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More Self-Publishing Thoughts 2/23/2008 5:03:55 AM
I'm part of a Fantasy Writing group in Yahoo Groups and one of the members (Rob) wrote the first two paragraphs below as part of a discussion about traditional vs self-publishing... (Rob said) I noticed part of what you said was also in one of my favorite agent blogs (The Rejecter). Feb 3, 2008 she said, "In general, unless your book has sold over 3000 copies (which means you didn't sell them all to family and friends or by hand at conventions) , it doesn't mean much to us that it was previously published. We will review it like we review any other submission - as potential new material to be weighed on its own merit."
The most important thing I believe people looking at self-publishing need to know is that they become responsible for the business end, meaning sales, marketing, distribution. .... It's a lot more work than most people realize and it will require some start up capital and a lot of time running the business.
I definitely agree with Rob...
If you are self-published, YOU have to get out there and do it all! Promote, market, distribute... SELL, SELL, SELL! After having self-published two YA fantasy books (the third will be out in April, 2008), I can NOW say I believe I FINALLY have a REAL clue about what self-publishing is all about (and I KNOW there's still a ton of stuff out there that I DON'T know, but I love learning, so bring it on!)!
When I first started out on my own literary journey I was very naive with big dreams, and somehow believed that my books would get "out there" just because all children would want to read them! (Silly, I know) I had NO idea how much work would go into the marketing side of it, not to mention that everyone certainly knows that marketing isn't FREE (and money doesn't grow on trees, even though sometimes I think my teenage children think it does!)
Of course I still have big dreams of someday being able to support myself with income from my writing, but I've also discovered something else along the way....
It's not all about the money!
Seeing the look in children's eyes when I visit their school and talk to them about reading and writing... telling them they CAN do anything they put their mind to... telling them that there's nothing like putting their nose in between the pages of a good book and letting the story take them places they never knew they could go... seeing a little girl come to one of my book signings with a tattered and wrinkled copy of one of my books, dancing on her toes from excitement because she's getting to meet me, then realizing there's aNOTHER book in the series she had no idea was out yet...
THAT's what it's all about... for me anyway.
And sure I'd love to make a million dollars doing something that I never dreamed of doing... I'd love to quit my "day job" and just write, write, write, and promote, promote, promote... but that's not in the cards yet, and I'm ok with that. If nothing else, I'm showing my kids that with hard work, perseverence, and believing in YOURSELF, good things will come. I firmly believe that.
I believe that yes, it's a struggle to have to work a 40-hour a week job during the week, only to turn around on the weekends and do book signings or vendor events, and before I know it I'm back at my full-time job. But I also FIRMLY believe that I CAN make a difference to young adults.
I'm no JK Rowling, but thanks to her paving the way and creating an interest in reading with both children AND adults, I believe I just might be able to give children something to read and keep them reading...
For a little while anyway.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, because, as they say, if YOU don't believe in yourself, why should anyone else?
Being self-published isn't anything to shake a stick at. But, just like anything else in life, it will be what you make it. What do we tell our kids... that they have to get "out there" and work hard to make anything of themselves, that fame and fortune won't just be handed to them on a silver platter? Get out there and work hard to promote your books, and you WILL see a difference!
