Self Publishing

I am thrilled I chose to self-publish. Click here or here for information about my book. I’m sure I would be spending hours sending out query letters and refining, refining, refining my synopsis AND story for the next ten years if self-publishing hadn’t been an option. I would also be VERY stressed.

Nillanilla3ee Stress Level H (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Instead, I’m in the ‘blue’ zone, but more importantly, people are reading my book NOW.

Isn’t part of the reason we write because we want others to enjoy our writing ?

I sent Absent Children to three agents. I don’t think they read the first line. I’m a nobody with no writing credentials, and I’m hopeless at writing blurbs, synopses, and making pitches. I don’t sell myself well. I spent hours researching the perfect agent for my story, then agonised over crafting the perfect cover letter for that particular agent, and I resented the time it stole from writing my next book.

There was a time when self-publishing was frowned upon, by myself as well as many others, but I began to see the value in it a few years ago, and the more I researched the subject, the more convinced I became that it is the way of the future for writers.

A few people worry that self-publishing isn’t good for readers because they can get caught out by unpolished works. It is easy for writers to jump into the pool before their story is ready, but I believe a discerning reader can figure out the quality of the writing pretty fast with Amazon’s wonderful Search Inside option. Typos, bad grammar and poor writing skills will usually show up in those first few chapters, and hopefully they will work as alarm bells for potential readers to warn them not to buy this book.

So, it seems to me, self publishing is a win/win situation for readers and writers. The readers are charged less, and the writers have more control and earn greater royalties. Who is losing out here? Publishers?

I have a sneaking suspicion that publishers will make the best of self-publishing as well. They can sus out books that are selling well, discover writers with a proven success rate, and then make offers. Maybe, the agents will be the losers in all this.

Click here for an interesting article about self-publishing in the Huffington Post, or go to this link: http://tinyurl.com/cuykudd

Yeah, I’m a cool kid!