Publishing versus Self-Publishing: Be Honest

This week I attended what was titled an "Author's Workshop." To be as clear as possible without identifying specific people/ places, this was not through a writer's conference or event, it was one event among many during a 2-day arts/ humanities festival at a high school. The events were attended by students and I was there as a supervisor. At this particular event the author discussed many things about his background that were of interest to students and writing was just one of them.

Being someone who is interested in both self-publishing and publishing, I was interested in what I might learn. Early in the portion of the talk that had to do with writing, a red flag went off in my mind when I heard the author talk about being in talks with Barnes and Noble over getting the book stocked. The author had made no mention of the book being self-published, but I've never heard of traditional publishers having to convince B&N or other major chains to stock their books. I immediately looked the book up online and saw that it had been published over a year ago through a major self-publishing company.

As the talk continued, the writer made general references to the input one gets on the book cover, the editing process, etc., all with NO mention of the book being self-published. When self-publishing was finally referenced in the final 2 minutes of the talk, the writer intimated that having a self-published copy of the book was something one could send to publishing houses to give them an idea of what the book would look like (technically true, though this tidbit neglects the fact that in 99% of the cases, self-publishing and THEN trying to traditionally publish the same book is actually a strike against it in terms of an agent or publishing house taking it on).

There are prolific writings online regarding the pros and cons of self-publishing versus traditional publishing. Either choice can be a good one depending on what your personal goals for your writing are. However, whichever route you choose, you should be transparent about it, especially when speaking to young people or prospective writers about your choice. Do you need to announce that you're self-published versus traditionally published to everyone you speak to? Not necessarily. But if you're in a position to educate people about the publishing process, then transparency is a necessity. To not be transparent in such a case does a disservice to those seeking information on both the traditional and self-publishing processes.

Apologies, Engagements, and Updates

So, my blogging has become a little sparse lately. I feel bad about that, and I feel a little worse knowing that while I will maintain roughly a blog a week, my posts themselves may be a bit weaker for awhile . . .but I'm going to be honest about why and in doing so let any guilt or self-reprimanding go . . .

The S.O. and I are engaged! I hadn't been expecting it any time soon, but it happened, and, unfortunately for my blog and Twitter, avoiding the work I get paid for by obsessively reading writing tweets and writing blogs has been replaced by bride sites and wedding articles.

The other reason that I haven't blogged as much lately builds on a previous blog. The S.O. and I are in a good position with his writing, but not in a position where there is much new to report on. Recently there were 3 library talks that went well. The libraries advertised his appearance, there were a good number of people who showed at each appearance, the talks went well and books were sold. Now he has a number of librarians who can serve to recommend him and his book to other libraries, which is one new plus. His writing has been steady and the goal is still to finish draft one by the end of February, then revise until it is ready to be sent out to agents, hopefully by the summer of 2010. Kindle sales of the self-published novel have been steady without us paying for advertising. We know that if we paid we could get it ranked in the top 50 or even top 10 temporarily, but we don't have the cash to spend on it right now. As it is, it has been successful overall and did make it into the top 100 a few times in the category of Men's Adventure fiction.

Bottom line: I will continue to share our experiences with getting published as well as other great information, blogs, and links that I find, but you'll have to forgive me if the blog is a bit sparse for awhile. ;)

Writing Addiction

Sometimes it takes something bad to get something good. Sad and cliched, but also true (excuse the also cliched phrase). The S.O. took the stolen laptop as a sign that he needed to get serious- or at least more so- about his writing. Writing would be his new addiction. To that end, he took his beloved Play Station, removed it from his residence, and locked it in an off-site storage locker. One major distraction removed, he is focusing harder than ever on completing novel #2. He has gone from writing a handful of days a week to writing every day. No longer needing to leave the house in order to focus, he stays in and has multiple writing sessions a day.

And the results are rewarding. Not only is he now completing 3 chapters a week on average and set to finish draft #1 by the end of February, but he exhibits pride in himself and his work on a daily basis. In addition, he feels that his re-write of the 2 chapters he lost is better than the original (and I'm sure we've all had a revision experience like that).

What is your bad to good writing story? Or bad to good life story?

Blug Life

From the creator of the infamous "Editing Letter" video, Lara Zielin presents the Bluggie. Check this hilarious video out (especially if you find snuggies, bling, or the song Tik Tok by Ke$ha amusing). Check out Lara's blog for info on how to win your own Bluggie. :)

Bluggie "Infomercial": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OTauBNWNTw&feature=player_embedded

Lost Writing Blues- Call for Story Sharing

I got a heartbreaking email today: while working on his novel, the S.O. walked away from his laptop in a library today to check some information on the internet. Laptop stolen. He only lost 2 chapters of his novel; the rest was backed up online. Unfortunately, he's now a struggling writer facing the cost of a new laptop.

This begs the latest blog question: Do you have a writing horror story? Computer crashed and you lost good work? Lost more than just a few chapters? Share in the comments section!

eBook Architects and our EBook

So, eBook Architects came through for my writer S.O. and I in a big way last week. For $210 we had the galley PDF converted into a file for Smashwords Premium files (available for ALL e-book readers and computers) and a file for Kindle. I also paid $125 for our own ISBN for the e-book file. This is not something we had to do, so we could have had everything for $210. I bought the ISBN for the electronic book (not through eBook Architects) so that in the future, if we parted from AuthorHouse with the paperback/ hardcover editions of the novel, we wouldn't have to worry about the electronic book- the ISBN belongs to us, not another publishing company. We are truly 100% self-publishers of the e-book.

Now comes the hard part: selling. Uploading the documents to Smashwords and Amazon Kindle was relatively easy. However, in the past 7 days, we've only sold 2 copies on Smashwords and had 6 free sample downloads (awesome perk on Smashwords: you can allow anyone to download a portion of your book for free to sample before buying). That means I'll have to invest more time and possibly money into advertising, neither of which I have much of now, but perhaps after the holiday season. Bad news on Amazon front: their system says it will take them 24-72 hours to check you book and make it available for Kindles. It's been a week, and I'm still getting the same message. At the same time, on Smashwords, someone can download a Kindle version of the book. Frustrating.

I will keep readers updated on experiences with sales and marketing, but I do recomment eBook Architects. The owner of the company was VERY easy to work with and saved me a LOT of stress. Hopefully it will pay off monetarily in the future as well. :)

Evolution of a Blog

So, I've been blogging for the past month or so about once a week. Really, I'd like to be blogging more frequently, but as this blog originated to vent the frustrations and celebrate the triumphs of my and my S.O.'s venture into writing and publishing, I've realized that, as with everything in life, there are droughts and floods. My writing has slowed (this week= zero blog entries. sad.) with my own busyness AND simply with a slow period for either frustrations or triumphs. The S.O. is writing. I am waiting to hear about the e-book copy of Novel #1. I follow the blogs of writers and agents. I keep up with my Twitter. Between these different events and circumstances, I'm not always bitten by the writer's bug- a feeling shared by all those out there who are actually working on writing short stories, novels and poetry, too, I'm sure. So here is what I will be attempting during the month of December (and it will take time, folks! No promises of instant success;)):

1) I am going to push myself, like all writers must, to work more on consistency, relevance, and quality of my own blog posts.

2) I am going to pursue interviews with writers, especially new writers, who will have something unique to offer my audience.

3) I am going to pursue guest bloggers from different areas of writing and publishing, which will also bring new, relevant and interesting information to my audience.

4) I am going to seek out requests from my audience on this blog and Twitter regarding what readers would actually like to read about.

As per #4, please comment below or email towriteandpublish@gmail.com regarding any requests for a blog entry or interview.

Thanks!