Hi folks!
Thanks for the comments some of you guys left on my 'A Newbie' thread!
I am currently editing a vampire novel, and was just looking for some advice.
I was thinking off going down the electronic publishing route first, for a few years anyway, and then if successful, go into mainstream paperback publishing.
Has anyone on here actually gone this way into getting their books published? And if so, how did it turn out? Also, do you think it's a good idea to do it this way.
The reason I am asking is because I could not afford just to write full time (what, with family, mortgage, etc - as I am sure a lot of you on here are in the same situation) and pack in my day job.
Anyway, comments and advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
Jeez, I had to edit the above post (the other one was too long-winded!)
Alan
Hi Alan,
I have yet to publish a novel traditionally or otherwise, but I will chime in based on what I've read/advice I've received related to your dilemma.
One issue I believe you'll run into is that there are a whole lot of supernatural stories flooding the market since Twilight. It's going to be hard to stand out both in terms of agents/publishers or the reading public if you self pub. I don't want to discourage you, just want you to be aware that you may have a harder time getting noticed in that genre.
That being said, I would pursue traditional publication once you have your manuscript thoroughly polished. Once you self pub, it's extremely unlikely (though not impossible) that a traditional publisher will pick up that work. You would have to do fantastic numbers and show room for further growth. If you get this first book published and can't get another one cranked out before the publisher decides to move on (not sure if that happens, but I surmise this is a worry of yours) then you can self pub the next book and you hopefully have some loyal readers built in from your published work. If you can't get representation or sell the manuscript, and you feel that it is not because your story needs fixing, then self publish and see how things turn out.
I'm no expert, but based on what I have read by those much more qualified than I, that's my two cents.
Best of luck to you on your edits and in whatever direction you choose to go!
Thanks, Matt
LitReactor offers self publishing class, and those who took it all seem to swear by it.
I've looked at self publishing myself. The only advice I've found that everyone seems to agree on is hire a editor, and get a pretty looking cover.
It's good to hear that a number of Lit Reactors like the self-publishing idea. Personally, the reason I would like to get published this way first is really more down to personal circumstances - I have two young sons, 8 and 10, so my responsbility is to them until they reach 16/18 (the point being, if I was published in paperback, I would be required by contract of the publishers to spend a lot of time promoting and being away from the family). My wife doesn't earn enough to keep the house going (so therefore, I couldn't just pack in my day job and try writing full time), so I thought I would push for the likes of Amazon Kindle and what not first, see where it takes me, and then go down the paperback/hardback route once my boys are a bit older.
This isn't a rant either for or against self or traditional publishing avenues, but rather a bit of insight from my recent experience with self-publishing.
I opted for the self-publishing route simply because I was eager to see a finished product and didn't have the patience to wait who-knows-how-long to get a bite on something I had just spent two years creating. After hiring a respectable editor, purchasing the rights to the jacket photo, ISBN #, website to promote the book, Kindle conversion (still in progress), etc... I started off my self-publishing experience with CreateSpace roughly $1200 in the hole (there is no fee to create the book itself if you're willing to do the conversion and layout-which I did myself). And that's not including purchasing self and promotional copies after the fact.
Like most people say, you do make more in royalties per book sold, but the cost associated with each sale masks the true numbers. All the promotion, foot work, etc... is done by me, the author. I've been paying out of pocket roughly $240-$300 month for ad space over the past two months and putting up copies of my book on consignment as book sellers around town (with an agreement that should the book sell well over 6 months we will enter into a more traditional contract). But still, that takes time and I'm not a salesman at heart.
Obviously, going this route sales are slow to take off. I see spikes here and there, but there are plenty of lulls which can be disheartening. But dispite all that and the constant setbacks, both personally and financially, to find out someone pulled your book off a shelf in an actual book store, even if just a single copy, and took it home with them to read makes it all worth it. All the work that went into getting that book there was all your doing and no one else's.
Cheers,
R. Matthew Simmons
Copies of Gretel: The Children of the Sun in the fiction section at Wellers Book Works, one of the country's oldest booksellers.
