- [Dale] For the past decade, becoming a published author
is easier and more accessible
through various self-publishing avenues,
but some people still remain skeptical
of fulfilling your own publications.
Sure, in decades past,
people used to look at self-publishing
as an inferior approach to becoming an author,
and self-publishing was often associated
with your weird uncle who had a pallet full of books
about his fascination with stamp collecting.
However, the opposite is true these days,
and in the past as well.
In fact, quite a few famous authors and their popular books
were at one point self-published,
and that's what we're gonna talk about today
in the 10 Famous Authors Who Self-Published.
(lively guitar music)
This is Self-Publishing with Dale,
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Stick around to the end,
because I saved the most famous author
that'll surprise you for last.
Number one: Margaret Atwood.
Before Canadian author Marget Atwood
penned "The Handmaid's Tale",
and even longer before Hulu would produce
a straight-to-series show,
Atwood self-published an award-winning book of poems
called "Double Persephone."
Though she didn't realize the same success
as "The Handmaid's Tale", her poetry book
was certainly an earlier victory for Atwood.
Number two: E.L. James.
Not many people know E.L. James
wrote her erotic romance series, "Fifty Shades of Grey"
as a fan fiction piece based on "Twilight."
After changing characters and tweaking the story a bit,
James self-published the first part of the trilogy
and saw a ton of success in her first year.
In fact, within one year,
she received a traditional publishing deal,
and the rest is history.
"Fifty Shades of Grey" would go on to sell
over 100 million copies,
and become one of the fastest-selling paperbacks in history.
Number three: Robert Kiyosaki.
Famous American businessman and author Robert Kiyosaki
had a rough start as an author
when he wrote "Rich Dad Poor Dad" in 1997.
After being told by numerous publishers,
literary agents, and distributors to drop the idea,
Kiyosaki decided to self-publish his book.
To date, "Rich Dad Poor Dad" has sold over 40 million copies
in over 50 languages in 109 countries.
Not to mention it was on the New York Times best-seller list
for over six years.
Number four: Lisa Genova.
Before the 2014 Oscar-winning film adaptation
of "Still Alice", the haunting story
about early-onset Alzheimer's disease,
author Lisa Genova wrote
and self-published the novel in 2007.
After being rejected too many times
by commercial publishers,
Genova decided to go it alone.
After gaining popularity,
Simon & Schuster picked up the book
and republished it in 2009.
Number five: Wayne Dyer.
Famous self help and motivational speaker Wayne Dyer
initially did a print run of 4,500 copies
of his first book, "Your Erroneous Zones",
then spent the next year traveling the country promoting it.
He even admitted to giving out copies
just so he could make a difference in people's lives.
Little did he know it would allegedly go on
to become one of the top selling books of all time,
having sold over 100 million copies to date.
Number six: Irma S. Rombauer.
I remember the "Joy of Cooking" cookbook
in my mother's kitchen,
and I'm sure it's been
in millions of other households throughout the world.
Initially, Rombauer printed 3,000 copies in 1931.
Eventually, the book got picked up
by a traditional publishing company in 1936.
It would go on to sell over 18 million copies.
Number seven: Andy Weir.
Well before the Oscar-nominated movie "The Martian"
hit the big screen, starring famous actor Matt Damon,
Andy Weir believed his original manuscript
would never be picked up by a traditional publishing house.
Instead of surrendering and facing defeat,
Weir launched small portions of his fiction
onto a blog, where he rapidly grew an interested following.
Taking the hint, his work was in fact appreciated,
Weir self-published "The Martian"
and became a number one Amazon best-seller.
Soon after, Weir signed a lucrative publishing
and film rights deal.
To date, his book has sold
over an estimated three million copies,
and the film grossed $630 million worldwide.
Number eight: Beatrix Potter.
Being a female author in the early 1900s
came with a chair of discrimination.
Traditional publishers scoffed at Beatrix Potter
and her book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit."
Potter didn't allow her story to languish in obscurity,
so she self-published 250 copies.
Within a year, one company who had initially rejected her
signed her to a deal and sold over 20,000 copies
in the first year.
"Peter Rabbit" would go on to sell
an estimated 45 million copies to date.
Number nine: Mark Twain.
In 1884, though Mark Twain was already famous
and signed to a traditional publishing deal,
he'd grown weary of the whole hassle
of working with the companies, so he cut out the middleman,
started his own imprint,
and launched two highly successful books
in the "Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant",
and one of his more famous works
in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
And number 10: Stephen King.
Okay, admittedly, I have a bit of a soft spot
for my favorite author, and this placement
is considered a stretch by some industry pundits,
but I believe in my heart of hearts
when an author sets out to write
and share their work with the world
without the aid of a large publishing house,
then that's technically self-publishing.
And that's exactly what the world famous author
Stephen King did at the ripe young age of 15 years old.
"People, Places, and Things" was self-published in 1960
by Stephen King's own publishing company,
Triad & Gaslight Books.
The collection of short stories included efforts
with his teenage school friend, Chris Chelsea.
According to King, only one copy of about 10 is left.
He owns it himself.
If there's one thing we can learn
from these 10 famous authors,
then it's that you don't have to search
or wait for a traditional publishing deal.
Why not start writing and self-publishing your book now?
In fact, I have the best first steps
in this free online course here.
Also, check out this video series
about how to self-publish a book
so you can see if self-publishing is a good fit for you.
See you in the next video.