Scott Steinberg Inks Deal After Being Self-Published

By Dianna Dilworth 

After spending years self-publishing books, freelance writer/author Scott Steinberg has released a book through a traditional publisher. His new book Make Change Work For You: 10 Ways to Future-Proof Yourself, Fearlessly Innovate and Succeed Despite Uncertainty from Perigee, an imprint of Penguin Random House, was first advocates for

We caught up with Steinberg to discuss his experience in the self-publishing world, working with a traditional publisher and his career tips.

GC: How did you go about self publishing your book?

SS: Not the quick or easy way, that’s for sure! Long before I started writing Make Change Work For You, I began by self-publishing books as a freelance writer, penning a series of business books specifically designed for the video game industry, including some of the first works on marketing and publishing in the space – it seemed like there was a ton of interest in these subjects, but not much happening in terms of books being written about them at the time. And like any good writer, I really wanted a lot of people to read and enjoy these books, but wasn’t sure how to convince a large publishing house that there was enough interest out there to get them to take a chance on a then-unproven writer. So I tried an experiment, and gave away the books free to help spread the word (including mailing print copies to CEOs of dozens of large corporations), a move which wound up proving to be pivotal. As a result of these giveaways, we were able to generate loads of media coverage in both industry trade magazines and mainstream press outlets, which in turn helped generate thousands of downloads of the books and sparked huge word of mouth discussion amongst fans… interest I was later able to leverage into writing more successful books about other topics I felt were going severely underserved such as cutting-edge ways to start and operate a business (The Business Expert’s Guidebook), crowdfunding (The Crowdfunding Bible), and high-tech parenting (The Modern Parent’s Guide Series), gaining steam and momentum all the way.

 

Honestly, if you’re an author, it’s incredibly easy to get self-published – dozens of services offer this option. But what’s not always so intuitive is wrapping your head around the marketing and business pieces of the equation, and what it’s going to take to set your work apart from the thousands of other volumes released each year.

GC: How did it get picked up from there?

SS: Based on the ongoing success of the books I’d written, and the growing media coverage and social media presence that was generated with each new book release, the company we were using to self-distribute books at the time asked us to come to BookExpo America for an author signing. You know how luck tends to go, though – the opportunity was scheduled to happen the same day that I was supposed to be at another trade show on the other side of the country. It was definitely an amazing opportunity: Who wouldn’t want to visit BEA, let alone get a chance to hang out with fans and get some face to face time with these readers and fellow authors as a featured guest?

But the kicker was that flying to BEA meant potentially losing a lot of money, since I wouldn’t be on-site at the other show to network and promote TechSavvy Global, our consulting business (you know what they say about not quitting your day job, right?). But sometimes, when an opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to put yourself in fortune’s sights.

GC: What tips can you share with writers looking to reinvent their careers this year?

SS: Think about new ways you can use existing skills – for example, it’s probably not that difficult for someone with strong communications capabilities to make the leap to content marketer, social media strategist, technical writer, or a variety of similar positions. Think about ways you can push your comfort zone and take on new projects that can help you gain new skills as well, even if it’s as simple as leveraging prior strengths in new arenas – maybe screenwriting, blogging, or creating killer copy for Facebook or LinkedIn promotions is in your future.