The Story Behind the Most Successful Self-Published Book in History

The book I consider to be the most successful self-published book in recent history is, you guessed it, Charles Dickens, The Christmas Carol. By the 1840s he’d been extremely successful with books like Oliver Twist and Nicolas Nickleby. After that, everybody wanted a piece of him. The problem was he kept giving away those pieces and he gave them away cheap. He signed multiple contracts with multiple publishers and kept getting more offers that made the deals he’d already signed look paltry. He couldn’t stop saying yes, and he couldn’t catch up with all the contracts he’d already signed. He ended up working outrageous hours to produce flop after flop.

By the fall of 1843, the British economy was headed into a major recession, most of his publishers had gone out of business, and the ones that hadn’t folded weren’t willing to finance any more of his shenanigans. Dickens was exhausted and broke (to put it mildly). In addition to all the old publishing contracts, he’d yessed his way into a new house with a lot of expensive imported accouterments, not to mention a fifth pregnancy (unanticipated). For all his literary prowess, he hadn’t mastered an important two-letter word. He needed to resurrect himself.

Luckily, he had an idea haunted him that he couldn’t shake about a Christmas ghost story.  He believed in the book so fervently that he partnered with the up-and-coming illustrator, Jim Leech, and paid for the first print run himself. Obviously, self-publishing in the 1800s was more complicated move than it is today, and he went all out. He also invested in leather binding and gilded pages.  

His first edition, six-thousand-copies, sold out. At that point, his publisher picked up the book, and did three more sold-out printings the following year, outside of the Christmas season. This was a real turning point in Dickens’ career which went on to produce David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations (my personal favorites). You can check out the story for yourself in the 2017 film, “The Man who Invented Christmas,” and the 2008 biography by the same title.

The reason I love this holiday tale (behind the holiday tale) is that it underscores one of the most publishing essential truths of today. You choose yourself. Whether you go with traditional publishing or self-publishing you are the greatest advocate for your own work. Not only can you connect with your audience in a way that was never possible before, but you can grow your audience simply by spreading your message. It's a beautiful time to go after your dreams. Don’t be afraid to be the hero of your own publishing story and the author of your own life.