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WHY SELF-PUBLISHING IS A GOOD THING -

Every Author, Editor, Publisher, or Reader has an opinion on it, here's mine.

Realistically I had little to no chance of ever being published because I'm no one of any consequence but I have stories to tell. So I sat down and wrote my first book then self-published it two years ago. Since then it's sold a whopping 73 copies and only 16 of those bothered to leave a review but those 16 reviews are fantastic. I would've never known the book was so good if I hadn't put it out myself.

Is it a flop? From a sales standpoint, of course it is. It's an unknown book from an unknown author lost in a sea of books. Creatively, however, I done good. I'm currently writing my second book. I fully expect it will achieve the same dismal sales as my first one but I still intend to do good creatively once again and make it available to a world of readers who will never read it. Aggressive marketing would likely help drive more sales but that gets expensive fast.

But it'll be available to the, maybe, 84 people that will wind up buying it.

Since there's no barriers to overcome there's lots of predictably bad fiction, stories about people's grandparents who taught them how to build a treehouse, real life accounts of one's lifelong battle with a peanut allergy and just a lot of poorly written stuff no one would ever want to read. Whatever you may think of self-publishing though it does offer some talented people an opportunity to make their work available. If that means a ton of shit gets the same opportunity then so be it.

It's fair to everyone.

My $0.02

Sgt_Spanky 8 Oct 11
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self-publishing is the only way many writers will find an audience

TheDoubter Level 9 Oct 11, 2018

Testify, brother! I've sold just a few copies but at least my book has had the chance of being read by people across the country and in Europe.

1

This is similar to my experience in the world of self-publishing. As I am disabled and every penny I get from my disability goes to living, I simply don't have access to the funds to market or pay beta readers or get my work professionally edited. I have to work with what I have. With two Science Fiction novels only making a whopping $46 and no real reviews, I'm not quitting. I'm currently working in the editing phase of one novel and writing of the first two installments of a series. All I ask of people who purchase self-published books, please read them and leave an honest review.

Gohan Level 7 Oct 11, 2018

Exactly. It makes your work available to the world market, an opportunity that wouldn't otherwise be available to you.

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Er ... well ... no, it isn't. That is, it isn't fair to everyone because of the overwhelming volume issue.

[agnostic.com]

The volume issue is an unavoidable consequence of the very fairness I outlined. Anybody can do it so an abundance of crapola is inevitable. It's up to me to find some way to get my work found amid all that clutter. Once found, it can stand on its own merits.

That's fair.

@Sgt_Spanky -- Did you read my little blurb on the subject?

@evidentialist I did and I agree with as much of it as I disagree with. The old way of publishing made the work of a few people talented and lucky enough to be recognized by the publishing gatekeepers available for all. The system was, and still is, set up to keep most people out. The ever increasing population means that competition to get found just gets that much more complicated and unlikely. More people with stories to tell vying for those precious few opportunities to make their work available through traditional publishing.

Something had to give.

Self-publishing became a reasonable option for all those left behind whose work was good enough but who would never get picked up for whatever reason left them out. They get no help at all other than to see their work made available. The rest is up to them.

Also, the term "vanity publishing" is just a pejorative coined by the traditional publishing industry to delegitimize the burgeoning self-publishing industry when it first started to rise. There's nothing vain about a writer trying to get his/her work seen any more than an artist or musician striving to get their work seen. Is an independent movie the work of a vanity filmmaker?

@Sgt_Spanky -- Riiiiight. What is this book you published? Is it available on Amazon?

Okay, never mind. I found it through your profile. I'll check it out.

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