Interview with Self-Publisher Jerry Blaze

1. What can you tell me about your experience as a writer?

It’s been an adventure. I love being a writer. Writing books and stories is one of the best ways to release your creativity, de-stress and overcome problems you might face in the real world.

2. What made you decide to write a book?

When I was a kid, I was inspired by the books I would read and I’d be lying if I wasn’t inspired by the amount of money that authors were bringing in. So, one day, around 14 years old, I decided to put forth the effort to write an actual novel and I did.

3. What circumstances brought you to the decision to self-publish your book?

Too many rejection letters from Top Five publishers. I was a teenager trying to get my book published by a huge New York publisher, I was naive back then. One day, while looking for other publishers on the internet, I came across Lulu.com and found that I could just publish my own book. I had never heard of self-publishing at the time (people called it vanity publishing), and decided to take the chance, putting out my first novel on Lulu.com. I followed with many more after that.

4. What has your experience as a self-publisher been like?

At the beginning it was negative. I didn’t realize that I had to promote and market my own books, I self-published my books thinking I was going to get rich. Soon enough, I realized that I was one of the 2M+ people also self-publishing their books online. I spent years putting out books that weren’t selling and I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting any sales. After a while, I considered quitting, but then I found a Reddit AMA by a self-published erotic author who was making loads of cash writing erotica. So I started self-pubbing porn stories and novels on KDP and for the first time, I earned royalties every month. I grew to love self-publishing and the majority of people don’t care if the book was self-pubbed or tradpubbed, they just want to read the book.

5. How do you respond to the negative stigma attached to self-publishing and self-published books?

I’ve never really received any negative reactions to being a self-publisher. The one time I did was online and it was someone saying that a self-published book wasn’t worthy of attention, since “anyone can publish a book.” The book I was promoting was in the Top 10 of its category on Amazon, and I quickly pointed out that a lot of traditional published books never do that well, so obviously my book was catching more attention than the person wanted to believe. Did it change her mind? I don’t know. But it certainly strengthened my resolve. A self-published author is an author who wants full control of their book and isn’t afraid to tackle the obstacles, so in a way, they have more to offer than a traditional published author.

6. What is one very important lesson you have learned as a self-publisher so far?

Always write and always push, never give up. When I wrote erotica, I had to develop a fast writing/publishing speed to make sure my books stayed relevant and in the spotlight. In the horror community, it’s not the case, people are loyal and will stay even if you slow down. I haven’t figured out how to slow down yet though, haha. Never giving up is the biggest lesson. You might not get rich and you might not get famous, but you’ll always have someone who wants to read your work.

7. What do you know now about self-publishing that you wish you knew at the beginning?

You get what you work for. If you want high royalties from your book, you should work at selling/promoting it. It’s not a “get rich quick” scheme. It’s a job. The fun is writing the book, the work is promoting it, the payoff is watching people go crazy for it. Simple enough, but still, I meet people that complain that their self-published books aren’t making any money and they have to work other jobs to keep their finances strong. It’s a hard fact, but unless you have a wealthy benefactor paying for your writings, you get what you work for. If you don’t work, you don’t get anything you want, regardless if you think you deserve it or not.

8. A lot of authors of self-published books have reservations about promoting and marketing their book. Some even feel that it is a form of vanity or self-importance. What is your opinion about this?

IF YOU DON’T PROMOTE IT, NOBODY KNOWS IT EXISTS! Seriously, if someone wants to label it as “vanity” then they shouldn’t have self-published to begin with. I’m not saying the practice is self-absorbed, but I am saying that someone who self-publishes is pushing their literary work into the world for people to read, they have nobody to blame but themselves if it gets hated on. If someone wants to publish their own book, but not work at selling it, then what was the point?

9. How do you promote your books and what form of book promotion has worked the best for you?

The easy answer is that I post on social media apps and send my work to ARC readers/reviewers on Facebook and Reddit (Redditors don’t seem to understand that you have to review the work, so take that with a grain of salt). The actual answer that has worked best for me is to just keep writing and publishing. In erotica, readers want constant work and a huge catalog of works is what keeps them coming back. I’d like to think it’s the same way in any genre, so if you want to promote your books, keep writing them and keep putting them out for the world to see.

10. What are some other important things you have learned as a self-publisher?

Covers are what sell your book, so don’t be afraid to spend some cash on a great cover artist, it’ll be worth it. Get a proofreader, you might get away with a few words being in error, but people get pissy if your text is full of typos and grammatical mistakes. Don’t be afraid to set up a team of ARC readers you can trust, they will help get your name out there and give you feedback as needed.

11. Do you feel that self-publishing is a viable choice for other authors?

I feel like self-publishing is the only real choice for authors who are serious about their literary work. Put out your book, push and promote it, keep writing your works and watch your star rise in the world. It sure beats getting a bunch of rejection letters from big publishers. Small presses are perfectly fine to explore and publish through, I’ve had some really incredible experiences with small presses. In the end, however, self-publishing was how I got my start and I still put out books through my own KDP.

12. How do you feel that self-publishing their books has helped many unknown authors finally get the recognition their books deserve?

I could give a list of self-published authors who are now quite famous, but better yet, I’ll tell you that I have found a long list of incredible books that were self-published by the authors. Books that would have never been found had the authors not taken the chance to put them out. I think self-publishing gives a voice to people who are nervous, but anxious to get their stories out into the world. I’m always happy to push for others who take the big step to publish their own book, who knows, they might just be the next big thing and it would never have happened if they hadn’t leapt into the big times of self-pubbing their book.

ABOUT JERRY:

Jerry Blaze is an award-nominated author of extreme splatterpunk fiction.

After achieving success in the erotic market, Jerry decided to undertake extreme horror/splatterpunk and found some acclaim. Several of his books have been bestsellers. Jerry was nominated for six categories in the debut Golden Scoop Awards, including Best Upcoming Author.

Jerry is a fan of grindhouse and exploitation films from the 70s and 80s, often modeling his work on them. He currently lives in the American Midwest, but travels often to get inspiration or to run away from angry mobs.