Mirror, Mirror: The Vanity Among Self Publishers

I’m a Fiction Writing Major who is struggling to complete a novel. Most writers like myself dream of having there books be number one on the bestseller list; or a short story grace the glossy surface of a magazine. There are many trials that writers must take, to have their work published: Query letters sent to different publishing houses to promote your manuscript, nails bitten to the nubs trying to find an agent. Then there’s the waiting game next to the mail box for the golden ticket of approval or letter of rejection. Every writer dreads this process, but the rough patches in the journey to become published, builds character, sparks determination, and reveals the dedication you have for your work.

But, what if this process could be by passed all together? This where self-publishing presses arise; they serve those writers who don’t want to face the grueling process and become published on their own terms. Others think that by getting a book out there, they will catch the attention of an agent or high ranking publishing company. There are advantages of self publishing, you gain control of the book’s design as well as setting its price, and where it is sold. The author gets full rights to the book, instead of the publishing company owning a large chuck of it. Through companies the writer might see only 5% to 15 % royalty of each book, while dealing with the self press gets them 50 % to 200 %. If you leave money out of the equation, what happens to the integrity of your novel?

According to Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur, “Today’s digital print-on-demand services are turning amateur novelists into modern day Gutenberg’s, enabling anyone to publish anything, regardless of quality, for a fee,” (pg. 56). He mentions a software website called blurb.com that hooks people in by advertising technology that can turn blogs, photos, and stories on the web into physical books. A book is supposed to be a reflection, a mirror image into the soul of the writer. By self publishing, writers are being robbed of the chance to get their work critiqued by editors not only to fix misspellings, but give ideas to fully expand the work, and mold the story until it’s a polished piece ready for the public’s hungry eyes.

I believe every artist deserves a chance to have their work showcased, but the easy route is not helpful. I have found a website called, Instantpublisher.com, that only mentions the positive sides of self-publishing, never the negative. It hooks the desprite writers by claiming that "publishing companies take months to complete to complete the book and sale in stores, instantpublisher.com completes the finish product in only a few days." It fools the writer into believing that this is the only way to get their writing published since it's hard to find a company to publish spealized books and fiction.

Yet the site doesn't reveal that you can spend up to $3000-$5,000 paying for the disruption of your books to different locations, producing more copies, and fund advertising to promote your book; which would have been taken care of by a Professional Publishing Company. Also agents and companies don’t think highly of self published work, and consider them not really “published.” Book reviewers will even take a second glance at your book because it wasn't properly proofread or organized by an editor.

I have submitted a few stories to magazines and have been rejected. But I consider it a learning process; I will only get better as a writer if I evolve from my mistakes. When I finish my novel I will take the bumpy road, until I find an agent and company that accepts my writing style, while gaining the benifits of having a professional published book.



(I got my info from http://www.writingworld.com Article
“Self Publish FAQ’s" by. Moira Allen and http://www.
instantpublisher.com)