Independent Publishing
There are
pros and cons to publishing one’s books independently. The pros are that you don’t have to submit
your book and wait for someone to read the slush pile at a publisher and get
back to you. You no longer have to go
through a vanity press and pay thousands of dollars to publish your own
book. Companies like Smashwords and CreateSpace will help
you format your manuscript and allow you to upload it for little or no cash up
front, and will even help you design your own cover art. If you can afford it, many of these companies
(including CreateSpaced) even offer editing services.
The cons are
that many authors cannot afford editing services. And not everyone who thinks they can write
better than the author whose book they just read can write professionally. Some of these novices have talent that, with
the help of a good editor could be honed and polished. Others, well… Others I wouldn’t even agree to
review next door on Rochelle’s Reviews.
This is not
to say that there aren’t some really good independently published books out
there. I have colleagues who have
published some of their books independently for various reasons, and I
published my first book, Rock Bound through CreateSpace after it went through
two e-book publishers. Inara Press was a
start-up company that just didn’t make it.
I parted amiably with the publisher and went to another company, Red
Rose Publishing. Stay away from
them. That’s a whole other blog.
The point is,
a professional writer will work with a critique group, a beta reader, even
his/her spouse to be sure the book s/he’s putting out is as polished as
possible. The way to tell what you’re
getting is to read the blurb and excerpt.
If they’re messy and difficult to understand, the rest of the book will
be, too. In the indie publishing world,
the motto truly is “caveat emptor” (let the buyer beware) when reading an independently
published author with whom you are not familiar. And, okay, shameless plug: check out the critics like me.
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