Turning Down a Publisher?

I had a very exciting opportunity take place for me this week. A publisher that I submitted the third book in my paranormal mystery series, Federal City’s Secret, offered me a contract.  Needless to say, I was thrilled, but also disappointed, because you see, I had already self-published the book.

I was also disappointed that the response back to me was well past the allotted time they stated on their website.  We authors can only wait for so long before we decide to move on, or possibly accept another offer. They were very gracious and apologetic, but before I dove into the traditional publisher phase, I gave it 24 hours to gather my thoughts and questions.  Not to mention to relish in the euphoria I felt of being offered a contract.

Once I refreshed my memory of their guidelines, I realized there were certain limitations regarding the print side of publishing. I would need to sell 50 e-books before the book would go to print. It wouldn’t have been difficult for me to pull my book off of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retail stores, but I had done so much marketing for this book that I really needed to be sure what they had to offer was more than what I was doing for myself.

So, I decided to reach out to the writing community that I belong to and posted my question to a great author group.  Needless to say, the response I received was AWESOME and they gave me some very helpful insight to areas I had not thought of myself.

I gathered their points and added a few of my own and submitted the questions to the publisher.  I received a quick response, and after reviewing their answers, decided to pass on the deal. Now some would say I was crazy, but I am happy with my decision.

A few of the reasons why I chose to keep my book self-published:

Did I really want to take my self-published book out of print and wait for 50 e-books to be sold before it went back into print? Especially since I take these printed books to workshops/conferences/book fairs. Not to mention my giveaways on Goodreads.
They didn’t offer adding a Library of Congress number, so that was a huge disappointment with me because I LOVE my libraries and all they have to offer authors.
The marketing aspect was a big bust for me. They made it clear they are not a marketing company, which I understand, but it was being left completely up to me, which I’m already doing…quite successfully. The wealth of knowledge I have gained is immense and I truly did feel that far outweighed what the publishing company had to offer.
There is never a guarantee the selling of a book, we all know that, but I just felt it was best to have the freedom and flexibility as a self-published author, and reap the rewards myself for my hard work.
Another little bugaboo for me was the title and cover change. Now they stated the title may change if it was offensive, which it’s not, and the cover would be done by their artist, which is great, but I liked the cover I had chosen and it has already become familiar with readers, so that didn’t resonate well with me either. Not to mention too that if the title had changed, my great reviews would not stay with the book that is out there on Amazon or B&N. They said they could incorporate my reviews with the book, but I didn’t get a direct answer as to how.

After I graciously declined and thanked them, I had no doubts or second thoughts on my decision.  I felt good and proud of where I’ve come after my third book. Plus I won’t deny, having been offered a contract solidified my confidence and I did give myself a little “pat on the back”, not in a boastful way, but we all know how personal these books are to us and the amount of hard work we put into them, so it’s nice to be acknowledged, right?

So, if you are struggling with either traditional publishing or self-publishing, the decision truly does lie with you, but make sure you research everything before you sign on the dotted line. I’m glad I did and I thank those who offered their help.

Remember, keep on writing…