Writing Tip #9: To Self Publish or Not?

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Writing Tip #9: To Self Publish or Not?

Michelle O'Neil and I have known each other for at least eight years. She was my first student, in my first workshop, high in the mountains of Colorado. My first writing workshop was eclectic and terrifying. Michelle and I became fast friends and I've followed her writing path ever since. She has gone on to create a wonderful weblog and to form writing collectives in her world (all while raising to kids and sustaining her marriage to Hot-Toddy). Michelle is a dynamo and I am so happy to feature her this week in my teleseminar series. Michelle will tell us about her decision to go the route of independent publishing. I hope you enjoy her insights and are inspired to think about your own project in a new light.

Do not miss this free teleseminar, Thurs, Oct. 20th at 11:30 a.m. Send your questions to me at Jennifer@jenniferlauck.com.

Register Here Now!

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I decided to publish Daughter of the Drunk at the Bar independently because I value my work and wanted to make it available for people to read. The traditional publishing industry is quite unhealthy right now, and it seemed like a good idea to take another mode of transportation, rather than beg for admission on a sinking ship.

Literary agents kept telling me, "The writing is beautiful, but I don't think I can sell your book." I am not a celebrity. I've no big platform to stand on. With less money to throw around these days, it's my belief that most traditional publishers want ready made superstars and are not as interested in finding talented new authors to cultivate. While I felt I'd eventually land an agent, I also worried my sweet little book would get lost in that world. I believe some books need time.

Indie publishing allows me to publish and build a readership through word of mouth. I don't have to worry about earning out an advance. I don't have to worry about being dropped (yet locked into a contract) if my book doesn't sell like gangbusters right out of the gate. I can keep fanning the flame, and I am learning so much through this process about book publishing and about myself.

Many traditionally published authors give up a lot of money and creative control in exchange for someone else who handles the details. While I'd rather be writing than learning all about royalties, formatting and cover making, I accept that all this effort and research will serve me down the road, especially with the rising emergence of e-books. We all love a book in hand but the ease of e-readers is changing everything. Savvy authors are reluctant to give publishing houses huge cuts for the electronic versions of their books, since it costs practically nothing to distribute them. Below are some tips for those interested in indie publishing:

1) Hire professional editors! Shop around. SheWrites has an "Experts for Hire" section with many resources.

2) Hire professional formatters to fit your MS into the different e-reader device formats. While you can do this yourself, there is a learning curve and it is cheap to hire out. Smashwords has their own list of people willing to do this for about $35.00, and their format fits most e-reader devices. I also had success with a company called Kindle Conversion getting my book formatted for Amazon's Kindle Store, for $75.00.

3) Make your book available in as many formats as possible. Daughter of the Drunk at the Bar is available in paperback on Amazon, in e-book form on Smashwords, (where it can be downloaded for reading on your computer screen or virtually any e-reader, and Amazon's Kindle Store. I am also looking into making an audio version, for Podiobooks, which would be available on a good faith donation basis. It is important to provide readers ease of access to your to your work.

With e-books and print-on-demand options, it costs very little to self-publish these days. Would you consider taking this route to get your writing out there? Why or why not?