There are several discussions (and fights) going on across various writer’s venues around the Net concerning self-publishing verses traditional publishing. I’m afraid, I’m one of those who desires the traditional publisher, mainly because I cannot see where self-publishing isn’t just a way to keep me busy doing everything except writing.

Now, it is true that traditional publishing requires a lot of marketing effort from the author. Compared to the work a self-publishing author has to do, though, it is relatively painless.

It seems to me that self-publishing requires way, way too much effort and time devoted. A self-published author not only has to write the book, but s/he also has to:
1) create the book (typesetting, cover art and design, etc.)
2) create or contract for creation of the promotional materials,
3) place the promotional materials,
4) negotiate openings for marketing the book.

Only then can the author take advantage of those marketing opportunities, doing the interviews and appearances that will hopefully sell the books.

Then we come to the distribution and bean counting, all basically on the author’s shoulders, as well. It takes effort to even get your book listed in Amazon, or on B&N, never mind onto the shelves of chain and independent bookstores.

The established big publisher already has a means to create the book package and promo materials, has a good reputation among the media that matters, owns all the gateways to getting the book into distribution chains as well as coordinating marketing opportunities with the book’s release. All the author has to do is help, and then show up and do a good job presenting themselves in a charismatic way to the audience.

The very thought of having to write letters or make phone calls, much less do walk-in sales pitches designed to convince a radio station, a book store, or even local television to feature a self-published author and their book is summarily unattractive to me. This is the work of a publicist.

So the author who self-publishes wears all the hats normally worn by a team of people, normally paid experts in their fields who are very good at their jobs. I can’t possibly do the same kind of justice to those jobs, and the time required is at least as much it took to write the book in the first place.

Then there’s the income problem. If all I’m going to sell is a couple thousand copies of this book as a self-published author, the time and money laid out to publish and market, then distribute the book just isn’t going to give me a return worth sneezing at. In fact, it is probably going to cost me money.

So, nope. I don’t think self-publishing fiction is a good investment, unless I’ve already got an audience and a production and promotion team at hand.

That said, I can say that what I will do is allow The Deepening to record the audio of any book I write that doesn’t net me an agent and, ultimately, a publisher after submitting it for a year or two. If I can develop an audience for that book, then, I’ve got more ammunition to convince someone to take a hard look at that book as well as my other work — someone who counts in the real world of literature, that is, agents, editors, and big publishing.

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