Thanksgiving is here. I try to be thankful everyday and practice “an attitude of gratitude,” and although this is the month to give thanks, things at work tend to crank up and the stress of coordinating family dinner always looms.
That’s why this week I’m thankful for a friend. I met Ellie a few years back at a writing conference, and knew right away she was amazing. Smart, funny, and also a writer of sci-fi romance and erotica. We kept in touch and when I approached her about writing a post for my blog she graciously agreed, offering me a small reprieve from the chaos. She’s currently the author of 2 books: Population and Saltlands, with more in the works. Please enjoy her journey so far and be sure to check out both of her books. Oh! Don’t miss out on the amazing free (did I mention it’s free?) guide on self-publishing she’s offering!
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To self-publish or not to self-publish? That is the (difficult) question…
Elizabeth Stephens, author of Population and Saltlands
In the world today, there are so many different options for writers it’s difficult to know where to begin. You have a story and maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ve even managed to finish it! What next? Do I self-publish? Do I try to go traditional? Do I work with an indie press? These are all questions that I asked myself after the completion of my first sci-fi romance novel, Population, and all of these are excellent options for different people depending on your ambition and what you hope to get out of the process.
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The following is a short account of my experiences in publishing and the decision I made to work with an indie press for the release of Population and then the subsequent decision to self-publish the sequel to the book, Saltlands, a year later.
Going traditional…if you can
I began writing at the age of eleven, namely in horror and science fiction. Since then I’ve added fantasy, romance, and erotica to my repertoire, and when I was eighteen I did something I never had before: I finally finished a manuscript! For me, getting started is easy, but finding the end is seconds short of impossible. Immediately, in the wake of the Twilight/fantasy romance whirlwind, I drafted my query letters and submitted to agents. A few bites here and there, but everything in the end resulted in rejection.
Traditional publishing is a multi-tiered process that begins with getting an agent, and then an editor at a publishing house, to sign on your book. As I have never made it to step one, my journey down this road ends here. This is what led me to an independent press.
Going indie…if you dare
Five years and about two dozen unfinished stories later, I drafted and completed my second novel: Population. At the same time I completed this novel – and I do mean the day of – I met a publisher through connections. She had just started an indie press and wanted to add my newest manuscript to her list – I was ecstatic! Like working with any start up, it was not a seamless journey. Independent presses vary drastically across the board and, of the authors I’ve known, each experience has been wildly different. Although varied, they generally have tended to share these similar facets:
- Authors have a lot more autonomy over their work. I was able to work with the cover artist directly to create the exact (incredible!) cover I wanted.
- Authors tend to make more in royalties. I don’t, unfortunately, but I know other authors that make more than the industry average.
- Authors don’t have to pay to get their books produced. If anyone attempts to charge you a fee they are not a reputable company!
- Authors still may not have complete control over the quality and distribution of their books. Some indie presses don’t have the resources to provide the editorial services of a traditional press. I only had one round of editing rather than the traditional three (developmental, line editing, and proofreading) and had to do a lot of last minute edits myself. This resulted in a few typos in the first edition.
- Having a publisher can give authors an additional level of ‘prestige’.
Some feel that this helps get books into bookstores and libraries. While I have enjoyed answering the question “Do you have a publisher?” with the affirmative, I have not found it to be more difficult getting a self-published book into a bookstore or a library – so long as you have your LCCN, are registered with a reputable distributor, and have your book correctly priced (see the link below for my
free guide on how to self-publish for additional details)
These are just a few of my experiences with an indie press, and because I am such a perfectionist and a control freak, it was these experiences that led me down the road of self-publishing.
Going solo…if you choose
Self-publishing has been my favorite of the three options because it was the least stressful and gave me complete and total autonomy on the compilation, design, and distribution of my book. I could not be more proud of Saltlands, my first self-published novel – though I know it won’t be the last. I will say however, that to self-publish a book correctly, it will cost you some cash. I, for example, spent roughly $1000 to produce Saltlands, and this did not include any marketing, which is a whole bag of worms in itself and is TERRIBLE regardless of which of the three options you go with.
As I began to try to self-publish my book, the first thing I noticed was that there were very few FREE resources for people looking to self-publish both print and digital books. What I wanted was a step-by-step guide for how to get my book out there and unable to find one, I created this Free (mini) Guide to Self-Publishing. This guide provides step-by-step instructions from the moment you complete your manuscript through to its distribution and covers: everything from getting your ISBN, LCCN and barcodes to converting your completed PDF into an EPUB and registering with a distributor (I used Ingram Sparks). This guide is not a guarantee that your self-published book will turn out exactly how you wanted or that you will have the same experience I did. This guide is simply my attempt to provide a free resource to other writers to get them started and do what I can to fill an existing gap.
Don’t give up!
No matter what you are trying to accomplish with your publishing career, keep on writing! And one last word of advice: no matter which option you choose, DO NOT pay someone to publish a book for you unless they are a traditional publisher or an indie press with perks. Self-publishing is not hard. If you’ve written the manuscript, then the hard part is over! Well, at least until you get to the marketing. But that’s another story…
For more on Elizabeth Stephens’s science fiction and romance books Population and Saltlands, check out her website at www.booksbyelizabeth.com or follow her on Goodreads, Facebook or Twitter.
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