Writer, Agent, Publisher ~ Changing Hats…
If you've been following this blog, you know I'm soon going to be self-publishing a book (get a free copy with that link in the side-panel:-)
I'm using FastPencil, who in a way are the "publishers" but only to the extent that they format/print and distribute the book. I'll have print and e-book editions for sale on the FastPencil site as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the iPad. Plus, the book will be listed with Ingram which means libraries and bookstores can order it. All that for $200…
I'm still the Publisher, though, because I retain all rights, I promote and market the book, and I supplied the editor.
I was my own agent. I got the idea for the book, wrote it, and convinced myself, after shopping around the publishing/facilitation companies, to sign a contract with FastPencil.
There are advantages to my wearing all these hats. There are also a few "disadvantages". See the post, "Traditional VS Self Publishing ~ Some Thoughts…", for my views on the pros and cons.
Even though the book will be for sale starting May 16th, I'll still be offering manuscripts for free. If that sounds insane, check out this article from Forbes by Cory Doctorow. Here's a snippet:
"When my first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, was published by Tor Books in January 2003, I also put the entire electronic text of the novel on the Internet under a Creative Commons License that encouraged my readers to copy it far and wide. Within a day, there were 30,000 downloads from my site (and those downloaders were in turn free to make more copies). Three years and six printings later, more than 700,000 copies of the book have been downloaded from my site. The book's been translated into more languages than I can keep track of, key concepts from it have been adopted for software projects and there are two competing fan audio adaptations online."
Wild, eh?
The one thing that keeps me sane in changing hats so often and staying on top of a to-do list that grows longer faster than I can shorten it is the book itself.
It's alive. It talks to me–has been since well before I sat down to write it. I feel about as close to a mother as any man can get. This is my Baby. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she's born safely and raised to hold her head high in the chaotic world of books………
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Tagged: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Cory Doctorow, E-book, FastPencil, Ingram, iPad, self-publish
