Thinking of self-publishing?

[Shelagh Watkins]

I received a request from Shahrukh Husain to write an article about my experience of self-publishing (which has not been great!) The article is now up on Narratives Online:

http://www.narrativesonline.com/index.php/user/showInterviewSession/3

Scroll down to:

Ms. Watkins on Self Publishing

You may have to log in to read it.

~Shelagh

[Aidana WillowRaven]

Sure, I'll check it out, I am always hearing self publishing stories/nightmares.

[Jennifer Robins]

I've been down that road and never again. As an author, the most important thing I've learned so far is to be very careful in choosing a publisher.

[Jennifer Robins]

Check out every one you submit to before sending them your hard work.

[Donald James Parker]

This seems to be the hottest issue of all I have seen in my 18 months of trying to be a writer. The best source of information I have seen is here:

http://poddymouth.wordpress.com/

Of course the term self publishing is deceiving. Subsidy publishing is perhaps a better term. If you truly self publish, you form your own publishing company (which I am probably going to do)

[Helen Wisocki]

Hi Shelagh,

It was a nice article, but I was left with a lot of questions about self-publishing. After you did all the work on getting all the pages formatted and the cover design, who printed it out? It sounds like you actually did all of this yourself.

Am I correct in assuming that you didn't go through one of the self-publishing companies that charges $600 and up to set up and publish a book? What was the cost to self-publish a book the way you did it?

Thanks,
Helen

[Abe Firestone March]

Shelagh,
What you wrote provides much insight about you. I congratulate you on your determination. Lots of good information.

[Rita Hestand]

I have published through PUblish America and I am proud of them, they look so nice. Nicer than some I have had published through Amazon. They are also better distributed than the ones on Amazon. I see no reason to be unhappy.

I've never self published, although it has dawned on me. But it is a lot of work, and I couldn't distribute as easily as going through someone else.

But hey, a book is a book to me. I don't personally care where someone got published. I read the book or story for itself. Being a writer we all know there are struggles to get our work out there.

[Tory Lynn]

Shelagh, your experiences were great to read. Thank you for sharing them. I guess the lesson in everything we do is to always move forward no matter what. Any limits we have are set by our imagination.

Vickie

[Malcolm R. Campbell]

Very intesting article about a memorable saga.

Malcolm

[June Austin]

Interesting article Shelagh, and thanks for the link. There is an increasing grey line between POD and self publishing and the boundaries become more and more blurred. Technically it is only self publishing is the ISBN is registered to you as the author, but in order to do this you must have room in your house to store books and lots of them. You also need time to set up wholesalers accounts, deal with invoicing, fulfilment etc, etc. This is a luxyury that most authors, who also have to work do not have, so for many POD is the only option. Personally I have never been able to understand why someone who does not live in the US would choose a US publisher, as you at the mercy of currency fluctuations, not to mention shipping charges, which soon mount up. It it also far more difficult to market the books in the UK, when book stores see that they are published in the US. I guess if this is where your main market is though you do what you have to do.