avatarJoy Yvette

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Build Your Backlist

Self Publishing Notes, Vol. 3

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Hey there! If you are an author with a desire to create a solid career, then take note. In the traditional publishing world there is something called the backlist. Basically, this refers to the collection of books from previous seasons or years, versus the current or upcoming slate of publications.

For example, if Ernest Hemingway were still alive and about to publish a hot new novel this year, all of his previous works would be considered his “backlist”. Or, if the publishing house that owns the rights to Hemingway’s works were to publish a work attributed to him posthumously, all of his older works would again be fodder for comprehensive marketing campaigns to repackage and sell this backlist.

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The backlist is where traditional book publishers earn the lion’s share of their revenue. Honestly, they would go out of business without it. Imagine how much money the publishers of the Harry Potter series are STILL taking in. Or think about how many Michael Jackson CD’s and albums sold the day after his passing. People were soaking up everything he ever recorded that was available, and publishers were packaging and bundling and selling like crazy.

Not sure if you will ever achieve Harry Potter or Michael Jackson levels of self publishing success, and I’m not suggesting you flood the market with junk. I do, however, believe that anything is possible if you understand the game, work hard, and produce quality. All of this to say that as a self published author, you should pay attention to the logic here. Of course you should publish quality pieces, use editors regularly, and make sure your cover designs don’t look like your 5 year old created them. With this in mind you should persistently write and publish to build YOUR backlist.

This does two things:

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  1. It helps you build the muscle of writing and publishing, allowing you to grow and improve as an author along the way.
  2. It sets you up for long term success and residual income. Once you get that first blockbuster book churning consistent interest and sales, people will come looking to see what else you have to offer.

This works well for fiction, non fiction, and especially children’s books. You can create a series with spin off characters and worlds that can generate significant passive income after you are “discovered”.

It’s a win-win if you truly want to be an author. This approach can work for publishing articles here on Medium and other blogs as well. It’s about creating your bench. Building a cushion of content to pull from when you need it while honing the craft of writing.

Just a little something to think about as you build your self publishing empire. Hope this helps! Keep writing!

Copyright 2024 ~Joy Yvette~ All Rights Reserved

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