The authors who make millions through self-publishing

Tens of millions of books have been self-published online since Amazon first made it possible in November 2007. Many languish in obscurity with zero sales, so writing a bestseller is anything but straightforward. But the rewards for getting it right are enormous.

“It felt like winning the lottery,” says Simon McCleave, 55, a crime novelist whose debut novel, The Snowdonia Killings, has sold half-a-million copies since he published it in 2020.

“I’d written a book that thousands of people wanted to buy and they were asking for another one,” he adds. “I thought, ‘Can I give up my job?’” A thought that doesn’t often occur to debut authors who publish through traditional channels, controlled by agents and publishers.

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