The Lure of Self-Publishing
I have decided to take a wee break from my novel. For some reason, I find that I have more ideas and such when I take a few weeks off from writing it. The break helps new ideas come to my mind and I can work on other projects. When I come to a point where I feel that my writing is stilted or forced, then I know it's time to sit back and recharge those creative batteries.
Which got me thinking today about self-publishing, of all things. I don't necessarily want to self-publish the novel I am currently working on, but would it be fun and educational to self-publish another novel I have in the works?
My father self-published a book this year with Create Space on Amazon, and spoke to me today about how he is feeling somewhat discouraged. Self-publishing sounds like a wonderful idea, and it is, but how does an author make money from it? You must have the time to market your book, which is a lot of work, and the time to edit and revise. Then getting word out about your book and finding the right audience is also difficult. From watching my father go through the process of self-publishing, I learned that while it is a great tool for authors, it can be hard to make a living from it and hard to make your name known.
I wrote a short story much earlier this year that I loved. The idea behind it had been stuck in my head since high school and I'd written a different version of it then. Then, this year, I decided to try writing it a different way with new characters and I had so much fun with it! I sent it out to a few lit mags, but it was rejected. Which made me think, what was missing? I then realized that it would be better to flesh things out and write a sort of episodic novel, where every chapter deals with a fresh story line but the characters and setting remain the same.
This morning, while planning out the day's chores, I found myself wondering if it would be a good idea to try and self-publish that episodic novel. Would I hurt my chances of being published by a major publishing house? Or would it make my resume a bit brighter? I tried doing some research online but only found some obvious pros and cons--with self-publishing the author has more control, major publishers can put your name out there, etc.
I'd love some feedback on this issue. I am very tempted to try and write another novel and self-publish it, only if I can find the time. However, I don't want to hurt my chances in the future of being published. I'm still learning about the world of writing and publishing, but with all the social media and internet available to writers, how far can it go? Let me know what you think and maybe we can get a conversation going! ;)
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Hey there.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any of the profiles listed so I'll just introduce myself here.
I'm Peta, a fellow writer from Australia who has actually chosen to go down the route of self-publishing. You'll see me commenting a lot on Ava Jae's blog Writabilty - I'm the one who can't keep the word count down lol
This post really sparked my interest. I'll try and keep this short and too the point, but self-publishing should never be a back-up option. It's a decision - a business decision - and like anything that comes with business, the road to success is paved with hard work, commitment,research and a determination to make sure you succeed - I don't believe in luck ;)
Self-publishing is hard because all the work rests with you. But if you're a control freak like me and want input in every aspect of publishing a book, then self-publishing is a very good path to follow. You just have to work damn hard to make sure the book is good enough to stand up against all the others on the bookshelves.
I'm trying to break the stigma that goes along with self-publishing, with aspirations to further this by becoming a self-publishing consultant, who helps others with their own publishing journeys.
I guess this is why this issue is really important to me :)
Whatever way a writer chooses to publish, I'm all for it, as long as they're not falling back on the other because they found the other road too hard.
So if you feel a certain WIP might be a good fit for self-publishing, think first about how much hard work your willing to put into it :)
Good luck and I'll continue to follow your blog.
Happy New Year!