I’ve rather avoided the obligatory “why I’m self-publishing” post. First of all, I’m not a publishing method zealot (I save my activism for causes like Free Chocolate for All Moms! and Ban Early Mornings!). I love that new technologies and changing business models are giving writers more options than ever before. We can try for an agent and a traditional deal with a big publisher. We can find a small press to partner with. Or we can self-publish. But there is no One True Way to publishing success. What works for one writer is going to be the kiss of death to another.
Secondly–and sadly–the recent changes in the Way Things Are Done have divided writers into camps. And woe betide any unfortunate who dares cross over. A self-publisher signs a deal with Ye Olde Established Publishing House? Sellout to greedy corporate interests. A traditionally-published writer puts up her backlist all on her own? Traitor. A never-published writer gets off the query-go-round and self-publishes? A hack who doesn’t have what it takes to be a real author.
No, thanks. I don’t need to join the Publishing Wars (but sign me up for the fight to eliminate any wake-up time before 8 am!). I just want to do what’s right for me, my career, and my books. For some projects that might mean self-publishing, for others it might mean going with a publisher–if they’ll have me (*grin*).
But whatever route I go, rest assured that I always always strive to have as good of a product as I can manage. I do not–and will not–throw words on the screen and then upload to e-tailers without revising, copyediting, proofreading, and getting feedback from my nitpicky beta readers. You will get my best work at the time, and I’m always looking to improve.
So, now that’s out of the way, why did I self-publish Shattered (with more projects along the way)? (Darn, there’s no avoiding that question.)
First, to show I could do it. My father owns his own business, so I suppose entrepreneurship is in my blood. I liked the idea of being a project manager for my collection. I liked being in charge of the entire process from story to saleable product. As a writer, I’d never had to worry about things like back cover blurbs, anthology titles, story order, and cover design. Now I know how much goes into putting out even a simple ebook and I picked up a few skills along the way (though I won’t be hanging out my shingle for e-book formatting and conversion services–ever). The experience of self-publishing was worth it.
Second, I had material that would not work for traditional publishing venues. Single-author anthologies are a notoriously hard sell unless you are a Big Name–not to mention that I didn’t have enough stories to fill a novel-length book, anyhow. But I did have three thematically-linked stories that were perfect for a self-publishing project. So I did it.
Aside: All the other stories in my self-publishing queue are also hard to place in traditional venues because, lengthwise, they fall in that vast space between short story and novel.
And, lastly, self-publishing has motivated me to keep writing. I write to reach readers. If I hadn’t self-published Shattered, those stories would’ve been sitting on my hard drive, reaching no one. Instead, now my work is out there, getting favorable reviews from people who are not my family and close friends. I have evidence that I’m not wasting my time here, toiling over the keyboard. It was a much-needed boost that came at the right time.
There’s another reason why I self-published, but that deserves its own post in the future. Right now, self-publishing works for me and I’m giving it a good go.
Do you self-publish? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments.
Aside: All the other stories in my self-publishing queue are also hard to place in traditional venues because, lengthwise, they fall in that vast space between short story and novel.
Do you know of the market http://giganotosaurus.org/ ? They like loooooooooooong stories. 😀
No, I didn’t. Thanks for mentioning it!
I have traditionally published to this point but I intentionally make friends and read blogs on self-publishing and try to keep an open mind. I’m very young in the author world and I freely admit that there’s a ton I don’t know and don’t understand.
Probably the thing that most ties me firmly to traditional publishing is my editor at the publishing house. I love her .. and I love that under her careful guidance and watchful eye, I first give her a good book and finally end up with a great book. I know I could find that outside a publishing house, but I’m not at a point in my life where I want to put the effort into the trial and error to find another like her.
Yes, it is a good idea to educate yourself about all the options open to you–and that goes for self-publishers, too! I’m also learning as I go. I’m having to invest a lot of time and some money up front for self-publishing. So much so that I’m not writing as much as I would like–revisions and proofreading take over my time. And blogging. O.o
Free Chocolate for All Moms! I’m in. Send me my marching orders.
I think your reasons for self-publishing are solid. I think the reason trad pub is having so much trouble right now is that they’ve forgotten their original missions – to share quality writing with the world. At times, I feel like there are too many rules for how a first book should look and it often limits the creativity of those who have something interesting to say.
I’m still thinking of going trad though since my first novel does meet much of what the serious pubs want, except that I am unpublished in the literary world. We’ll see how it goes.
I think traditional publishing brings a lot to the table, like editing, cover design, product packaging, and yes, even marketing. It’s just that some of their business practices, like long wait times and unfriendly contracts, are frustrating to me. I’m hopeful that those will change in the wake of the industry-wide upheavals.
Good luck with the submission process!