tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post2132172450958339505..comments2024-03-15T08:49:44.929-04:00Comments on Dreams and Dragons: Why I'm Not Self-PublishingSarah Penningtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06377945004067760298noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-40605648008449716272016-05-15T21:27:59.505-04:002016-05-15T21:27:59.505-04:00Thank you! I do read some self-published authors, ...Thank you! I do read some self-published authors, but that's mostly because I hear about them through the blogging community (or they have free books sometime . . .). And good to know; thanks!Sarah Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377945004067760298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-28747170932322330822016-05-15T17:23:15.170-04:002016-05-15T17:23:15.170-04:00This is very interesting! I'm not planning on ...This is very interesting! I'm not planning on being an author but I get where you come from. I almost never read self published authors *hides in shame*, mostly because I hardly ever KNOW about them. And since I work in advertising, I can assure you your marketing argument is 100% on point :)Bookiversehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16175133403048913255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-48349058493999312222016-05-12T12:27:03.806-04:002016-05-12T12:27:03.806-04:00Given what you said, I can totally understand why ...Given what you said, I can totally understand why you'd choose self-publishing over traditional publishing. I can tell it's worked for you as well.<br /><br />That's unfortunate about marketing . . . now I'm wondering what counts as a BIG publishing company. Still, "most" is less than "all." <br /><br />Thank you very much for reading my post and commenting with your thoughts. I appreciate it!Sarah Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377945004067760298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-13941178833326045102016-05-12T10:10:29.080-04:002016-05-12T10:10:29.080-04:00I agree that those are very good points. Unfortuna...I agree that those are very good points. Unfortunately, the benefits of self-publication won out for me. You see, I have a HUGE interconnected world, and I wanted the power to publish them in the order they needed to be published - and not at someone else's discretion. I wanted to keep it between me and my readers. I've been blessed with a cousin who's AMAZING with photoshop, so she does most of my covers (Although it was her son who did WPFP, and I did the Ankulen and all of the short stories). Also, I've found a thriving community of self-publishing authors, and we do a lot to help each other out. It's amazing.<br /><br />Also, on the marketing points, I found out from Jennifer Freitag that unless you managed to sign on with one of the BIG publishing companies, you're still going to have to do much, or even most of your marketing on your own. And BIG publishing companies are VERY hard to get into.<br /><br />With self-publication, I have an immediate relationship with my readers, my responsibility is directly to them. I don't have a middle man. And I like it that way. Yes, it's harder work, and sometimes it feels like climbing a sheer glass wall, but it's hard work to get INTO a publishing company, too.<br /><br />I'm not saying I'll never attempt traditional publication, though. I do have a Superhero Boarding School Dystopia that is independent enough of the rest of my work for me to pursue the idea.Kendra E. Ardnekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03593051552921296108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-7469996143267389122016-05-11T08:18:45.076-04:002016-05-11T08:18:45.076-04:00Heh. I like excited. Thanks, Allison!Heh. I like excited. Thanks, Allison!Sarah Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377945004067760298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-41166183772551663822016-05-10T18:18:53.508-04:002016-05-10T18:18:53.508-04:00AMEN! AAAAAMEEEEEN!!!
Sorry, got a bit excited t...AMEN! AAAAAMEEEEEN!!!<br /><br />Sorry, got a bit excited there. ; D But YES! MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06401287896327956210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-51677171967387807112016-05-09T16:30:59.224-04:002016-05-09T16:30:59.224-04:00Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!Sarah Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377945004067760298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-61954800701764058262016-05-09T15:10:40.746-04:002016-05-09T15:10:40.746-04:00Great post and fantastic reasons! I'm still di...Great post and fantastic reasons! I'm still dithering over which path I'm going to take, but I loved seeing this post! Hannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15674350834544871474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-55307318124576527452016-05-09T08:52:59.696-04:002016-05-09T08:52:59.696-04:00I definitely agree that self-publishing has a real...I definitely agree that self-publishing has a really bad name . . . and the sad thing is, a lot of self-published books do kind of deserve it because, like you said, they're not ready to be out in the world but the authors don't realize it. That's another reason I don't want to self-publish, but I forgot when I was writing the list.<br /><br />I think that I might go self-publishing if I tried really hard for a really long time to get traditional published, but it didn't work out and I thought that the particular story was one that really needed to be out there. But I definitely do agree- having someone who doesn't even know you say "Hey, this is good; let's publish this!" would be very confidence-boosting.<br /><br />Thanks for commenting!Sarah Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377945004067760298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-68175905518934746382016-05-09T08:49:55.525-04:002016-05-09T08:49:55.525-04:00Yeah, I'm aware that I'll have to do some ...Yeah, I'm aware that I'll have to do some marketing. But as long as I know I'm not necessarily doing all the work- as long as there's someone else who has my back, so to speak- I should be fine.Sarah Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377945004067760298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-80845154177479249242016-05-09T05:31:09.285-04:002016-05-09T05:31:09.285-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.CG @ Paper Furyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14954615708675952085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-50758306394118789022016-05-09T05:30:47.319-04:002016-05-09T05:30:47.319-04:00I tooootally love this and agree with your opinion...I tooootally love this and agree with your opinions here! DEFINITELY. I don't want to self-pub for all these reasons....and the (maybe shallow?) reason that I think self-publishing has been given a terrible name by people putting out unedited and horribly not-ready books. :( So it's kind of spoiled the market, basically??? Self-published authors have to work MEGA hard without as much support as traditional-published authors get...and then they also have to work against all the stigmas. Plus the marketing, omg, what a nightmare. <br /><br />SO YEAH. I don't plan to self-publish. I want to say "never ever"...but. WELL. XD I don't know that for sure! But I feel like if I can't land a traditional book-deal I still wouldn't go self. I also like that, when going traditionally, you have like a publishing house backing you up and believing in you! They wouldn't publish you if they didn't like your writing, eh? So that eliminates an element of self-doubt. :') Which is NICE.CG @ Paper Furyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14954615708675952085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-28509326088460802112016-05-08T18:56:10.287-04:002016-05-08T18:56:10.287-04:00This is a similar position to I'm in. I'll...This is a similar position to I'm in. I'll certainly try to get a publisher before self publishing, particularly, because I want to make sure it's good enough to get past the gatekeepers. But depending on what happens I might consider self-publishing, if I can afford to do it well.<br />I have heard though that some publishers don't really help so much with the marketing these days. Be aware that you'll still have to do some.Brie Donninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02143675481045319013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-75825588348573502612016-05-07T17:43:09.259-04:002016-05-07T17:43:09.259-04:00Thank you! I'm glad you liked it and I could h...Thank you! I'm glad you liked it and I could help!Sarah Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377945004067760298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-71712807239238617092016-05-07T11:37:55.874-04:002016-05-07T11:37:55.874-04:00This was a great post Sarah, I loved it! You made ...This was a great post Sarah, I loved it! You made a lot of good points. I've considered both self-publishing and traditional publishing, and I'm not sure which road I'll take, but you definitely gave me some stuff to consider :). I really enjoyed reading this! Thank you! *bookmarks post* Savannah Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16668452024211579085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-8267900924587653912016-05-07T11:32:48.588-04:002016-05-07T11:32:48.588-04:00Thank you! And that second bit- about keeping in m...Thank you! And that second bit- about keeping in mind what I do and don't want to get out of my career- is something I'll have to remember.Sarah Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377945004067760298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-63736117740730927892016-05-07T11:14:28.470-04:002016-05-07T11:14:28.470-04:00This is a great post! It's clear you've t...This is a great post! It's clear you've thought out your reasons and they good reasons. Publishing your own work definitely requires a significant amount of time. Also, knowing what you do and don't want to both get out of and put into your writing career will help you continue to make choices that focus on what you *do* want to do instead getting distracted by everything you *could* do :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10518924127221739383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-89212067393996082292016-05-07T08:35:43.150-04:002016-05-07T08:35:43.150-04:00Exactly. Though, for me, the cover making is the b...Exactly. Though, for me, the cover making is the bit I feel most like I could handle myself or afford to hire out- the editing and marketing are the bits I'm least confident in. Thanks for commenting!Sarah Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377945004067760298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336480024326420194.post-53684254120372281202016-05-06T21:11:37.295-04:002016-05-06T21:11:37.295-04:00YES. These reasons are golden. I don't want to...<i>YES.</i> These reasons are golden. I don't want to self publish a book. Probably ever, unless something appears that will drastically change my mind. I can see how self publishing would work for some people, but the pros of traditional publishing are just too many. Especially with the cover making. xDKatie Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867517507191129951noreply@blogger.com