Indie Author Interview: Tobin Elliott
Welcome back to my interview series with indie authors! It’s my hope that readers thinking about self-publishing can learn from their peers about what to consider—choosing a platform, if (and when) you should hire editors and other professionals, and what you should definitely know before starting out.
Today we have Tobin Elliott, author of the six-part supernatural horror series The Aphotic. Tobin and I met when we worked together as booksellers, and I was both very excited and very nervous when he asked me to help publish (format and proofread) the books I had heard him talk so much about! But it was a great experience, and I am so happy to see readers embrace his work. Below, Tobin shares what he’s learned from publishing six books at once, and what he thinks is the most important thing an author can do after publishing!
Tobin Elliott, My Self-Publishing Journey
JENNIFER DINSMORE: What made you choose to self-publish? Did you try the traditional route at all?
TOBIN ELLIOTT: I did try the traditional route. I sent my manuscript out to all the major publishers back when I had a single, stand-alone novel, No Hope. (That eventually became book two of the series and was retitled Out For Blood.) While most just flat-out turned me down, I also got a lot of comments about some of the humor that was built in up front. Basically, it was either too funny or too extreme.
Later on, I looked at some smaller presses that would have considered it, but I found that they either didn’t offer hard copies (only ebooks) or they distributed very narrowly—either through their own website or Amazon. Neither really fit in with my plans for world domination.
So, after doing some research on self-publishing, and talking to some authors who’d gone the indie route, I decided that it was easy, relatively inexpensive, the profits were good, and I wouldn’t have to compromise on content or covers. That’s when I dove in with both feet.
JD: What platform did you use to publish? What factored into that decision?
TE: I went with two platforms. First was Amazon because if you’re going to self-publish, you pretty much have to be on Amazon, like it or not. Then, after considering both Draft2Digital and IngramSpark, even though I really liked both, ultimately I chose one as using both would cause confusion with both platforms offering books to many of the same retailers.
I chose IngramSpark because they make my books available globally. With them, I’m in the biggest bookstores in Canada (Indigo), the US (Barnes & Noble), and the UK (Waterstones), as well as places like Walmart and Target and a host of other retailers around the world. Also, smaller indie bookstores like Little Ghosts Books in Toronto (a fantastic place, by the way) can order them up as well. Nothing against D2D at all—I just felt like IngramSpark was the better fit for me.
So, really, it came down to distribution. I knew the books had to be available on Amazon, but I also wanted to get them into brick-and-mortar stores as well, and as easily as possible.
JD: Putting a book (or books!) out in the world takes a lot of work! Where did you find your team of professionals?
TE: Luckily, I know talented people!
Having worked in a different capacity with you, Jennifer, I knew you were an editor, and I knew you were likely a very good one. But, I’ll be honest with you now—I don’t think I've ever told you this! You had a “send me X pages for a sample edit” offer, so I took the first few pages of my first book, which I knew . . . I knew . . . had been gone over and over by a lot of eyeballs, and had zero errors. I thought I’d challenge you with something that was essentially print-ready and, smugly, sent it over . . . and you found something like twenty-two corrections. Even better, your comments highlighted that you were not just checking the work, but really reading and enjoying aspects of it too. So you were an easy hire as an editor.
For covers, I knew I had enough Photoshop chops to put my own together but not enough talent to create an arresting cover image. I knew I wanted something not just eye-catching, but eyeball-grabbing. Initially, I went through a couple of people I’d found online (one on Instagram, one through Fiverr), and gave both some references and samples as an idea of where I wanted to go. I wasn’t happy with either of the results, so I looked closer to home. My daughter-in-law (@camille__tattoos on Instagram) is a tattoo artist, and I was talking to her about my cover woes. She offered to give it a shot and created a quite stunning cover for the first book. I was ready to go . . . until I wasn’t.
Just days before I was to hit Publish, I came up with a completely different cover idea. I decided I wanted a split face, with a nice little girl on the outside and a nasty one breaking out. I sent Camille an email, telling her not to hate me. She responded by telling me she did, in fact, hate me, but also loved the idea, and turned around the cover that now graces Bad Blood in a day or two. She knocked it out of the park, and she did even better with the next five covers! (In fact, she did so well with the first one that was nominated for Best Cover in the 2023 Bookstagram Awards.)
Other than that, I leaned on my niece, who writes some spicy stuff under the name Brooklyn Cross (@author_brooklyncross on IG), for some inside information and publishing tricks with Amazon, and she was very helpful.
And that’s really my team of professionals. Other than that, it’s mostly been me doing things myself.
JD: Many authors struggle with marketing and self-promotion. Talk a little about your author platform.
TE: I am one of those many struggling authors. The marketing and self-promotion aspect is something I’m still very much finding my way with and not enjoying very much. I can only trust my gut and observe other authors to learn from the ones I think are doing it right.
I think the two most influential authors who unknowingly showed me the way are David Buzan (@davebuzan on IG) and Daniel J. Barnes (@djbwriter), who are good at highlighting their own work but even better at highlighting their fellow authors. They also know when to have some fun, and often throw out some silly stuff to make you laugh.
I’ve also managed to set up a fair amount of in-store signings in both chain bookstores and indie ones. The results are always hit-and-miss, depending on the day, the weather, or whatever else is going on in the store or the city. I’ve had signings where I’ve sold three books—which was painful—and others where I’ve sold a few dozen. But in-store signings do pay off, as I've had people get the first book at one signing and then come back for the rest later.
That’s basically my author platform now. I’ll try and make you laugh, or I’ll highlight a post about something I feel is important, and I’ll promote the other amazing, talented, creative authors and artists that are out there . . . and occasionally I’ll get in your face and remind you that I’ve written some books too!
JD: What do you find most rewarding about self-publishing? The most challenging?
TE: The most challenging thing is trying to get my work in front of eyeballs without being pushy or obnoxious. I’ve seen some authors (and cover creators, reviewers, etc.) who will follow me, and then immediately jump into my DMs to push their works or services. For anyone who offers a product or service that's reading this right now? Listen to me: that doesn’t work.
For myself, before I approach a reviewer, for example, I’ll follow them and interact with them for a few weeks. Like their posts. Comment on them. If I feel they’re the right audience for my stuff, then I’ll reach out and, in the least pushy way I can, offer up my books. Usually, about 10% will say yes. And that’s fine. But it takes a lot of time. Don’t get me wrong, the time spent is typically worth it . . . but it’s still a lot of time that’s not going to writing. So, yes, that’s the most challenging: promoting, marketing, getting the word out.
The most rewarding is actually a couple of things. The first is that I’ve had two readers reach out after completing all six novels, and surprisingly, both said very similar things. They both told me they were feeling all sorts of emotions, from happiness at how much they enjoyed the entire series and how it wrapped up, to sadness at no longer having my characters in their lives. And that’s an amazing feeling, to know that this little story that I dreamed up in my head, and these characters that I created, have left that much of an impression in someone else’s head. I love that.
The other was an incident I had a few weeks ago. I work at a bookstore part-time (hey, I gotta do something to keep me from being a complete hermit!) and I approached a customer who was looking at horror books. She asked me for some recommendations, and I offered up a few. Then she pointed to the first book in my series, and said, “And that one’s really good, too!” She had bought it earlier and I’d signed it for her. (I’m terrible at remembering faces.)
Long story short, she said she’d had it sitting on her nightstand and she woke up one cold, rainy morning and decided to stay in bed and read. She read the book in one sitting and loved it. But then she told me something else. She told me that she’d always wanted to write as well, and after meeting me, just a regular guy, and reading something that I wrote that she loved so much, it inspired her to start writing as well. She said, “If it wasn’t for you and that book, I probably never would have started writing. So, thank you for being my inspiration.”
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of having someone tell you something like that. It’s quite humbling. And incredibly rewarding.
JD: Are these different than you first anticipated? What do you wish you knew when you started?
TE: The marketing and promotion piece was not a surprise. I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy that aspect, and I mostly don’t. But I know, even if I’d signed with a major publisher, I’d still be doing it, so it’s a necessary evil.
But the rewards? The readers telling me how my stories and characters stick with them? Inspiring someone to start writing as well? No, I never anticipated either of those. For me, the biggest reward was that I would see my books in print for the first time, on a bookshelf in a retail store, between all those other authors who came before me and inspired me.
And those are absolutely rewarding things, too. But the ones I described above beat them.
JD: What advice would you give to those considering self-publishing?
TE: Okay, a few things . . .
First, do your research. Each genre sells differently in different markets and formats. What’s best for your work? Where should you publish? When you've figured that out, research the heck out of that publishing platform. What do you need to know that you don't even know to ask yet? Talk to others who have come before you. Ask what pain points they experienced. What would they do differently now?
A good example of this was making my first two ebooks Amazon Kindle Unlimited exclusives (they demand 90 days). In all the time my two books were on KU, I made a total of $1.68. So, with the third book, I stopped that practice and watched my ebook sales soar through all the channels. But that is just my experience. I know others that make a killing with it.
Next, long before you publish, start building your brand and your platform. And if you’re not comfortable with certain social media, do some research, but if it doesn't work for you, then don’t do it. I’ve learned that I like certain social platforms, and seriously dislike others. Do you need a blog? Or a website? Or a newsletter? Do you know what content you’ll have for them?
If you’re serious about this venture, get yourself an accountant as well. They’ll come in handy when it comes time to do your taxes.
Then, start thinking about the actual writing. Don't publish until it's ready. I’ve seen a few indie authors publish a book and then realize there are glaring errors, or they want to adjust the story, or whatever, so they pull it down, change it, and republish it. Some have even suggested I buy the updated version after I’ve already purchased the first. Not cool. So, to avoid that …
Make sure your book reads well. Does the story make sense? Are the plots wrapped up satisfactorily? Are there plot holes?
Make sure your book is edited well, and not by a friend. Hire a professional. I can’t tell you how many indie books I really wanted to read, but couldn’t get past all the grammatical, spelling, and formatting errors.
Know your own strengths and weaknesses. I knew I could put the cover together, but I knew I needed an artist for the imagery. So, if you can’t do covers, find someone who can. And don’t settle: make sure you’re very happy with that cover because it’s got to represent your work for a long time, and not just on the book, but on displays, on bookmarks, on websites . . .
Finally, realize that self-publishing is a lot of work. If you’re lucky, you’ll put your book out there and it’ll take off. But chances are the sales are going to come in a little at a time, and you’re going to have to do a lot of work to get sales, reviews, and exposure. It’s not something that will happen quickly—you’re playing the long game.
Oh, and while you’re doing all that? Yeah, start writing your next book. Because you definitely want to follow up that first one with a killer second one, right?