"Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go."
E.L. Doctorow
I know quite a few people who would like to self publish their novels. I myself would love to be able to afford to self publish my poetry, but as for my novel? I think I’d rather stand on my own two feet and trust it in the hands of a publisher who has faith in my story, my writing. Standing on my own two feet, I mean to send it out to the very people who will say it is either good or great enough to publish. Not your friends and family, REAL publishers!
To me, and this is only TO ME, self publishing seems like a sort of easy way out. But is it really, easy, I mean? You are paying to publish your own work. Talk about vain. It seems to me like a vain ego boost that drives you to just BE published! And to me, being self published is not a time to say, boast and brag, “I’ve been published!” No, you published yourself, now you have to hope that your work is good enough for the PUBLIC to buy it.
Sure your friends that you’ve acquired at writing sites will buy your book and your family will too, and all will say, “wow! I know this author” and stroke your ego, but without sales to the outside world and total strangers not in the know not buying your SPN (self published novel), you are only setting yourself up for a world of hurt.
Maybe I’m being too harsh? I don’t know. I only know what I feel, and to me, since poetry doesn’t sell big, self publishing might be the positive route to get your work out there to all your friends who LOVE your poetry and would be willing to spend a few bucks to have it all in one place, between book covers that they can feel and thumb through!
As for covers, I would not tolerate a soft cover book. I won’t even pick one up in the library, nevertheless pay for one. But to pay to publish a soft cover? What IS the point? I haven’t figured that one out, friends. It’s just that I think a good firm hard cover is more apt to sell, than a soft cover. And a lot of times that is all the self publishers offer, is a soft cover and possibly SOME royalties.
Why would you PAY to self-pub, if they keep much of the royalties? You’re paying THEM to print and bind it, you market it and sell it, and THEY get royalties? Does that sound of a scam ready to blow up in your face?
Hold onto your money, people. Self publishing is nothing more than you selling yourself. You are prostituting your writing and that, again to ME, is demeaning to your talent and skill as a writer. If you’re a good writer, there are publishers out there waiting to find that nugget of gold amongst sand in a riverbed of writing. Remember, there are a lot of EXCELLENT writers that you’re going to be competing with, so be the best you can be, don’t sell yourself out for an ego boost. Have faith in your writing!
Two Self publishing firms I know of:
xlibris.com
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