by Bryan Chick

Self-published books aren’t always respected in the literary world. Many booksellers, librarians, and readers prefer a traditionally published book. And many book reviewers require it. Why? Well, because anyone can self-publish. You, me, even the guy down the street who hasn’t read a book since eighth grade. A traditionally published book has partly proved its value just by being selected by an established publisher.

I didn’t set out to self-publish. I cast query letters to agents across New York for a full year, but none would bite. I couldn’t blame them. I had never published a book and had few credentials as a writer. I had little more than a belief that my novel was good, different from the rest. I began to research self-publishing and saw it as a viable way to prove the merit of the story to the traditional publishing community. After several months of reading about book production, distribution, and marketing, I went for it. I quit my job, came up with quite a few thousand dollars, and went to work bringing The Secret Zoo to market. My wife, a stay-at-home mom with three young children, became my business partner.

We chose to self-publish the traditional way, meaning we didn’t use an all-inclusive company to produce the book. This gave us full control. We wanted to make certain the book could compete with others in the bookstore, so we hired an accomplished artist, an award-winning editor, a cover designer from a big publishing house, and a highly respected book printer. We developed a solid marketing plan and landed the book with a national distributor.

We jumped into the community of independent publishers and really enjoyed being a part of it. Here we found support and camaraderie. We identified with small and independent presses—particularly their love for books and readers. We shared in their do-or-die entrepreneurial spirit. And we took comfort in how other independent publishers truly wanted us to succeed.

We hoped to sell 10,000 books within two years. We ended up selling 12,000, a figure that still boggles my brain. How did we move so many? Several key strategies worked for us. I made author visits to more than seventy schools. The book received strong reviews in ForeWord, School Library Journal, and Midwest Book Review. Good word of mouth helped our sales in local bookstores. And my dad peddled a bunch out of his trunk.

Because our cost per book was low, we were able to give away hundreds as a marketing strategy to generate local buzz. We offered them to select schools, librarians, teachers, and local book clubs. The first copy we handed out helped lead to a three-book deal with Greenwillow, a HarperCollins imprint. My wife gave a galley to a woman during a chance meeting. The woman participated in a mother–daughter book club, which read The Secret Zoo, enjoyed it, and invited me to meet their group. Several mothers in the club were teachers, and I ended up visiting all their schools. At one school, I had lunch with the principal, who happened to be a nephew of a managing editor at Greenwillow. He passed on the book and some kind words to her. A few months later, the executive editor at Greenwillow rang my phone. A contract soon came in the mail, which was infinitely more satisfying to receive than the rejection slips I once collected from literary agents.

People often assume that I have a background in business. I don’t. I’m just a guy who doesn’t like having doors closed in my face. Though I ultimately put a lot of time and hard work into learning how to run a tiny press out of my home, I started with no knowledge about publishing or operating a business. One thing did make me a strong candidate for self-publishing, however. I was unwilling to let anything stand in my way of getting my book into print. I wanted to see The Secret Zoo on bookstore shelves more than almost anything. Self-publishing made this possible—this, and a whole lot more.

Bryan Chick is the author of The Secret Zoo, the first book in a middle-grade adventure series, published in 2007 by Second Wish Press and released in hardcover June 1, 2010, by HarperCollins/Greenwillow. Bryan and his wife Barbara are available for self-publishing workshops. They live in Clarkston, Michigan, with their three young children. For more information, visit www.BryanChick.com.