SELF-PUBLISHING

One of the goals of the blog is to share information that would be useful to new and emerging writers. I attended a workshop at a Writer’s Conference that focused on different publishing options. One of the areas of focus was on self-publishing. While in the past, this option was viewed from a completely negative perspective, it seems that some of that stigma has faded.

There are different self-publishing options. The most traditional of these is the good, old-fashioned print run. Typically, this means the author will pay a company a sum of money for a set number of books that are printed. A second option revolves around a print-on-demand book, where, actual books can be printed as they are ordered. Technology has also given us the option of an e-book, which looks like the most cost effective of these options.

While more in-depth analyses of these different options will be left for future posts, it is worth mentioning a few points. While major goal of publishing one’s work is to have it reach readers, the explosion of options for publsihing makes accomplishing this more difficult. There is no question, whatever route one takes to publishing their work, a major part of the process will be playing an active part in the marketing/promotional aspects of publishing. In self-publishing, this falls almost totally on the author. Those that are more successful at self-publishing tend to have an entrepreneurial spirit, so they can deal with the various challenges associated with this option. It also is helpful if one is familiar with technology as so much can be accomplished using it these days. Successful self-published authors also tend to enjoy connecting with people, both through social media as well as offline.

One of the major complaints regarding self-publishing is the stigma that the quality of self-published books is not the same as those published via more traditional means. Such stigma exists because unfortunately, in many cases, there is some truth to it. However, any author who feels they want to try this route as a way to get their work out to a readership, insuring it is as high quality as possible is essential.

One question that came up is what defines a “successful” self-publishing endeavor. The answer to that question clearly depends on what the author’s ultimate goal is when pursuing it. If it is simply to provide a vehicle to gain greater exposure for ones’ work absent what seem to be the insurmountable  obstacles of the traditional publishing world, then so be it! From a more practical perspective, one number I have heard is that if a self-published book sells 5000 copies an editor might be more interested in it.

From my perspective, keeping all options open remains the best approach of all!