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A Question for Published Authors in the Group
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Hi there,I considered self-published versus traditional. Decided I didn't want to wait forever and a day which seems to be the way with getting agents and traditional pub. I looked into some self-pub outfits, but some of them are complete scams.
I came across a small publisher who asks authors to invest in their book, but did all the pitches to bookstores and figured out formatting, Amazon etc. etc. for me.
Unfortunately there has been a steep learning curve for both the publisher and myself as the industry has changed and there have been a number of bumps along the way. I still have to promote my book, but I am glad I didn't have to worry about some of the other stuff and at least my book is in a few of the major stores. My book is Threaten to Undo Us
Melinda, realistically I think traditional warrants no consideration whatsoever unless you are a celebrity confessing your real or imaginary experiences or have had an honest bestseller already.You should also steer clear of companies that offer to produce and market your book for a fee. My recommendation is to use CreateSpace for print books and only pay for things you cannot do yourself. If you are fairly adept with Word and Word Style sheets, you can format the text using their tutorial guide material. Since I also do my own cover design, my last novel cost $49 to produce and that was only for them to get me an LCN number.
For conversion to an eBook, Smashwords has an excellent tutorial and you can combine that with Kindle's guide if you want Kindle coverage.
Don't waste money on marketeers and if you find a truly effective publicist, let me know.
Sorry, Melina. Guess I was trying to marry you off to Bill Gates. That would have let you buy your own publishing company.
Assaph wrote: "Melina wrote: "This is a three part question:1. Did you publish traditionally, self publish or do a combination?
2. Why did you decide to take that route?
3. Do you have any regrets?"
Hi Melina..."I decided to self-publish after a friend went through the hassle of the traditional route only to find that she earned virtually nothing from it and her book was remaindered after a year. Whichever route you choose, marketing is the really difficult bit i.e.don't believe all the hype from KDP, Kobo, Nook etc. about being a bestseller after a week or so . . . So I'm still waiting for the movie deal and the remote island but no regrets because if a deal ever did come up, I'd be negotiating the contract, not my publisher.
Melina wrote: "I'm finding there are pros and cons to both routes. Having to do my own marketing scares me, but it's something I'll need to learn."My understanding is that you'd have to it anyway - both self-published or traditional. While a big publishing house may assist, you're still expected to go on book tours, give speeches, do author signing, participate in social media...
As an introvert with a day-job that touches marketing (go figure), I can tell you it's just a skill to learn. You need to figure out what you need to do, and then do it like you enjoy it.
Plenty of advice is available (too much usually). You just need to sit down, decide what makes sense to you, and then put yourself out there. Not as a spammer, just out there - interacting with potential readers etc.
Good luck!
I'm decided to self-publish, but worked with professionals for editing, designing, etc. It was a satisfying, though expensive process. For me, it was well worth the effort. I will do it again.
I'm published through one of the larger UK independents - Accent Press. If I had to do everything myself my brain would explode and it's also nice to have someone to hold your hand. Self-publishing must be very lonely.
Accent took my submission very quickly (after years of rejections from agents). They edit, do layout and covers, get the books on Amazon and in paperback, deal with the financial side and help with promotion. As far as I can see, they do as much as traditional publishing houses do for new authors. That still leaves you with a lot to do yourself.
I'd like better sales. Accent would like me to have better sales. But I believe them when they say that all you can do is produce a good book (and, obviously, I agree with them that my books are) and put it out there and pray. You can get sales with a major PR/advertising campaign but I looked at that when I considered self-publishing and with e-books selling so cheaply you will have to be very lucky to recover your costs if you go that route. If I self-published I would, and I might get lucky and join those authors who write on forums like this explaining that anyone can be a best-seller. More likely I'd lose a couple of thousand pounds, though.
If I had loads of money and wanted to indulge myself, I'd definitely self-publish and see what I could do. As someone who wants to write and get my books out to a substantial number of readers without actually losing money, I've gone the independent route and I would recommend it.
As for big publishers - well, by all means pitch to some big agents, but accept that even if you are ultimately successful you will have to do a lot (really a lot) of pitches and this takes time and emotional energy. And I know authors with big publishers who don't feel they're getting particularly good service from them.
Hi Melina and all, I agree it is a tough decision. I published non-fiction books traditionally. But I have decided to self publish my first novel and like others mentioned I am using experts to help me with editing, marketing, book cover etc. I think the decision depends on your goals for your book. I am writing a story based on my grandparents. I want to publish the story and get it out to readers who will enjoy it. I wanted control and I was not interested in conforming to the publisher's expectations or to create a best seller.
Melina,That is a great goal. It is my understanding and experience that you will get a higher return on your work by self-publishing. In addition, more traditional publishers are requiring you to have a following and author's platform and do much of your own marketing, too. But if you self-publish first a traditional publisher may attracted and pick it up. I think the challenge is all the work to become visible. And doing a series is a good way to build both your visibility and your following. Good luck to you.
Melina wrote: "Thank you, Assaph, for your retailed response. With winter coming, a tropical island sounds like a very good plan.Rose, thank you also for sharing. When you say "self-pub outfits," are you referr..."
Maybe that is a name for them. Anything connected with "Author Solutions" and its many incarnations, some of which are connected with larger publishing houses, seems to get a number of bad reviews from authors who did not get what they were promised. I initially looked into one of these (I believe it was Xlibris) and even thought I changed my mind and did not actually hit the submit button on the online form, I began getting phone calls, which were essentially sales pitches. Even after I told them there was no way I was going to use their services, they still called a time or two. I feel very fortunate I was not taken in!
Hi Melina, 1) Combination.
My first book was traditionally published with a smaller UK press. Like Tom, I'd have been petrified and (probably) incapable of coping wth all the technicalities at that stage. They did a great job of the physical production of the book, the launch in Waterstones - sending out beautiful invites in the post, initial publicity and so on. (And all at no expense to me.) I was and remain very grateful to them.
2) Why - However, although they had an option on my second book, they had by this time become much bigger having bought over another publishing house and I would have had to wait until into 2017 for a date of publication (and that wasn't guaranteed.) As it is a sequel I took a deep breath and decided to go it alone.
I was fortunate in that I was able to use the same cover designer and printer, so that the physical book is a good match for the first one, and the distributor of the first one has taken me on on the same basis as they did before, so that it's accessible to UK bookshops etc. I paid for professional copy-editing - absolutely worth every penny - and also formatting, both for print and for the various ebook formats. I was also able to get two book launches - one locally to me and the first official one again in Edinburgh. None of this would have been likely or perhaps even possible if I hadn't first been mainstream published.
3) Any regrets? It has been a steep learning curve, and there are some downsides to being self-published, in terms of competitions I can't enter and so on. But there are lots of upsides too - I am in control of marketing - which my publisher worked at for the first 3 months or so and then they were onto the next book. Once I became backlist, they really didn't devote any time to marketing it at all - as is usual with mainstream publishing (and understandable in
a way.) They never remaindered me, for which I am grateful, but 3/4 of the way through publishing the second book I decided to negotiate to get the rights back for the first one. I've now got them back, which hopefully will give me more freedom - to attempt to sell large print rights or audio for example - I discovered I couldn't easily sell rights to the second book in a series without the first. Time will tell of course, but 1 month into my new venture I'm not regretting it - I've had my first sale on Amazon - successfully - and my first giveaway on Goodreads has just ended. (225 people entered which apparently for the UK is good - it was restricted to the UK because of the cost of postage to anywhere else). I know there'll be lots of hard work ahead, but I've spoken at a couple of Literary Festivals (hope to do lots more of that - it's great fun) and have other bookings for writers clubs / reading groups etc and am gradually getting to grips with all the technical bits of being a publisher - I set up my own imprint. I also now have the freedom to write Book 3 in the series, knowing that if I'm happy with the quality I can bring it out myself also.
Hope some of that helps.
Hi all!I am a new author, just having published my first book over a week ago. Yea! I self-published and have been learning fast that what I thought I knew from an online course I took, has since changed! Yikes! One way that I feel like I am having trouble is connecting with my target audience. How are you doing that?
Thanks!
Jess :)
Jess wrote: "Hi all!I am a new author, just having published my first book over a week ago. Yea! I self-published and have been learning fast that what I thought I knew from an online course I took, has since..."
I agree Jess, it is challenging to identify your target audience. I am still working on my writing but the experts I have contacted say that one way is to look at similar genre books to see who the audience that reads them. Goodreads is a good placed to do that.
Hi Jess, my congratulations, I also have just self published and the IT bit is proving immensely time consuming whith a nother script to put to bed
Hi everyone!Melina...I did a self-publish for many of the same reasons other authors already list. I think we all have to have a little bit of an ego to write, and then a little bigger one to try and get representation and/or self-publish, so it was a bit of a competitive "do it!" I gave myself. Because we all only live once, and I really don't want to live my life trying to bless the feet of a publishing house who doesn't want me just to try and get my book out there in a traditional sense. The world is changing. Publishing is changing. Writing is changing. I guess I'm biased, but I do feel that self-published authors, if you've got a good book/product, are at the head of the wave of the future.
Now, that being said, do I have regrets? Not really, not in the sense that it would be a 'regret.' Am I tired just thinking about all the work that goes into self-promotion? Yup. Do I have to pay sitters to watch my three littles so I can do a book reading/signing at the local library? Yes. Is there a lot of time spent on my computer networking? Oh yah.
So...it's a lot of work. In that, it's all a little frustrating because like so many of us, I would love my book to get out there in front of a lot of people NOW. But...well, I can only hope good things come to those who wait. :) Regardless, best of luck to you, and to everyone else on here!
Sara wrote: "So...it's a lot of work. In that, it's all a little frustrating because like so many of us, I would love my book to get out there in front of a lot of people NOW. But...well, I can only hope good things come to those who wait. :) Regardless, best of luck to you, and to everyone else on here!"Every single word is true!
Some days are awesome (a five star review! someone read it and liked it!) and some days suck (I need Ritalin after every twitter self-promo session) - and all we can do is keep at it and hope :)
Melina wrote: "Sara wrote: "Hi everyone!Melina...I did a self-publish for many of the same reasons other authors already list. I think we all have to have a little bit of an ego to write, and then a little bigg..."
I agree that it is alot of work but it is also a lot of work to get an agent and get major a publishing house if you are basically an unknown novelist. I think the benefits of having control and getting a bigger return are worth the work and the risk.
And I absolutely agree with Sara, that we must support each other!
Having just moved from being mainstream published to taking control myself (2 months ago) It's very early to say for sure, but so far for me the pluses of being Self-published outweigh the minuses. However I have to acknowledge that I still enjoy the various benefits that having originally been Mainstream brought - membership of professional bodies / access to bookshops / mainstream distribution etc. As for the hard work of promotion / selling and so on - that was something that needed to be done anyway - unless you are a really big name the publisher doesn't do much for you. And having control of that aspect rather than having to run stuff past the publisher all the time makes it much more effective. I certainly have no regrets at present - ask me in a year's time!
Hi Margaret - Thanks for giving your input! It's always difficult to know what makes the most sense and if trying to get an agent and traditional publishing is worth the heartache. I appreciate your candid thoughts and experience evaluation...fingers crossed for you that you (and your books) keep seeing more success this way. And...if you don't mind sharing for us...what marketing tools are you using as a self-publisher?
Sara wrote: "Hi Margaret - Thanks for giving your input! It's always difficult to know what makes the most sense and if trying to get an agent and traditional publishing is worth the heartache. I appreciate you..." I did various things - 1. I ran a BookBub promotion of the first book in the week running up to the launch of the second to try and create a bit of buzz. 2. I had two separate launches in bookshops - one local to where I live and one in a big bookshop in Edinburgh - both of those were about getting the shops to carry stock thereafter.
3. I also set up a blog tour for the launch of the second book - I put out a plea on FB for folk that might like to interview me / review the book, or take a guest posting from me. - 9 folk responded.
4. I have set myself up as a publisher with an imprint name, registered with Neilsen (UK system), so that I am officially a publisher, rather than just an individual who published on Amazon and CreateSpace. This has the advantage that Sanderling Books can approach newspapers and magazines to try for review / features etc. A friend 'fronts' that - all emails are sent out in her name rather than mine - it looks more professional.
5. So far I have had a review in a national Sunday paper, three full page features in more local papers and have the promise of a feature and review in another magazine. We are still waiting to hear a response from 3 others. One thing I have learnt from that process is that it's not enough to have written a book - that isn't really news - newspapers want something else to make a story of - in my case I was fortunate in that I was awarded a Literary Fellowship just at the time of the launch of Book 2 - the full page features focused on that, but of course they advertised the books as well.
6.It's really good to get invitations to speak at groups - however small or large - I offer myself to visit book groups if they're reading / discussing my book, to schools to talk to pupils about creative writing, to groups such as Rotary / Rurals, Church groups etc and am building up a bank of talks with Powerpoints that I can use more than once.
7. I have approached several coffee shops who have agreed to stock my books - one of them (which is actually a small cafe in the middle of nowhere) sold over 50 of the first book last year and they've just taken book 2. (They only have one small dresser with some gifts on it for sale and mine are the only books - but it's been surprisingly productive.) So sometimes thinking outside the box can be helpful. I also always have a few books in the car in case I meet someone who is interested in buying one.
8. I'm not good at this at present but I'm going to try and put-up a blog post every 1 or 2 weeks to try and keep interest going.
That about sums up where I am just now with promotion - the key thing for me is going to be getting the balance right, so that I still have time to write!! Hope some of that helps.
Margaret! You are amazing! Thank you for responding, your experience and sharing your activities and ideas. Love all of them and will definitely be trying a few out--I hadn't thought of the coffee shops and doing more creative type speaking arrangements. The ideas to use a front email address and getting set up as a publisher are awesome! Thanks so much for offering all of this excellent info! I know I, for one, will be doing some of this! Many cheers!!
Glad to be of help, Sara. So many people, mostly strangers, were helpful to me when I was quizzing them before I took the plunge and that made a huge difference to me.The publisher bit was initially so that if someone asked me to do something that I didn't want to do it would be much easier and less embarrassing all round if it wasn't me personally doing the refusing. But I have found it so useful in other ways too that I'm very glad I did it. Time will tell if I shall make much (any) money from the venture - publishing the way I did, including a 1000 book paperback run - by the same printer that the mainstream publisher had used for my first book, wasn't the cheapest exercise, and I also spent a fair bit on professional copy-editing, cover design and formatting, plus postage costs etc for sending out review copies and so on, but c 8 weeks in I am more than 1/2 way to covering all the costs, so hopefully...
One piece of advice someone else gave me, which has been very useful was to make out a business / marketing plan and a timetable of everything that needed to be done / including contact details of everyone I was considering involving, and I refer to it almost every day.
The timetable totally appeals to my goal oriented and list making personality! Tonight's project!! Thank you again!!
Margaret wrote: "Glad to be of help, Sara. So many people, mostly strangers, were helpful to me when I was quizzing them before I took the plunge and that made a huge difference to me.The publisher bit was initial..."
Margaret, Thanks for sharing your promotion efforts. Great ideas. Congratulations too on your success so far. It is good to hear what others have done and what worked. Thank you.
Melina wrote: "This is a three part question:1. Did you publish traditionally, self publish or do a combination?
2. Why did you decide to take that route?
3. Do you have any regrets?"
1. Self publish, but via White Glove, an Amazon programme which is only for agented authors.
2. It gives me control over design, and also higher royalties!
3. Not yet!
Hi Melina,I published with Endeavour Press. They are a digital press from the UK. They took care of the editing and cover design and have been really great so far.
Lana
Melina wrote: "This is a three part question:1. Did you publish traditionally, self publish or do a combination?
2. Why did you decide to take that route?
3. Do you have any regrets?"
I'm just now published, as of last week, so now I can answer!
1. I'm published independently (meaning I self-publish but through a small publishing company I created so I have my own ISBN numbers, etc.). However, I enrolled in the Kindle Scout program in December and had an awesome campaign but had my book not chosen for Kindle Press (I think because it's a "slow read" and not the right fit for their read-quickly-and-buy-another-similar-title-right-away model). It was a worthwhile use of my time, though, because I learned a lot about marketing and made connections with other independent authors.
2. I did query a dozen or more agents about six months ago, but the responses (or lack thereof) and everything I was reading about the publishing industry showed me that independent was the way to go for me. HOWEVER, it's not the way to go if you want to just write a book and hand it off for someone else to sell for you because you don't want to "bother with all that." These days, even if you publish traditionally, you still need a vigorous marketing plan. In fact, trad publishers will be looking for your "platform" as they consider whether to take you on. I was a great candidate for Indie because I've been teaching writing as an "indie" for twenty years online! I'm comfortable with making websites, interacting professionally in social media, and working from my previous reputation to gain readers.
3. No regrets at this point. Even my $50 investment in a year's worth of Query Tracker was a good learning experience for me, though I won't be touching it again, probably.
I do think, though, that to make indie publishing (or any publishing, actually!) work, you have to invest in it fully. That's both time and money. I had savings I could use to replace income while working on this project, and to finance the outlay. I had a $2000 trip to Michigan, the site of my historical novel based on a real person and her journal, about $500 of business-setup costs (websites, email marketing program, etc.), and $2500 in cover art and design (even at a discount with my artist daughter), editing, and so forth. Odds are I won't make back my investment, but I think (and my reviewers agree!) I have a high-quality work of literature that has a real chance. I'm also working on an illustrated version for print, because of the unusual nature of the piece and my access to an artist.
If I'd tried to go bare-bones budget (with a freebie or cheap cover design--some of which can be really good!), "sponsored" website without its own domain, freebie version of email marketing, and so forth (though I wouldn't skimp on the editing, and I've been teaching writing for thirty years!), and without the trip to Michigan, I could have done almost as good a book for about $1000.
Take a look at www.rosettebook.com and thanks!
Cindy Rinaman Marsch
The biggest pros to self-publishing is that I control every part of the process from writing MY book, (not some editors version of My book), I can set my own deadlines, I earn a higher commission, I promote it myself in my own way, I keep all rights.
The biggest cons are I had to pay for covers, editing, copy editing, proofreading ,formatting and advertising. All of which of course eats into any royalty.
I have self-published two historical novels and have one work in process. I plan to self-publish again.
Have I seen great results. Not yet.
Sarina Rose,
The Relentless Brit - set during WWII
The Relentless Italian - set during the 1960's
The biggest cons are I had to pay for covers, editing, copy editing, proofreading ,formatting and advertising. All of which of course eats into any royalty.
I have self-published two historical novels and have one work in process. I plan to self-publish again.
Have I seen great results. Not yet.
Sarina Rose,
The Relentless Brit - set during WWII
The Relentless Italian - set during the 1960's
1. Did you publish traditionally, self publish or do a combination?2. Why did you decide to take that route?
3. Do you have any regrets?"
Hi, Melina,
I joined this group a couple of days ago and just saw your post. The answers are all quite interesting, so I thought I'd add mine to the list.
1. I self-published my first novel (Sing What You Cannot Say) last summer (2015).
2. I took the self-publishing route for a variety of reasons. I actually worked for a self-publishing company as an editorial consultant for two years, so I am very familiar with the inner workings of the process and the benefits of controlling each step of the process. There are definitely some disadvantages associated with self-publishing, but I am very satisfied overall with the process. (The costs of self-publishing can quickly add up, as you need to pay for the publishing package, editorial review, editing, proofreading, and so on, but it's also a great way to realize a lifelong dream!)
3. I have no regrets in terms of how the book looks and reads, and I am so thrilled to have finally published the story I have been carrying around for 18 years. I still can't quite believe it. That is such a rewarding (and terrifying) feeling! If I had waited to be picked up by a traditional publisher, I might never have actually published (or even written) my book. I would definitely self-publish again.
I was even able to win three silver medals in the 2016 Feathered Quill Book Competition for Best Historical, Best Mystery, and Best Debut author. That has been deeply satisfying.
On a final note, I am so grateful to Goodreads for helping me publicize my book with an ad campaign and giveaways. It has definitely helped drum up interest!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
I'm not Cathy, but I'll answer. I did use a handful of beta readers, asking them specific questions to guide things I was unsure of in my manuscript. Out of three or four hefty responses and another three or four minimal responses, I was able to get a good picture of what was working and what wasn't. Some of the criticisms helped me make a better final version. One of those beta readers wrote me this week to say (after reading strong reviews?) that she realizes she just didn't know what I was trying to do, but she wants to read the final version now. You can do beta readers who have expertise or just those who represent "regular readers." The former are more likely to be helpful in comments. You want to get people who have great taste in literature of the kind you've written, and if they're already friends you have more "social capital" for asking them questions.
Melina,I actually had an editorial evaluation done as part of my publishing package, and the feedback was tremendously helpful. The process really opened my eyes about a few things I had been struggling with, and I was inspired to complete some rewrites that I had been dragging my heels on.
Once I finished reworking a few things, I also had a copy edit and a final proofread done on the manuscript, and those editors also gave really great feedback. (In case you're wondering, all of these services came with a fee, but I knew I wanted the book to be the best it could be, and, having worked as an editorial consultant myself for two years, I understood the importance of this process and was willing to accrue a bit of debt for the sake of quality.)
Before I moved into the interior layout and design phase, I also realized I wasn't satisfied with the ending of the book, but I was exhausted from the whole process and couldn't muscle through my frustration alone at that point, so I bribed my husband into reading the manuscript. (He is not an avid reader, so it took some cajoling to get him to agree!) He provided the final inspiration that I needed to finalize the manuscript and move into production.
By the way, the entire process of having 'beta readers' sift through my writing was terrifying! This was my first novel, so I was incredibly anxious about 'putting myself out there'. I couldn't bear the thought of anyone reading my writing, but I knew I had to bite the bullet and show my book to some people before publishing it.
I am so grateful to the editor who evaluated my manuscript, to the copy editor and proofreader who picked up on the little things I had overlooked, and to my husband, who provided the final inspiration for creating an ending I was satisfied with.
May I ask what prompted your question? Do you use beta readers when you write?
I'm sorry to hear that! Putting yourself out there is tough enough without having a negative experience. I hope you can rebuild your trust in the process!
This is probably the best age to be an author! I love the freedom and complete control over my story the indie publishing route gives me. Don't get me wrong, I think traditional publishing is here to stay, and I hope to someday ink a deal myself. It's just that after reading about some of the greatest and best selling authors today getting rejected many times because they didn't fit a certain mold, I decided it best to forge my own path starting out. The indie path isn't necessarily the easier way, but I have no regrets.
My first book was traditionally published, for which I remain grateful, but the second I've brought out myself (lots of reasons to do with where the publisher was in their own business plan) But the relevant point here is that I wanted to make it indistinguishable from a mainstream published book and a vital part of that process was the professional editing / formatting / cover design (and in my case) a print run to make it accessible to bookshops. I couldn't have done without an editor - yes there is a cost, but a good editor is worth their weight in gold.
Same here Margaret. I had a publisher for my first book, but was dissatisfied with the result. I self-published my second book.
Jennifer, Margaret, Robert, I agree. I published non-fiction traditionally but plan to self-publish my first novel. And hiring professionals to do the editing, cover design etc. is vital. My manuscript is currently at the copyeditor. I am excited to move forward to the next steps.
I took the selfie plunge. As a DIY kinda guy, that made the most sense. I also find myself agreeing with a lot of the same reasons others have stated above.
By the way, I am considering going the traditional route with my next novel, (a stand-alone) because I feel the particular topic would benefit enormously from mainstream marketing, though I will bring the third book in my current series out myself late in 2017. My point is that there is now the flexibility to try various different routes according to what is best for an individual project - we are no longer tied to one method.
Margaret wrote: "By the way, I am considering going the traditional route with my next novel, (a stand-alone) because I feel the particular topic would benefit enormously from mainstream marketing, though I will br..."Good luck with the traditional publishing, Margaret. I will be interested in hearing how that goes for you and that you get that mainstream marketing. The fact that you have a track record already, should be helpful. And it is great there are options for us at this time.
Thanks, Beverly - I can but try! And if it doesn't work out as planned, all is not lost!!
Margaret wrote: "Thanks, Beverly - I can but try! And if it doesn't work out as planned, all is not lost!!"Love your attitude!
Re beta readers - I chose someone that I thought (from their reaction to my first book) understood where I was coming from and approached them to ask if they'd consider reading a tchapter /commenting. I was going to ask them to be a beta reader, but fortunately proceeded cautiously. For 18 pages of text I got 57!! pages of corrections which completely changed my 'voice'. Everywhere I'd used a contraction, for example, they wrote it out in full, plus lots of other changes. It was a salutary lesson to be very careful re beta readers. I did find someone else, who was great -eventually.
Margaret wrote: "Re beta readers - I chose someone that I thought (from their reaction to my first book) understood where I was coming from and approached them to ask if they'd consider reading a tchapter /commenti..."I chose to ask 5 people to do beta reading for me. I asked for some specific feedback and specifically said I didn't want copy editing at this point. I didn't get any copy editing but only 2 out of the 5 responded to the questions I had asked. Some gave only brief feedback that was basically not helpful. So I agree it is important to be really careful about who you choose to get the feedback that you want.
1. Did you publish traditionally, self publish or do a combination?
2. Why did you decide to take that route?
3. Do you have any regrets?"
Hi Melina,
1. Self-published (only).
Once the book was written and edited (with help), I've done the whole production: cover (specially commissioned art), ebook, print book, web-site, register my own imprint etc.
I had help with or paid for specific tasks, but mostly I can get around with Scrivener, InDesign etc to produce what I wanted.
2. It's seemed like there are two options: Handle lots of Rejection, or Pimp Yourself.
Between these two evils I decided I like rejection less :-)
I've heard from one author here on GoodReads that they went through 300 magazine submissions to get 3 short stories published, and from 400 agent submissions they are now negotiating a contract with one. That's before any publisher even deigns to look at their book... I find that depressing.
Between being skilled enough to produce the book (really, it's not that hard) and being highly impatient (because what's the point of having the manuscript sit in a drawer for a decade?) - I went the self-published route.
3. No regrets... but my book is literally hot off the press.
So far I'm going well on my three point plan:
- Publish book
- Get movie deal
- Buy small island
Time will tell I guess :-)