While on the surface the following may seem to be a KDP Select success story, it’s actually something a little more important than that: a testament to the power of determination, and proof that even the most niche of books can be a self-publishing success story, a book that every agent in the UK said there was no market for.
I first met Tony James Slater at a conference almost exactly two years ago. Given that it was quite a, cough, liquid affair, neither of us remember much about the encounter, other than we were both in a similar position: we had a finished book with which were desperately trying (and failing) to elicit interest.
And we were both getting knocked back for the same reason: the “experts” said there was no market for it. I was told that nobody wanted to read a historical novel set in South America, and Tony was universally informed that his foul-mouthed memoir of a time spent working in an Ecuadorean animal refuge could only have very limited appeal, especially considering he was an unknown quantity.
Okay, so Tony definitely wins the “niche” game. But Tony’s (eventual) success proves that even the most narrowly defined niche is going to be well populated in a world with millions and millions of e-reader owners, most of whom can be reached through one retailer. Continue reading









