Once the decision to publish has been made, the next step opens with a bunch of questions. Who will publish my book? Should I query agents, or go directly to publishers? Which ones would be best for my book?
Or, there is the question that branches to a whole new set of questions: Should I self-publish? Could I self-publish?
Pros
My answer to those questions, finally, was yes. I decided to self-publish the entire This Artists’ Life series for a number of reasons:
I can. In addition to being a writer, I’m also an editor with a very particular eye, so I am armed with the skills needed to produce a great product. With access to the internet, I have been able to research the process on my own and to find the tools I need to publish the book I want.
I get total control. When it comes down to it, I’m a control-freak about my own work. Although I value input from others, no one has ever picked apart my work more meticulously than I, and self-publishing allows me to have final say on any changes.
It allows me to get my foot in the publishing door. As I mentioned in the first article of this series, I don’t think that this an appropriate project for traditional publishing. Self-publishing and self-marketing will allow me to use this debut series to grow a platform to present to agents or publishers with future queries.
It’s cheaper. Depending on the methods you use, self-publishing can allow you to keep a greater portion of sales than traditional publishing. By publishing myself, I don’t have to sacrifice a cut of sales to an agent or a publisher or a marketing team.
It’s faster. Author Torre DeRoche points out that even once an agent accepts a project, there still may be a “long, uncertain road” to landing a publisher and making a deal. I have been working on the stories that make up the TAL series for a year and a half now, and I am eager to take the next step with them. The process of querying an agent and waiting for her to land a publishing deal could take months or years more. For this project, I am not willing to wait.
Cons
Of course, there are drawbacks to self-publishing that I will need to address throughout this process:
I have to find my own market. A traditional publisher will usually invest money, time, and effort into marketing a book for the author. My publisher would have access to readers and retailers that I do not have. However, social media and other online outlets offer me a great opportunity to reach a wide audience myself with little or no monetary cost.
I am responsible for everything. Aside from marketing, a publisher could help with a number of the details of producing and selling a book: price, cover design, editing and revision, layout, launch date, copyright, permissions… all things that are daunting as I gather them into one list. Instead, the entire project rests on my shoulders. It’s a scary idea, but it also gives me fantastic experience in my field.
Self-published books can still carry a stigma. Many readers believe that a writer chooses self-publication because her book is rejected by publishers. While this may be the case for some, it isn’t for all. Technology and the market simply make self-publication the best option for some authors or projects. I know that I will be fighting this stigma, but I also know that I am producing a great piece of art. As DeRoche points out:
“…for too many writers, [self-publishing is] the Florida of publishing: the last resort before death. If you adopt that defeated attitude and you begin to believe your book isn’t worthy, you’ll create an unworthy book”
Of all of the concerns with self-publishing, this one scares me the most. I worry that TAL will be rejected by readers who believe it’s not worthy of “real” publication. I have stopped to question myself time and again, “Am I creating a quality product, or am I just pumping this out because it’s possible?”
I know that I am dedicated to producing a great series, and I will not let my readers down by treating this project as anything less than that.
What do you think of self-publishing? Are there any pros or cons that you would add to the lists?
http://danasitar.com/2011/07/26/fragments-of-a-writers-thoughts/
i have done the publishing route and the self route. I will honest’y say having someone else handle: editing, layout, cover, publicity, emails, distribution, sales, returns, promotion and accounting was much more fun than doing it myself.
HOWEVER, when they rejected me, I moved on. I have self-published half a dozen books so far. I consider it like playing poker. If you only play one hand, its all or nothing and chances are you will lose.
If you play lots of hands, and lots of games, you will get better and win some hands. So, I am now into Print on Demand and epublishing.
I write the book. (a given) Once the text is ready (and that includes everything, including many critique sessions and sending it out to an editor (yes paid for) to get the final mistakes ironed out I send the query letters out.
While waiting for replies, I work on the cover, acknowledgements, photos (in the case of self-help or textbooks) and layout.
If the publishers and agents are not ready for my offering. I am well on my way to self publishing.
In the old days I had to buy/create hard copies. Once I had 2000 books delivered to my door on a skid. These days its cheaper to print, harder to get noticed.
The self publishing challenge has never been getting into print. It has always been getting sold…
Thank you for this insight. It’s always grounding to me to learn of the experience of writers who have gone before me. This is a tough game when you feel like you are figuring it all out on your own! You sum up the market/experience perfectly in those last two sentences. I know it’s going to be a huge task to take on EVERY party of the process myself — but I love a challenge! I also have great support from family and friends who want to help, and I am going to hire others to help where it’s needed.
Your method of querying and preparing to self-publish is a really good idea; I’ll keep that in mind when I am ready to go to an agent with a project. Thanks!
PS- Love your blog! Easy to digest, great tips to get my writing day started.
All of your points are valid but let me ask one more question:
Is your book genuinely good enough to be published? Take a look at the marketplace: the virtual bookshelves are over-flowing with offerings, most of it semi-literate crap churned out by amateur writers, wannabes and neverwillbes. Professionalism is nowhere in evidence–all I see is tortured syntax, misspelled words, grade school grammar, derivative, plagiarized ideas.
Terrible knockoffs of Stephenie Meyers’ execrable TWILIGHT or dreadful, godawful romance novels, written by housewives with too much time on their hands and ready access to a computer.
So, please, speaking as someone who’s been an indie publisher and writer for two decades, make sure the book you’re offering is original, literate, well-composed and tastefully edited. The world can always use another good book–and I hope yours truly does make the grade.
I appreciate your plea to keep the bar high for indie publishing — the lack of effort, professionalism, and pride from some indie writers is what gives such a stigma to those who try to sell quality, self-published work. I caution you to be careful with your criticism, though. The accusation that “most” of what is produced through self-publishing is no good is exactly what keeps readers from checking out this work in the first place. That “the virtual bookshelves are over-flowing with offerings” is amazing; this technology allows writers to make their work available to anyone without needing to appeal to the conventional masses that make up the publishers’ audience, or sacrifice their rights or profits to publishers and agents.
Without being defensive, my answer to your question is Yes. I have turned this question over and over in my mind — worried that I am simply churning out crap because it’s possible — and I have come to the conclusion that this book is, indeed, good enough to be published. I agree with you that any author choosing to self-publish needs to consider this question for a good, long time before moving forward, because we don’t have the filter of rejection from agents and publishers to keep low-quality work out of the marketplace.
“Self-published books can still carry a stigma” – This is a sad fact when self publishing. However with the success of self-published authors, this seems to preconceived idea on authors opting to self publish will eventually die down.
Thanks, Jose! We all hope this is true — I am certainly betting my career that it is!
Pingback: The “Stigma” of Self-Published | Write a Book & Book More Business
Pingback: Lucky Year ’13: Victoria Musgrave Tackles Memoir, Journaling, + More on Her Bucket List « DIY Writing