“Will you self publish?”
Believe it or not, this is a question I’ve been asked a few times as friends have watched me blog about writing. Of course, we all know the first problem with that question is that I would need to actually finish a manuscript first, but let’s set that aside for now. I have two major reasons I am leery of self publishing.
- Reach/acceptance. Publishing via agent and “old school” publishing house means you’ve been vetted, that other eyes have found your work acceptable and are willing to invest in printing it and distributing it so that it can reach a larger audience. And then, hopefully, make gobs of cash off of you and let you have a pittance in return, but that’s the way it works. (I jest – as I understand it, the publishing game isn’t a get rich scheme for anyone in the chain from writer to publisher. Except for Bob.)
- Anyone can self publish, and they do. There is no quality review, no checks or balances. Yes, not everything that makes it to print via route 1 is good, but at least you know its been reviewed. Self publishing has no throttle or control mechanism, which means there is a lot more that is unreadable than not. Yes, there are stellar examples of self published authors that are making a killing at this. They pale in comparison, though, to the number that are trying. Self publishing just changes where the threshold is, not the measure of success.
So will I ever self publish? Maybe. If I fail to go the traditional route all together, I can certainly see myself doing it as a “well, I couldn’t make anything off of it the traditional way, at least this way I might make a buck.” But its not the road I want to take if I can help it. (*I am subject to changing my opinion once I actually have a completed manuscript, of course 😉 *)
What got me to post this? Reading BigAl’s Books and Pals: The Greek Seaman /  Jacqueline Howett in which self published author Jacqueline Howett responds rather tastelessly, and with a complete lack of professionalism, to a negative book review of her self published book. This kind of behavior makes self publishing seem even less appealing – I certainly wouldn’t want to be lumped into the same camp as the Howett’s of the world. Would you?