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"You Can Heal Your Life,"
by Louise Hay captured the #2 spot on the Publishers
Weekly's Bestseller List, had a 12-week stint on
the New York Times Bestseller List, and lead
to the establishment of a small press with more than 150
books and 350 audiotapes by many authors whose names are
household words.
"How
to Get Happily Published" was
birthed by Judith Appelbaum as a self published book before
selling rights to HarperCollins. More than half a million
copies have been sold in several editions and the book
has led to a successful publishing consultancy as well.
"What Color is Your Parachute,"
by Richard Nelson Bolles is hot again, 30 plus years after
its debut. It had an incredible stint of 288 weeks on
the New York Times Bestseller List originally.
Written and published by an Episcopal clergyman, then
ultimately sold to Ten Speed Press, this career counseling
handbook is updated and revised each year -- and repeatedly
lands on bestseller lists.
"The Celestine Prophecy,"
originally self published in 1993 by James Redfield, leads
you on a spiritual and self-discovery adventure. Acquired
by Warner books for $800,000, it sold more than 20 million
copies worldwide, was translated into 34 languages and
spawned many spinoff products in the human potential movement.
The initial success of the book is credited to Redfield
and his rigorous lecture schedule. It held the record
for being the longest-running hardcover fiction bestseller
ever on the national charts.
"The Christmas Box,"
a little story about a struggling young family and a wealthy
widow who lost an infant daughter, brought the unheard
of advance of $4.125 million for a self published title!
Author Richard Paul Evans made publishing history with
that huge financial vote of confidence from Simon & Schuster.
Following the trend of most best-selling authors, Evans
has authored many subsequent bestsellers.
"ZAPP! The Lightning of Empowerment,"
created by Bill Byham, is a dynamic bestseller written
for managers about empowering employees and heralded by
the Wall Street Journal as the book that "Redefined the
genre of business books." It was so successful, that employees
clamored for their own copies! 275,000 copies sold before
commercial publication, then Ballentine picked up the
rights and the last we heard it had sold with more than
1.5 million.
"How
to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" was the
creation of John Muir. Now in its 19th edition with sales
way over 2 million copies, it led to establishing a publishing
company that quickly outgrew self-publishing status. John
Muir Publications produced scores of books on travel,
automotive, parenting, and how-to subjects. The entire
company was recently acquired by a major publisher and
the 30th-anniversary of the original VW book pushed sales
close to the 3 million mark.
"The Lazy Man's Way to Riches"
was the brainchild of Joe Karbo. Using full page ads in
newspapers, this advertising genius attracted sales from
all over the world. Joe's investment was less than $3,000.
He sold a whopping nine million dollars worth -- and it
was never in a bookstore!
"The One-Minute Manager,"
by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
is another intriguing success story. The authors self-published
this book for their seminars, perfecting it based on feedback
from seminar participants. After sales of 20,000 copies,
they allowed a trade publishing company to turn the book
into a bestseller. The book truly "launched" both their
careers. Johnson's parable Who Ate My Cheese was
on Publishers Weekly's bestseller list for more
than 64 weeks in the original hardcover version, then
landed there again when the paperback edition arrived.
"Feed Me, I'm Yours"
is a collection of kid-tested recipes. It was rejected
by 49 publishers before author Vicky Lansky decided to
self-publish. It sold 300,000 copies in the self-published
version. Bantam took it over and merchandized a whopping
8 million more! Vicky now has a total of more than 30
books to her credit and a very successful small press
operation.
"Small Time Operator,"
an accounting and tax guide for small businesses, has
built-in obsolescence. (It's now in its 56th printing.)
Author/publisher Bernard Kamoroff, CPA, frequently revises
it, then spends the rest of the time loafing. With sales
of over 600,000 copies, many trade publishers have tried
to woo Kamoroff into selling the rights. He flatly refuses,
much preferring the freedom and financial rewards of self
publishing.
"The Encyclopedia of Associations,"
a highly respected set of reference books found in most
libraries, was given life by Frederick G. Ruffner. He
founded Gale Research Company in his bedroom. Today, the
company has some 500 employees and is a leading publisher
of library reference works of all kinds.
"The Elements of Style,"
that timeless little book most writers
adore, was originally self published by William Strunk,
Jr. for his classes at Cornell University. It is a living
example of "find a need and fill it" and continues to
sell well today.
"Mary Ellen's Best of Helpful
Hints" was created by Mary Ellen Pinkham.
At one time she had 50,000 spiral bound books stored in
her basement. With a goal to sell 500 a day, she developed
gift shop accounts across the nation. When Warner bought
the rights she retained these accounts -- which were buying
30,000 copies a month! Mary Ellen has authored several
more bestsellers.
"The Personal Computer Book,"
revised and updated by author Peter
McWilliams, is one of a series he privately published
with over 1.6 million copies sold. McWilliams also had
other books on the bestseller list and sold 3.5 million
copies of his self published poetry books. (Yes, you read
right.) Before he died, he was rumored to have refused
a one million dollar offer for his publishing company.
"Butter Busters,"
a health reference/cookbook title by Pam Mycoskie, has
sold over 400,000 copies from her one-woman company located
in Dallas. After she sold the rights to Warner, the book
captured a spot on PW's bestseller list.
"Mutant Message Down Under"
was written by Marlo Morgan and sold to HarperCollins
publishing company for a cool $1.7 million. This supposed
fictional account of a woman's trek through the Australian
outback has captured millions of literary hearts with
the message of a life unencumbered with "material things."
"Addicted,"
an erotic suspense thriller by a woman
known only as Zane, sold 50,000 copies in the first six
months. With that kind of record, it wasn't hard for an
agent to convince Pocket Books to offer the author a lucrative
two-book deal. Once again, an author uses self publishing
to broker a lucurative traditional publishing deal.
Can
self publishing be an "Open Sesame" to fame and fortune?
You bet it can!
To learn how you can jump on this bandwagon, and be
added to these self publishing success stories, visit Self
Publishing Resources
Self publishing
success stories adapted from The
Complete Guide to Self-Publishing
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