Does self-publishing hurt your chances to become popular?

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No, self-publishing does not hurt your chances of becoming popular. Becoming popular takes a good book and a good strategy, and self-publishing gets in the way of neither. Two things matter: how you use author names, and whether you build an audience beyond Amazon.

A reader asked me this, and I’m guessing the worry is that self-publishing could have a negative effect compared with being traditionally published.

Should you publish under more than one pen name?

When I first started, I published a series of books on topics I found interesting, across different genres. The problem with publishing across different subjects is that you don’t become known as an expert on any one of them.

So I studied a lot, read several books on the subjects I wanted to go into, and published a series of books under other pen names. Use a separate pen name for each genre you publish in. If you write on gardening, that is one pen name. Books on other subjects get their own names, which builds expertise in each. A book on how to take care of fish followed by a book on how to mow your yard doesn’t really match. A series of books on one topic builds expertise, and if you weren’t good at what you publish on, why would you do it? There is more in Using A Pen Name In The Early Stages Of Your Career?

The catch: if you publish under several pen names, no single name becomes popular, because each one brings in its own traffic. If becoming known is the goal, keep one name for the topic you want to be known for.

How do you get followers as a self-published author?

Combine your books with content marketing: a blog, YouTube videos, and maybe a podcast. Self-publishing is a fantastic way to build followers when you do it strategically and ethically.

You also build an email list of the people interested in what you offer. Even if you are a fiction author, you can use your audience this way, and they will follow you to other places. See Are There More Writers Now Because Of The Internet? for why this works better than it used to.

A mailing list matters more than most authors expect. In the Written Word Media 2025 indie author survey (published 2-Dec-25), authors with a list had a median income of about $300 a month, against about $15 for those without one. Authors earning over $10,000 a month averaged 18,327 subscribers, and those earning under $100 averaged 902. These are self-reported answers, so they show a pattern and not a cause. Still, readers you can email are readers you keep, whoever publishes your book.

Can a self-published paperback reach bookstores and libraries?

It can be offered to them. KDP’s Expanded Distribution makes an enrolled paperback available to large distributors so booksellers and libraries can find and order it. Enrolling is free and hardcovers are not eligible. Distributors decide whether to list the book, and the decision to order lies solely with the individual bookseller or library. After acceptance it can take up to eight weeks before they can order it (KDP, Expanded Distribution). Being listed is not being stocked, so do not count on shelf space.

Does self-publishing hurt your chances of a traditional deal?

Not by itself. Writer’s Digest’s Jane Friedman has long argued that self-publishing does not ruin your chances, and what counts is how well you did it and what happened as a result (article from 2010, so the market has changed). She also warns that self-publishing as a stepping stone to a traditional deal is a weak plan (first published 2015, updated 2025). Publishers want books with commercial potential, so a book that sold well helps you and a book that didn’t does not. The upside is real too: see the advantages and benefits of self-publishing.

I highly recommend self-publishing as a way of getting started. If you go traditional later, you’ll already have an audience and a marketing machine in place. I don’t know why you would want a lower royalty rate on your books, but for some people it is strategic. For a cost comparison, read Which Is Cheaper Traditional Or Self-Published Books?

Jane Friedman’s updated 2015 post puts the real risk plainly: she says authors who self-publish first just assuming they can find an agent or publisher later are making one of the worst assumptions in the community. Decide up front whether a book is for self-publishing or for a traditional deal, and plan the book around that choice.

Have you found self-publishing helped you gain followers? Let me know below. If you want help building that audience for your own books, book a free 25-minute discovery call and we’ll look at where you are and what to do next.

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