Self-Publishing Success Story: Michael Bunker

Michael Bunker describes himself as an “accidental Amish Sci-Fi writer.” His latest book, Pennsylvania Omnibus went to #10 earlier this month on Amazon’s bestseller chart. Engrossed in all things self-published, with “The Bunker Plan”, his own strategy for launching a book in place, Bunker’s website is one of the most inclusive and inspiring blogs out there for writers. His fans have been accused of being a cult, but his sales are proving that engagement with readers is key when promoting your work.

What books has he written?
The Pennsylvania Omnibus is his biggest seller, but he’s written an immense amount of books in a short amount of time. His books are historic with a tinge of time-travel and science fiction, some fan fiction — such as The Silo Archipelago, which is Howey’s Wool-universe-based — and incredibly different to most of the self-pubbed stuff out there.

The Success Story
Michael Bunker started as an off-gridder writing non-fiction books, going on to thoroughly involve himself in author collaboration programs and blogging about self-publishing. Incredibly inclusive, he gifts books to those who sign up for his newsletter ahead of publication, and gives away stories on his website. His secret is really no secret: he’s a “grinder” who works up to sixteen hours a day on writing, and only writing, with an incredibly prolific and uniquely original take on history as his own culture as a plains-living Christian-agrarian. He is also incredibly prolific when it comes to attending writing conferences and forums. His success comes from incredible amounts of hard work and involvement. In this interview with medium.com, he explains how he works. He also works with Tim Grahl, marketing guru at Out:think, to launch his books in the most aggressive way possible to attain sales. And it works. Tim’s plan for book marketing looks like this:

How many books has he sold?
Michael’s latest book Pennsylvania Omnibus sold 4183 copies in 48 hours, and has sold 13,000+ copies since its launch in January 2014. Michael’s books have sold a combined 61,000 copies since January 2013.