. I was officially going to be the same age as my older friends—and I was having a hard time coping. So I did what I do best, and that was to write. I sat down at a cafe on the corner of Jasper and 109 Street and stayed there for the next 3 days, writing, writing, writing. I hadn’t planned to write a book, but soon the ramblings began to take the shape of Hey, June as you know it today.
So, why did I choose to self-publish Hey, June? Easy. This book wasn’t meant to be marketable. To be shifted, amended, and cut into a book easily consumable by the entire world. It was meant for me and my grief. The story itself was incredibly personal and felt like it was my own heart’s blood that filled the pages with words, not ink. And I also knew it could be a place to explore grief for others who have experienced something similar. So, I wanted full creative control over the content of the book.
Life has a funny way of working out, and Hey, June has been incredibly successful as a self-published book. But I think it has nothing to do with me—the same with writing this book. It was inspired action from something much older than myself: grief. A friend that many of us know and thus were easily able to relate to in Hey, June.
The Business Reason
I am very adept at separating heart from business. I’ve been self-employed as a writer for over 3 years, and I’ve had to learn how to view things from a logistical standpoint. This is an important skill, especially if you’re doing something as personal as publishing your own book. However close you may be to the subject matter, you also need to be able to look at your book objectively to give it the best chance of success.
Unknowingly, I had been studying the publishing industry for years before releasing my own debut novel. I’ve always had a plan to become an author, so I consumed a lot of content surrounding publishing: articles, YouTube videos, and short-form video content on social media platforms (Instagram + TikTok). I have been building my understanding of publishing. And in the last couple of years, I noticed a drastic shift in the industry.
'#Booktok' is a hashtag encompassing a large community of book readers and lovers. With over 264 billion views on TikTok, this is no small movement. Social media has single-handedly revitalized the book-reading community by fostering a place to share books with a gigantic, willing audience easily. Booktok creates trending books and, in doing so, controls the market.
Booktok embraces all books as long as they’re good or, at the very least, divisive. This has unintentionally leveled the playing field, so to speak, and provides an equal opportunity for self-published authors to reach a massive audience with no marketing budget. In recent years, major success stories began with a self-published author’s book becoming the new trending book and launching the career of a new author.
All this to say, social media has changed the publishing industry. No longer do you have to rely on the massive marketing budgets of traditional publishing houses—not when you can potentially reach a third of the internet-connected world with a simple video from your cellphone (TikTok has approximately 1.5 billion users as of 2023). Make the right video, and the algorithm will push it out to a large audience of readers.
The caveat of this is that you need to ensure your book looks good and is actually readable. As someone who has been marketing themselves for the better half of 3 years, I knew the basics of being attractive to a potential customer. I just needed to apply that to my book.
I paid for a very good line editor to elevate my work from cute to publishing-worthy and for a cover artist who could execute a gorgeous book cover. Because at the end of the day, people do judge a book by its cover and will not buy something unreadable.
The other side of the coin for why I chose to self-publish Hey, June? I wanted to control 100% of the business side of the book. I understand the basics of marketing and internet optimization, so I could market my own book.
Conclusion
Gone are the days when self-publishing implied that your book wasn’t cut out for traditional publishing. Gone are the days when, to have any hope of success as an author, you needed traditional publishing.
The age of social media has revolutionized the publishing industry, offering equal opportunities for those brave enough to create content for their books. While social media can expose your book to a vast audience of eager readers, you still need to put in the work to give your book the best possible chance.
My debut novel, Hey, June, is an Amazon bestseller and consistently ranks within the top three categories. This is thanks to the wonderful people who have discovered my book through the videos I’ve shared on social media, supporting authors regardless of how their books came to fruition.
If you're interested in learning more about self-publishing, maximizing your book's chances of success, and achieving success as a self-published author, then I've created the ultimate guide for you. It's based on a year of research I conducted to ensure the success of my own book, providing step-by-step instructions on publishing your own book. You'll also gain insight into the personal journey I undertook to publish Hey, June.
You can download it today from my website - www.thecreenomad.com - in the shop!
Cheers, and until next time! xx
