Having Your Self-Published Book Traditionally Published

A Literal Literary Loser Explores a New Frontier

In a May 2023 post entitled “Show Me The Money,” I compared profits earned from a large publisher, a small publisher, and self-publishing. (Spoiler: Large publisher is much, much more.)

Flashback: In September 2011, I self-published a non-fiction book entitled “Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama’s Greatest Moments.” It was an enhanced e-book where I not only interviewed the actors, writers and producers behind the scenes which soap fans voted as the best of all time, I also included links to video clips where readers could watch those scenes. I wanted to really take advantage of the new medium.

I was excited about the technological possibilities. Many of my readers were not. They asked for a paperback version. I thought that defeated the whole point.

Yet, coming from the world of commercial television, I understood that a creator’s job is to give the people what they want - if I wanted to make money in return, that is.

Recently, I became fascinated with the publisher, BearManor Media. They specialize in books about movies and television, putting out everything from “1000 Women in Horror,” to “The Bewitched History Book” to “The Most Obscure Cult TV Shows Ever” to autobiographies by Bonnie Bartlett and an upcoming one I’m personally looking forward to, ubiquitous child star Pamelyn Ferdin.

BearManor Media seemed like the ideal traditional publishing home for my book.

But what about the belief that, except for a few high-profile cases (i.e. “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “The Martian”) self-published books are an anathema to traditional publishers?

I’ve never been particularly good at listening to what other people thought. I’m even worse at doing what I’m told.

I pitched “Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama’s Greatest Moments” not as a straight reprint, but as a second edition.

This book would not be identical to the one that came out in 2011.

For one thing, the enhanced multimedia elements would have no place in a paperback book. For another, I committed to adding 20% new content, since it’s been over a decade since the last edition, and lots of great scenes have taken place since then.

BearManor Media offered me a contract.

I ran it by my literary contracts consultant (always have a professional look over any contract sent to you by any publisher - always! No exceptions!). We made some tweaks. They made some tweaks. We tweaked back and forth, and it looks like we have a deal!

Now, the second question after “Can a self-published book ever be picked up by a traditional publisher?” is “Why do you need a traditional publisher if you’re doing perfectly fine self-publishing?”

My answer to that is three-fold:

First, I always like having an additional pair of eyes on my work. I need a proof-reader, a copy-editor, and just a general person to point out, “Hey, that makes no sense. You should rewrite that.”

Second, I wanted to give those readers who asked for a paperback copy what they requested, and I needed someone to format the book, design a cover, etc… I did not feel qualified to take on those tasks. (A director I worked with at ABC Sports once called me a visual wasteland. I know my limitations.)

And third, while I am a very, very, VERY aggressive promoter of my work, it’s always nice to have a partner. BearManor Media is the place to go for books on movies and TV. I wanted to be a part of that. I wanted people who love movies and TV to stumble upon my book while browsing. I wanted to be where the kinds of people who would enjoy my book would be the most likely to find it.

Now, of course, the trade-off to all of the above is sharing the financial proceeds from my work.

As of this writing, the enhanced multimedia edition of “Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama’s Greatest Moments” has earned $2,896.20.

Will I make more than that from a paperback edition? Less?

I don’t know.

But anybody who requires guarantees of what will happen should not go into publishing.

For now, I’m excited to start collecting new soap opera memories, putting out a second edition on a subject near and dear to my heart, and seeing what will happen.

Stay tuned for my as always brutally honest updates on the process - and its results!

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And speaking of my very aggressive promotional tendencies, check out my latest book review video below!