To (attempt to) publish or not to publish?

[B J]

Hello all!

I'm excited to be posting here for the first time!

I'd like to start this post by making it clear that I am not a professional author/writer (what is the difference between the two?) nor do I have any intention to make any sort of career out of it. That being said, I am an avid reader, and I do enjoy writing and storytelling in general.

During a sea voyage a few years ago, I spent my downtime dreaming up and writing a fantasy story, heavily inspired and influenced by my own life experiences (at that time, it was purely a creative outlet; I had no intention of publishing). Since then, I've revisited it every so often to reread, make adjustments/edits, and tweak the story. As I've done so, the idea of publishing has slowly crept into my thoughts. I recently sent it to a number of family and friends, who all enjoyed it and encouraged me to publish. (I know, I know. Family and friends are obligated to say they liked it!)

After doing a little research, it seems unlikely that a traditional publisher would have any interest in a ~160k word fantasy book from an unpublished author, which leaves self-publishing. Now, to be clear, I don't care one way or another if I make any money from this story, but the thought of being a published author does appeal to me (and I genuinely think that I've written a story that people would enjoy). On the flipside, I don't want to publish just to publish and put a piece of junk out there with my name on it.

So now I'm asking for advice from you, the good people of this group (most of whom I'm assuming have near-infinite more experience and knowledge in the literary world than I do). I suppose the next logical step might be to have a few unbiased beta readers take a perusal to see if I really have written anything worthwhile, however, I'm curious to hear your thoughts!

Cheers,
Ball Remlok

P.S. Moderators, if this post is inappropriate for this area, I would be grateful for suggestions as to where to move it. Thank you!

[T.]

You can always ask someone to read the first 5 chapters.

[Gifford]

Ball wrote: " I suppose the next logical step might be to have a few unbiased beta readers take a perusal to see if I really have written anything worthwhile"

You're absolutely right, Ball! And I agree with T. Offering the first few chapters to an unbiased reader is the best way to see if your manuscript is ready to publish. You can do this in the Beta Readers group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/....

If you'd like, I can take a look at up to 20 pages & let you know what I think. Warning: I'm a grammar nerd, so be prepared to hear about the little things as well as the big ones.

You can contact me at giffmacshane (at) gmail (dot) com if you want.

[B J]

Thanks for the advice! First chapter coming your way, Gifford.

[Dana]

Hello Ball,

I would say traditional publishing (as competitive as it may be) is always worth an attempt. You also learn additional skills and ways to market your book by working on queries and submission material. But if you want to make a goal to publish within a timeframe, I wouldn't linger too long on it.

But for now, I'd ask: Is this your first draft? Have you read/reread, performed or considered edits (spellcheck & grammar( or improvements for your book? Esp. do you think areas can be trimmed to reduce word count?

Definitely check out some betas. A sample is a good start but make sure you get some who read the whole work as well.

Do you know how you would market your book? Have you considered building a social media presence?

All these are helpful stages to invest in while you figure out the publishing market.

All the Best
Dana

[B J]

Dana wrote: "Hello Ball,

I would say traditional publishing (as competitive as it may be) is always worth an attempt. You also learn additional skills and ways to market your book by working on queries and sub..."

Dana, thank you for the words of advice! Your questions are all great points to consider. While I've gone through most of those questions myself (many times in most cases), the big one I've been putting off is the social media piece. I'll admit that I am exceptionally apathetic when it comes to social media. However, I suppose that's just one more skill to learn and challenge to overcome!

[Marissa]

Honestly I’d love to read this. In my opinion there is no other option other than traditionally publishing. It’s been my thing since I was a kid. I say go for it! You’re gonna get rejected a thousand times over but you never know. Email me: marissaknight5@protonmail.com

[Marvin]

As an artist, you might as well push yourself. Things are difficult partly because there's lots of competition and the Internet has removed barriers to "publishing."

But the result is there is a lot of very poor quality work out there. Giving up because you might not make it just shortchanges your own artistic development,