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It's likely we could have made more money self-publishing than going with a traditional publisher. We made north of $400K self-publishing our first book -- and
by jasonfried 18y ago
It's likely we could have made more money self-publishing than going with a traditional publisher. We made north of $400K self-publishing our first book -- and that was in 2006. Today we have a much larger audience, roughly 4x the customer base, a blog that is read by roughly 7x more people, etc. So if this was purely about greed, self-publishing would be the right way down that road. We'd make an awful lot and get to keep every penny to ourselves.
But we don't just want to reach the audience we can reach on our own. We want to reach a much broader audience. We want to reach every entrepreneur, small business owner, or small team member. We want to take our message mainstream. We believe working with a traditional publisher will give us a much better chance to reach these people. That's why we're working with a traditional publisher and that's why we believe we can sell hundreds of thousands or millions of copies of this book.
- prakash 18y agoGood luck! I am looking forward to your new book. I am also looking forward to when you guys do an analysis of Getting Real vs. UnConform in terms of self-publishing vs. traditional publisher.
- josefresco 18y agoI was not inferring that the money made would be direct. If a new music artist signs with a major record label, it isn't because of the great % they are offering, it's the large exposure, which results in money down the road (from concerts, their 'second' deal etc.) Same with your book deal. Making money isn't bad, I just feel it's a change in strategy from a company all about 'getting real'. We (as hackers) all 'rage against the machine' when we're young and poor, but once we all have some success and wisdom most take the opportunity presented by 'the man'. Maybe I'm naive in thinking 37signals was different.
- neilc 18y agoDid you simply just ignore Jason's point about reaching a broader audience? That seems like quite a legitimate reason to use an established publisher.
- GHFigs 18y agoIf you feel that making money is a change in strategy from "getting real", that's a sign that you have misunderstood the concept at a fundamental level.
- ph0rque 18y agoWill you be making a free online version available, as with Getting Real?