In talking to other authors about considering the self-publishing path, I’ve noticed an interesting split.
Every published author I’ve spoken with has strongly encouraged self-publishing. Every single one has praised the convenience, the fairness of royalties, the control over creative content and the greater payoff of direct contact with your reader base. Among other benefits.
While nearly all the unpublished authors are quick to say, “You’re thinking about self-publishing? But have you tried, yadda yadda or so and so? What things haven’t you tried first?”
It’s a pretty solid divide.
There is unanimous agreement that a professional editor should be employed before self-publishing. Obviously.
There is also unanimous agreement that an agent can still be helpful, even after having gone the self-pub route, and even necessary if you want to do foreign or subsidiary rights.
The most interesting thing about the published author’s perspectives is this: The more books they have in print, with an agent and publishing house – the more adamant and insistent they are to me that I skip that step all-together. “Go straight to the reader.”
It’s a directly proportional response that has a great deal of weight in its consistency.
The more published authors I meet, the more I’m beginning to see a pattern of discontent with the status quo. I’m seeing established icons on the legacy path, intercepting the next generation, or even waving signs, practically jumping up and down shouting, “Don’t make my mistakes! Go the other way!”
It’s a little disconcerting.
One author went so far as to say, “If you want literary acclaim, you can wait the three years and hope to see your book on the shelf for a pittance of return – but you might get noticed and if you’re literary, you might get recognized. But if you want to tell stories and get paid for it – don’t let any traditional publisher touch your manuscript. Do you want literary recognition, or commercial success?”
And this author’s words were repeated in some way or another by two different people, including a well-known and respected Nebula winner.
But talking with the unpublished masses brings; repeated dialog of fear of being blacklisted, shunned, all work and no reward, shame and embarrassment or the terror of being ostracized.
But the easy answer is, no, I have no interest whatsoever in literary acclaim. None. I never have.
I’ve only ever wanted to have an outlet for my stories.
And while both paths are laden with fear tactics, I can’t help but think the folks that have gone before me have the benefit of hard knocks, and wisdom from their failures. So learning from them seems to make a lot of sense.
The clock is ticking down and a decision must be reached.
January 1st is only weeks away.
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