Reaching that decision and seeing it through to publication in October using Backcourt Press, an imprint of my own, will have taken five months of writing time -- that's FIVE MONTHS. But, what the heck, my stories benefited from five more months of revision, and besides, I didn't learn how to craft fiction overnight either!
Since learning about the publishing and marketing process is what is uppermost on my mind, I will blog it and would welcome any exchange of ideas on that.
The first hurdle to clear was deciding print (e.g. paper or hard cover), eBook, or both?
While there are any number of acceptable pathways to publication at only two to four times the cost involved in the do-it-yourself approach, handing off the job means you end up dependent on others for each work you publish after that. So there are economies of scale with each subsequent book when you apply all of the marketing and publishing savvy gained with your first effort. Moreover, printing on demand always remains an option even if you decide to first publish as an eBook.
At my age (old enough to wish I had started writing much earlier), I am in a hurry and not eager to spend years courting agents and publishing houses. Even though traditional publishing has contracted mightily, many other doors have swung open, so I decided to knock on as many as it took until what I saw inside looked "right " (doable and affordable) for me.
By the way, be prepared to meet any number of well-intentioned folks whose job it is to pull you through their door. They are generous with their time and very persistent; you end up learning quite a lot from their gratis consultations, offers of services--and you will get lots of email from them.
To get a thorough introduction to self-publishing resources check out Marilyn and Tom Rosses blog http://selfpublishingresources.com/blog/
I have gone down that road, and I chose to self-publish my collection of stories as an eBook.
Next week I will describe the costs involved so far and the strategy I have adopted to market my publication(s).
Any comments or resources you´d like to share would be most welcome via the Facebook and Twitter tabs at the top on Home.
William as in Shakespeare
Since learning about the publishing and marketing process is what is uppermost on my mind, I will blog it and would welcome any exchange of ideas on that.
The first hurdle to clear was deciding print (e.g. paper or hard cover), eBook, or both?
While there are any number of acceptable pathways to publication at only two to four times the cost involved in the do-it-yourself approach, handing off the job means you end up dependent on others for each work you publish after that. So there are economies of scale with each subsequent book when you apply all of the marketing and publishing savvy gained with your first effort. Moreover, printing on demand always remains an option even if you decide to first publish as an eBook.
At my age (old enough to wish I had started writing much earlier), I am in a hurry and not eager to spend years courting agents and publishing houses. Even though traditional publishing has contracted mightily, many other doors have swung open, so I decided to knock on as many as it took until what I saw inside looked "right " (doable and affordable) for me.
By the way, be prepared to meet any number of well-intentioned folks whose job it is to pull you through their door. They are generous with their time and very persistent; you end up learning quite a lot from their gratis consultations, offers of services--and you will get lots of email from them.
To get a thorough introduction to self-publishing resources check out Marilyn and Tom Rosses blog http://selfpublishingresources.com/blog/
I have gone down that road, and I chose to self-publish my collection of stories as an eBook.
Next week I will describe the costs involved so far and the strategy I have adopted to market my publication(s).
Any comments or resources you´d like to share would be most welcome via the Facebook and Twitter tabs at the top on Home.
William as in Shakespeare