I thought self-publishing my novel was the logical next step. It wasn't. What I should have done was exhaust EVERY single option I had before resorting to self-publishing. I barely scratched the surface of the agents and publishers I could have queried.
To be honest I let myself be intimidated by the thought of seeking out an agent because I (mistakenly) thought I'd have to pay them up front. I don't have any money to pay an agent. If I had taken more time and done proper research I would have found out that agents work for a percentage of the money they make you. If they don't make you money, they don't get any. This was a pitfall in my writing career for years. I'll describe my ongoing search for an agent in the future. For now I just want to stress the point, avoid self-publishing as long as you can.
March 29, 2007
March 23, 2007
I'm *Not* A Real Author
Before you read the title of this post and begin to think I'm looking for pity, I'm not. My skin has thickened considerably over time, though I'll admit I still have a long way to go before reading a blatant "This sucks." comment doesn't hurt at least a little.
This post is the beginning of the WHAT-NOT-TO-DO section of my writing career. As I posted before, at this point I've only received a single rejection letter. One. I've sent out three or four other queries (which I never did hear back from) and yet I'm already pushing on to the next step, self-publishing. DON'T DO THIS!
I'm not saying self-publishing won't work for you. There are a few self-published authors that have the skill and commitment to promote their book and make a living off of it.
What I'm saying is don't rush into it. I did and it wasn't good, for oh so many reasons:
My novel wasn't polished enough.
I did research, but not nearly enough.
I wasn't ready to make the necessary time commitment.
I thought leaving the artwork to my publishing company would be acceptable.
The result:
A poorly written book got published (That's never happened before).
I paid a lot of money out of pocket for what would eventually be negligible return.
99% of the books I sold were bought by me or family members.
The artwork representing my book sucks.
If I ever get a publisher/agent to take my novel seriously I now have to explain to them that I've previously had it self-published (and I have no idea what kind of headaches that may cause in the future).
If you want to see my book you can find it [here]. I've done so much more work on it since I self-published it that I don't even like it anymore the way it is. Don't let this happen to you.
This post is the beginning of the WHAT-NOT-TO-DO section of my writing career. As I posted before, at this point I've only received a single rejection letter. One. I've sent out three or four other queries (which I never did hear back from) and yet I'm already pushing on to the next step, self-publishing. DON'T DO THIS!
I'm not saying self-publishing won't work for you. There are a few self-published authors that have the skill and commitment to promote their book and make a living off of it.
What I'm saying is don't rush into it. I did and it wasn't good, for oh so many reasons:
My novel wasn't polished enough.
I did research, but not nearly enough.
I wasn't ready to make the necessary time commitment.
I thought leaving the artwork to my publishing company would be acceptable.
The result:
A poorly written book got published (That's never happened before).
I paid a lot of money out of pocket for what would eventually be negligible return.
99% of the books I sold were bought by me or family members.
The artwork representing my book sucks.
If I ever get a publisher/agent to take my novel seriously I now have to explain to them that I've previously had it self-published (and I have no idea what kind of headaches that may cause in the future).
If you want to see my book you can find it [here]. I've done so much more work on it since I self-published it that I don't even like it anymore the way it is. Don't let this happen to you.
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