Self-Publishing, My Choice

I made the choice to self-publish because I found it difficult to get the attention of a literary agent or publishing company. I sent query letter after query letter but found I was ignored. This dampened my spirits a little as I felt I had something to share with the rest of the world.

I wanted to share the worlds within my minds with fellow kindred spirits. I read several articles on self-publishing and felt this would be the best path to take as I got my work out to be read by the world. I did a lot of investigating to find out the scams from the real deals.

My first book was published this way in 2008 though I had a bit more to learn. I did read that some bestselling authors started out this way. I figured that if JR Rowling could get picked up by a publishing company, so could I.

One just had to research carefully all of the self-publishing companies out there and find the right ones to suit what I was aiming for.

I am learning that when choosing this method of publishing it involves a lot of hard work. You need to make sure that your book is ready and edited, otherwise the mistakes will show up when the book is in print. I learned this the hard way.

You also need to research a means to promote it as self-publishing companies won’t help you get it out there. Not unless you’re willing to pay a lot of money for their marketing services. The key is to making use of social media such as Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and other such things. Make yourself a Facebook author page and you then promote it on an acceptable budget that suits you.

You can make contact with folks interested in reading what you have to offer and all you have to do is either direct them to the online stores that the self-publishing company has kindly set your books to be sold through, or buy a few and sell them personally to all interested parties.

Just be careful with how many books you order through your company, as you could get stuck with several boxes of books in your office.

It all pays off however when you get to hold your printed book in your hands and show it off to the world. I have many more books waiting to be published and I am on the constant look out for the perfect self-publishing deal.

The key is not giving up. Get your books out there, no matter what method you decide to use. If you have a story hidden within you, then it must be released!