Insights from Hugh Howey, super-successful self-publisher

Hugh Howey interviewed at Techcrunch on self-publishing:

Being patient and having a long view was crucial, I think. I didn’t get discouraged, because I had no expectations. It isn’t like my books go stale. They’re all e-books and print-on-demand paperbacks. They are brand new and always in print, just waiting to be discovered. I firmly believe that if a well-read author commits to honing their craft and writing two novels a year for ten years, they will be able to make a career out of writing. The beauty of self-publishing is that you can give yourself that ten-year chance. You don’t have to rely on being discovered by an agent. You don’t have to waste your time querying and spending the two or three years it can take to get a single book published. And you aren’t limited to the narrow window in which your book will be displayed on a store shelf. You can publish now and publish forever. That’s a huge benefit, one that I recognized very early on.

Read the rest, it’s good stuff.

Hugh’s own blog is excellent too, in particular his reporting on traditional versus self-publishing earnings.

I guess what I am saying is … I am a fan.