How do Self Publish books get popular?

I’ve written a bunch of screenplays over the years, but lately I’ve been questioning whether any of it is even worth it if there’s no real shot at getting something made.

Breaking into film feels almost impossible unless you know people. So I started thinking maybe novels/self-publishing would at least give me more control. But then I look at self-publishing and it just seems like… does anyone actually read those books unless the author already has an audience?

People always say “write for yourself, not for popularity.” And I get it. I do enjoy writing. I like creating characters and stories and whole worlds. But I also want people to actually read it. I want fans. I want people to care. I don’t think that’s some evil, shallow thing to want. It just feels kind of pointless to put in years of work and have it disappear into nothing.

Whenever I bring this up, people throw out examples like:

• Age of Scorpius (apparently not great but massively preordered)

• Brandon Sanderson (started self-pub)

• Fifty Shades of Grey

• Dungeon Crawler Carl

• Haunting Adeline

So clearly self-published books can blow up.

But how though?

The answer I keep getting is: promotion, being well written (with some exceptions…), and understanding the market and what readers currently want.

So what does that actually mean in practice? Does it just mean you have to write something super market-friendly? Follow trends? Hit all the popular tropes? Basically tailor your story around what’s already selling?

Is that the only realistic way to get traction? Fuck off, I ain’t doing that, I don’t wanna write some sappy LOTR knockoff porn.

I’m genuinely trying to understand how self-pub books get popular in 2026.