Self-Publishing: Death Trap or Career Booster?
A self-publishing article by Karen Magill
I am in the process of self-publishing my second book – ‘Let Us Play, A Rock ‘n Roll Love Story’. And because it is self-published I seem to be hearing so many doubters and haters on self-publishing again.
Granted, it does take a special sort of person to travel that journey of self-publishing. And anyone who goes into it feeling that they are going to make a lot of money is liable to have those hopes dashed quite quickly. But does self-publishing automatically mean a black mark against the author or mean that their career is ruined? Hardly.
One of the Yahoo groups I am on brings in top agents. Now I do admit that one of them is against self-publishing and feels it is the last resort for a writer. But another is for it and is curious to read an author’s self-published product. It depends on the person.
As technology changes so does the industry. We have seen success stories in the past that have begun as self-published writers and that gives us hope. More and more places are accepting self-published books too; the author just has to find them. I have even heard of a Lulu author getting his book into a Chapters bookstore.
Self-publishing is a lot of work and requires ingenuity too. Thinking ‘outside the box’ is a definite requirement.
Editing is also a must. I have now edited ‘Let Us Play’ so many times in the last twenty-four hours that I am sick of looking at it. LOL. But I am going to be receiving a hard copy in a few weeks so I will be looking at it again.
Although ‘The Bond’ has been out for two years I am not going to quit promoting it. Instead I am going to try to combine efforts with ‘Let Us Play’. And I am going to try things that are long shots. But hey, sometimes long shots pay off. All I can do is try.
I don’t intend on self-publishing forever. Yet I am glad that I decided to do it with these two. I have learned a lot about the process of getting a book from my imagination to print. I am constantly learning about promotion and it helps the creative side of me to know the business side. When I do land that big contract, I think I will be better suited to deal with an agent and have a better understanding of what the publisher and the publicist etc. goes through. I will know what it takes to make that book sell. I will know better how hard it is.
Karen Magill
Author of The Bond, A Paranormal Love Story
and the soon to be published
Let Us Play, A Rock 'n Roll Love Story
For more information go to http://www.karenmagill.com
[via ezinearticles.com]
