When you build something from nothing, success comes from a combination of preparation and vision. Luck, connections and opportunity all play a role, but you can’t see any of that and you can’t do anything about it without vision.
A long-term sustainable business model is difficult to obtain and maintain for any entrepreneur — add in an industry as volatile and notorious as writing and it’s easy to get frustrated before you’re out of the gate.
My small press, Parisian Phoenix Publishing, released its 50th book in May and will celebrate the end of its fifth year this month. To celebrate this, the team has planned five months of activities. Behind the scenes, I can’t believe the milestones we have achieved and the lessons we have learned. We have more than 50 books (three have been released since the 50th and, as of this writing, we have three more scheduled later this year) with a presence in 45 stores in nine states, including six Barnes and Noble stores.
More than 90% of our work features traditionally-published authors, who don’t pay a dime or have royalties held to repay the publisher for services. We provide reduced-cost author copies for life, and we offer 50% royalties on sales through the distributor. Those are high figures for the industry, and yes, it means lower profit margins for me in an industry where those profits are already low.
But, I firmly believe that if my authors know they will make exactly what I make on every sale, they will work harder to promote the book.
And the other10%? We offer a network of professional services at a reasonable cost for people who want to self-publish, need editorial support, or need access to a good graphic designer or photographer. We offer ghostwriting and project management — you’d be surprised (or maybe you wouldn’t) how many potential authors know what they need to do, but just need help ordering and completing the process.
Five lessons I have learned in the first five years of my business?
1. I should have dedicated my talents to projects that led to my own personal gain a long time ago.
As a journalist and a non-profit communications professional, my efforts and my words always benefited someone else.
2. Too many writers don’t learn about the industry before pitching their projects.
In their haste and enthusiasm, some pitch projects before they are ready and waste their time in front of whatever agent/editor/publisher they had hoped to reach. Some succeed at the pitch but have no clue what constitutes a good deal or a reputable publisher and lose their creative integrity or the profits.
3. No matter how good the advice or where it came from, it’s meaningless if you hate it.
This applies to marketing and social media. This applies to writing mentors. If someone tells you that something would be better if… [insert advice here] and that advice makes you cringe — don’t do it! Something you did because you were told you had to will never be as good as something for which you had passion.
4. Writing is a long game, and it’s not zero-sum.
Serious readers read a lot, and if the author next to you sells a book and you don’t, don’t hate the author. I promise, if you do the work, you will find your readers. A book performs in direct proportion to how much thought and effort you put into promotion. Not the publisher. You. Discuss your marketing goals with your publisher and know what they will do and what you will do and how you can best support each other. But it’s extremely rare for books to become bestsellers. It’s even rarer for an author to make money only from writing books.
Successful “full-time” writers have multiple streams of income, even me. Right now my income streams include: editing clients, teaching undergraduate college classes in publishing, freelance journalism, paid subscribers on my Substack newsletter, and book sales and royalties on the Parisian Phoenix backlist. As a writer, you have to find your own hustle.
5. Know your goals, meet your deadlines and get the work done.
If you’re working with a publisher (or client), ask questions when you’re not sure. Know what’s expected of you and the deadlines you need to meet. Keep track of the process so if you work with that entity again you know what to expect and what’s expected. Remember the familiar adage: under-promise and over-deliver.
Whether it’s a business owner with a brand book or a first-time author traditionally publishing the only book they ever plan to write, I ask every client what their goals are. I will be straightforward and honest. Before you even see a contract, I will tell you what I can and cannot do. You owe it to yourself to know exactly what you expect from your writing career, and it better be more than just “to get my book out there” or “to make money.”
If you don’t have experience in professional writing and want a resource to help you learn the industry and know what a writer needs to know, I recommend “The Business of Being a Writer” by Jane Friedman. She’s a guru you need to know if you don’t know her.
If you want an insider’s view of the industry about the nuts and bolts of the actual publishing part of the business, I recommend “The People’s Guide to Publishing” by Joe Biel. Joe is the publisher at Microcosm, a successful midlist publisher and distributor (that refuses to work with Amazon).
If you want an insider view of the bookselling industry with some very entertaining memoir, I recommend “Rebel Bookseller: Why Indie Bookstores Represent Everything You Want to Fight for from Free Speech to Buying Local to Building Communities” by Andy Laties. Andy is the co-owner of Book and Puppet, an independent bookstore in downtown Easton, Pa.
Angel R. Ackerman, founder of Parisian Phoenix Publishing, writes horror fiction with a woman’s touch in her “Fashion & Fiends” series. She has more than 15 years experience covering Northampton County, Pa., and Phillipsburg, N.J., for local print newspapers. She is a board member of the Mary Meuser Memorial Library board of trustees and the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group. Find Angel and Parisian Phoenix on Substack, and sometimes Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
