Sarah Pulliam Bailey: A New World for Authors

By Sarah Pulliam Bailey
The Indianaplis Star
Oct. 21, 2011

Indianapolis native C.S. Marks remembers being advised to flee the state for greener book-publishing pastures like New York City.

These days, she's content to live in Spencer, a town of about 2,200, in Owen County.

"Back in the day, people said, 'You've gotta get out of Indiana,' " said Marks, who grew up in Indianapolis and went to Butler University. "I can be on a desert island, and as long as I had an Internet connection I could put my books up for sale."

As Borders and other traditional outlets shut down and e-readers such as Amazon's Kindle Fire emerge, Marks was one of many Hoosier authors who met Downtown with 150 aspiring writers at an indie publishing conference last weekend.

Marks self-published her "Elf Hunter" fantasy novel in 2005, creating her own cover art and interior illustrations. Despite avoiding the traditional publishing route, she was recently picked up by agent Cathy Hemming, former president of HarperCollins, and Sea Lion Books, a new publishing house based near Atlanta.

She has sold 35,000 books, including 5,000 in January (perhaps due to e-reader sales over Christmas). It's hard to miss the pointy ears poking out from behind her cropped haircut, but she knows any distinguishing feature helps authors stand out in marketing and bookstore signings.

"The ears are a big draw. People are dying to know, 'Are those real?' " she explained, before telling me her secret. "They're latex."

When e-books began to pick up steam, Europeans began purchasing her books. "Just don't look at my reviews over in the U.K. They're kind of iffy," she chuckled.

Marks is not the only author who followed the self-publishing route. Lisa Genova sold about 1,000 copies of "Still Alice," a novel about a Harvard professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. It was later picked up by Simon & Schuster and spent 36 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list.

"I don't have the attitude, 'Oh my God, the sky is falling, people aren't going to read books,' " she said while waving her Starbucks cup in the air. "There are people who will buy books in their pajamas at midnight."

Social networks and websites like goodreads.com have reduced the traditional gatekeeping function of book publishers. People who purchase books on an e-reader also can't lend their book as easily to their friends, but they will still spread the word through their networks. "Book culture is a word of mouth culture," Genova said.

At the same time, Genova recommends the traditional publishing route if you can break in. The turning point for her was when the Boston Globe reviewed her book. "You can only sell so many from the trunk of your car," she said. After receiving rejection letters from traditional publishers, Genova turned to the self-publishing brand iUniverse managed by Bloomington-based Author Solutions.

"Alzheimer's was a topic nobody wanted to touch with a 10-foot pole," said Kevin Weiss, CEO of Author Solution, which has published 146,000 titles. "All of a sudden, publishers realize it is a topic that is germane, people liked the book and -- bingo -- she's snatched up. The aperture has opened up and we as consumers and writers have choices."

Earlier this year, Amazon announced it was selling more Kindle books than paperback books. Popular marketing expert Seth Godin moved to self-publishing last year, and thriller author Barry Eisler recently left traditional houses to publish with Amazon.

"There is definitely lots of gloom and doom about publishing out there," says Michael Hyatt, who is chairman of Thomas Nelson and a keynote speaker at the conference. "I've been hearing that for 30 years."

Still, Hyatt says he generates thousands of dollars through his blog, where he writes on leadership, productivity and publishing. His blog feeds content into his books.

"The power has shifted. It used to be in the hands of publishers," Hyatt said. "It's never been easier to get into print and be successful as an author."

While authors can draw from their experiences, Hyatt says, geography is mostly irrelevant.