Thanks for the feedback! You've given me some more stuff to let rattle around in my head.
Sorry, if your post is suppose to name the reasons for going for self-publishing, it doesn't seem like you completely understand certain aspects of the publishing world.
It seems like you'd be more interested in e-publishing, in whatever sense. Whether that be using electronic distributors or publishers who only/mostly publish electronically.
You're right that the e-publishing side is what mostly appeals to me right now because of how I and people in my area get things to read these days. But then, so many of the e-presses are almost as much of a startup as I would be as a self-publisher...I've heard of people having to supply their own editor and proofreader, even...so if we're all figuring this out anyway because it's new, I'd rather try to figure it out for myself than hope I picked the right other people to figure it out for me.
I would probably offer a print version too, though...I'm fairly tech-savvy, so generating a PDF with custom page sizes and margins isn't a problem, and I'd be stupid to turn away readers who are set on having a physical object. Also, I would probably want to do the Goodreads giveaway thing, because it seems like one of the marketing activities least likely to cross the line into annoying attention-seeking behavior, and I heard you need physical copies for that.
It seems like you're thinking publishers want only specific cookie-cut books and your books don't fit, or you think publishers wouldn't accept your books for whatever reason. Why is that?
I wouldn't say "cookie cutter" exactly, but the way an editor reads a book is different from how a regular reader reads. All a reader cares about is whether they personally like (or are interestingly challenged by) the book, while editors have to think about what other people's opinions in vast numbers will be. So, to appeal to an editor, you have to fit their ideas of what readers want -- but without being
too similar to the other book that they just got signed. It seems crazymaking and I'd just personally rather take my chances with the readers.
Everything you've said tells me you might not be in for what self-publishing is about. Compelling reasons to self-publish, that I see, are: Full control of the creative process, from every word inside, to cover, to blurb; knowing that you can market yourself and your work; wanting full control of your publishing schedule; publishing work that trade publishers wouldn't normally touch like novellas. And the list goes on.
To be successful in self-publishing, you need to be able to put out quality content--work that has been edited, with a nice cover--and be able to market you and your book so readers know about you and it. Self-published work is fully reliant on you, whether that be success or failure.
Well, yes, the control factor is another point in self-pubbing's favor. I've heard enough cover picture nightmare stories to see the value in being the Ultimate Queen Bee of the process, no matter what I outsource...that didn't pop into my head last night, but it's definitely a consideration.
And, yes, I know that, by taking it all into my own hands, that means that I've only got myself to blame, so I'd better do it right (or see that it's done right, on the parts I hire out). I'm lining up people to beta it ruthlessly before I pay for any editing, for example, to make sure I get value for the editing once I get that far.
I always have to bring this up: You don't have to choose either/or in any case. You can self-publish and trade/indie publish however you wish. Publishing isn't like choosing one side of the coin; you can choose all options, just with different works.
If both were to happen eventually, that would be great, but getting a contract with an advance etc. isn't where my head is right now. I could change my mind if circumstances seemed to call for it, but for now I'm leaning toward letting the readers decide directly.
Anyway the point is that you still have a WIP, so you can't really tell if it's not going to fit until you have 50 people in that genre say say "no".
True, but I can decide that having it fit isn't my priority, and spend the time on getting it self-pub ready rather than query letters and rejectomancy.
My only thought in reading your post was is this the first book you've finished? If so, I'd say finish the book before you make any decisions. You may decide to go with a small press just to get your feet wet. Although, it can help to stay motivated if one knows they can self-publish. Genre-specific books do best in SP. Mystery, romance, sci-fi, paranormal, etc. (as opposed to literary works)
I've finished books before, and even shopped one around to agents a little, though not as actively as I would have if I'd been really focusing on it. I figure it's OK for that one to have not gone anywhere because I'm not that person any more and would do a lot differently if I did it over (which I still might; that's the great thing about writing, nothing has to stay broken).
The current WIP is near-future fantasy, either YA or crossover as the plot in my head has some of the characters growing up during the time at hand. I'm sort of hoping for the "teens reading on their phones so their peers will think they're texting" hypothesis to work in my favor (though not sure how I would tell if it does). So, definitely not "literary" in the sense of the genre that thinks it's not a genre; I can still deal with issues of identity and belonging, though, I just need to wrap them in a half-unicorn.
Well, I guess that sums it up, then. And it really is fun to get to do everything how you want, when you want, and not have to get anyone else's permission.
Yeah. That. I don't want to crawl around to gatekeepers and hope one of them is willing to declare me an author, when announcing to the world, "I'm a writer! Here's what I write; see if you like it" is a viable option.
However, regardless of how many fewer bookstores are around these days, the big publishers (and some of the smaller ones) do sell lots and lots of books. Many writers who self-publish a book end up very disappointed because of low sales. But as long as you know that going in, good luck with it!
The way I figure it, I don't need a big burst of sales like you get when conventional publishing goes right, because once I have it set up, I can leave it available indefinitely and let it do kind of a slow burn...so I don't think slow sales will upset me. Of course I would like to sell more rather than less but I think I can cope either way.
