Ins and Outs of Publishing Your Book via the Web – NYTimes.com

Well, I don’t have a breakaway bestseller (yet), but I’m feeling pretty good about my sales now. I was able to fly British Airways Club World to Scotland last month on my book earnings; and, friends, that is a world in which you want to travel!

But one thing has not changed: most self-published books sell fewer than 100 or 150 copies, many authors and self-publishing company executives say. There are breakout successes, to be sure, and some writers can make money simply by selling their e-books at low prices. Some self-published books attract so much attention that a traditional publishing house eventually picks them up.