Thursday, February 7, 2013

How Self-Publishing Got My Groove Back [Writing]

L.G. Smith of Bards and Prophets posed an interesting question: "has self-publishing given you more confidence?" And the answer is a resounding "yes."

I have to confess that I had pretty much given up on my writing career before I got into self-publishing.  I had been told so many times that my work was too different, or my work wasn't quite there yet. More so, I had been flooded with so many plain old form rejection letters that didn't tell me anything. I became paralyzed. It got to the point where I couldn't really write fiction anymore, because I kept thinking in the back of my mind, "What if no one buys it? Am I just wasting my time?"

Self-publishing has revitalized my enthusiasm for writing. I now know that, no matter what, my writing will be seen. I can write what I want without constantly worrying about whether it's marketable or not. I'm finishing novels that I started writing decades ago. I'm dusting off manuscripts that I never even bothered to submit to publishers, because I figured no one would buy them. I still want to be published by a major publishing company, but it's comforting to know that if no one buys it, I can publish the book myself.

What about you? Has self-publishing changed your writing? If you haven't done it, would you ever consider it? Let me know in the comments.

8 comments:

  1. Good for you! I am all about self-publishing. I never even considered going the traditional route. Like you, I just want to get my stuff out there!

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    1. I agree, publishers aren't as big a factor as they used to be

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  2. There was an interview with Smashwords founder and he said that self-publishing isn't just another option, but that it will be the most important one in the future. His argument is that publishers have to buy books that will make money, and that's impossible. The only way forward is to publish any book and allow the market to dictate saleable books. Interesting perspective.

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    1. I agree. I think publishers are not entirely focused on finding great novels as they are in making a profit. That's not the same thing.

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  3. I've been self-publishing reprints of my short stories for almost a year now, and I'm loving it. When a zine buys my work it's great, but I don't have any idea how many people are actually reading my stuff. With Amazon and Smashwords, I have stats, and it's freakin' AWESOME to think of that many people with my words on their eReaders.

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  4. Hey Nigel! I didn't know you had your own blog. Happened to see it in the sidebar at Geek Twins. Following now.
    Glad you got your groove back. I know so many authors who self-publish with great success.

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    1. Thanks, I just started the blog a few weeks ago. Welcome aboard

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