We loved this recent article about self-publishing, where US author Becca Spence Dobias talks about her journey from hybrid publishing to going fully self-published. She makes the point that there’s nothing shameful about going the DIY route:
Above all, the important thing to remember is that publishing is not a meritocracy. The ability to find an agent and publisher is based less on the quality of your writing than on the agent’s confidence they can sell your book to a publisher, and a publisher’s belief they can sell your book to bookstores and readers.
Many authors in our community start out going through the traditional route of trying to find and agent and querying publishers. Many (most) end up disillusioned and disappointed. The process takes months if not years with no guarantee. Getting rejection after rejection is demoralising.
But on the publisher side, it’s often just a numbers game. They have a limited number of books they publish per month, let alone in the comparatively small Australian market. In the US 11,000 books are published every day, at least 50% of which are self-published.
Even when authors do get a publishing deal – and a traditional one, not a hybrid or vanity deal where they’re expected to fully or partly fund publication – it’s usually years until their book is finally published. Book publishers work on seasonal cycles which you’ll have no control over.
So even if your book is one of the tiny fraction that end up getting published, you could have written a second book in the waiting time.
We think that life’s too short to wait forever. With self-publishing, you stay in control: of the content, the design and the timing. Our advice is to set yourself a specific time period – maybe up to a year – and if you’ve got no “bites” from agents or publishers in that time, take a look at self-publishing. You can always try the traditional route again with your next book.
There are increasing stories about authors being picked up by trad publishers because their self-published book gained some traction, making them a much surer commercial bet for a (purely profit-driven) publishing industry.