Self-Publishing Success Stories That Will Inspire You

Self-Publishing Can Bring Success

Finding a publisher is not an easy task these days, even if you have a potential bestseller done and dusted.

After writing, editing and rewriting, you are probably frustrated with the responses you are receiving. Some writers have just given up on the idea of ever getting published.

We read success stories of writers who were rejected numerous times, but some of us have bills to pay and cannot wait around for that bright and sunny day.

With the world moving towards everything digital, the idea of self-publishing might start to sound like a good idea. It’s scary to think about publishing your own book, because of the doubt.

You can find affordable proofreading services and get the job done, but is your storyline really good enough?

This type of doubt is what sets many writers back, and they convince themselves that if a publisher does not want their book, that it would be a failure. This is, of course, a big lie and you can find great success in self-publishing.

Here are some inspiring stories of writers who made it big by self-publishing.

Amanda Hocking

Writing more than seventeen novels, this woman from Minnesota did not find any success with the publishing houses.

She then decided to self-publish these novels as eBooks and gained huge success. Could you imagine writing seventeen novels and not one being accepted? The success of this story is that she went on to sell over a million copies.

St Martin’s Press then went on to buy the right to her first three novels for a whopping 2 million dollars.

This is just one of those stories that makes you feel motivated and inspires one never to give up.

Michael J. Sullivan

This is one of those writers who gave it all he got and was not recognised by the big publishing houses.

After writing for more than ten years, with no success, Sullivan literally gave up on writing. He took ten years off and one day just decided to write again. Still, no one wanted to publish his book, until his wife started a publishing agency.

He then decided to self-publish his book “Riyira Revelation” through his wife’s agency and gained the success he dreamt of. After this success, the publishing houses flooded in with offers.

This shows you that even if you take some time off, you can come back stronger than ever.

E.L. James

Even though the books written by this author caused a ton of controversy, we have to admit that she is a success story in the self-publishing world.

In 2011 E.L. James published her first book without knowing the success she would gain from it. She had to believe that there was an audience for this type of literature.

Today, her Fifty Shades series is known throughout the world and has caused such a hype that it is astonishing to think that she was self-published.

Not everyone is trying to gain the amount of success that she did, but she is the poster child of self-publishing success. Selling more than 100 million copies is nothing short of miraculous.

Robert Kiyosaki

The book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” is one of those books your parents hand down to you, with good reason.

The lessons displayed in this book are of such value that it is still popular today. In 1997 he decided that he no longer wants to be an employee and self-published this book. He sold over 26 million copies of just this one book, so that is definitely a success.

This book focuses on some great financial advice we cannot find in school today. He talks about graduates having to be employed while those with business minds seem to be the ones who are successful. If you haven’t read this book yet, it is worth doing so.

Marcel Proust

Proust wrote a novel that was said to be the most rejected one in the twentieth century.

This is probably not the kind of reputation you want as a writer. After receiving many rejections, Proust did not give up on his ability to be one of the best writers of all time.

He paid a publishing house to publish Swann’s Way and went on to sell millions of copies.

His original book, which was rejected so many times, was rewritten in a comic manner. In 1998 he found a publisher for the most rejected book and gained great success.

Who knew you simply need to rephrase online and turn that book into a comic novel.

Wayne Dryer

It is so strange to think that anyone would reject a book by Wayne Dryer, but he was not always as famous as he is now.

Originally, Dryer published his first self-help book. The book only ran for 4,500 prints, which is not enough to gain any degree of success.

Following that print, he travelled the world to try and promote this book. After doing this for a year, this book has become one of the best-selling books of all time. He sold more than 35 million copies of “Your Erroneous View” which was on the New York’s Bestseller list for sixty-four weeks.

Most writers would be happy to have their books on that list for just one week. Today, Wayne Dryer is one of the best motivational writers and speakers.

Conclusion

Looking at these success stories, it is easy to say that there is hope for those writers who are not published yet.

Do not see this as the only option for becoming a published author. We have so many options available to us in these times that many of these writers did not have.

You can promote your book without leaving your living room. With all these opportunities, many writers are opting to self-publish after being rejected by publishers.

Even if your confidence is knocked down by these rejections, pick yourself up and do it for yourself and your future.