The Decision to Self Publish
So, I had a unique offer yesterday. I was contacted by a small publishing house that had read my book and was very interested in taking on the series under their press. I was excited by the prospect and was immediately conflicted by it as well.
When I set out down this writing path I had originally planned on taking the book the traditional route. After the frustrations of “the agent search game” and research into the indie publishing movement I took a chance.
I’ve been blessed with some great support and the local media outlets showed interest. The story of my book’s launch ran in four papers and garnered me an exclusive evening news interview spot. I’ve done my best to learn the art of advertising and marketing. My social media game was weak at best, but I’ve made strides in that arena. Although, my teenager has bluntly pointed out that my Instagram is pathetic. Baby steps.
If you’re still reading this, then thank you. I wanted to let you know what I absolutely love about self publishing. It’s the creative expression that I have. I love that I get to have total autonomy in the cover design, titling and character development.
As soon as the traditional publishing house contacted me they told me that for the discussion of publication to take place I would have to agree to a title change and new cover design. I felt a pang of sadness as I have been working with an amazing designer out the UK and she really has captured my vision. I’m not stubborn, but the titling of the books in this series are based around idioms. The meaning of which is directly tied to each of the plot lines. The good thing is they loved the story, characters and pacing of the book.
It turned out that it was all for not because I advised the publishing house that my book was already contracted with Blackstone Audio for the audiobook. Apparently this publishing house has a standing contract with them and the conflict ended the offer. I was told that the fact that Blackstone selected my title for audio conversion is a bonus in an of itself.
So the long and short of this blog. I’m going to ride this self publishing train a little longer. Good thing is that nothing will interfere with my second book’s release this July.
