Monday Mentionables: Weighing the Pros & Cons of Self-Publishing

Had a great writers' group meeting and luncheon with my fellow romance authors over the weekend! It's so refreshing and heartening to share stories, celebrate successes, and lament struggles with people who understand. When you say, "I have no idea where to go with this character," they'll make a suggestion. When you want to throw something at the computer screen because everything sounds terrible, they'll tell you to take a walk or clean a closet (believe me, for some reason cleaning really helps free up the creative juices). And when you have no idea how to motivate a character or how to dress her, they'll tell you to take an hour and watch Real Housewives of New Jersey.

In all seriousness, amid the discussion of business, and reading the latest Romance Writers' Report, I found myself toying with the idea of republishing my book Lost in Paradise on Amazon as a self-published work and use their Kindle Direct Program to feature it free for 5 days, then sell it directly myself...mostly as a lead-in to my upcoming new release Beacon of Love in the spring.

My thoughts are such: contractually I can get my rights back from the publisher who currently has it, polish and possibly revise (with the outside thought of weaving in some plot/characters that will tie into Beacon of Love). If I have it up for sale in the month or so before Beacon of Love releases, I'm hoping to build some positive press that will lead to greater initial sales for Beacon. Also, Paradise has never had great sales with its current publisher, and if I can boost it through self-pubbing it, then why not give it a try?

I'd love thoughts from anyone who's gone this route, esp. using free ebooks to boost other sales. It seems like it has potential, but I have to weigh the costs with the possible outcomes. So....what do you think?