There's a Storm Ahead

Let's talk traditional vs. self-publishing! So after my last post, I'm sure you may be asking yourself: What's the big deal? Who cares how you go about it so long as you have a published book? To some extent, I agree with you, but in reality–publishing is hard work! The difference between traditional and self-publishing doesn't lie in the amount of work, but in the types of work that you put in . . . Here's what I mean.

For traditional publishing there is a ton of work on your part to get your manuscript to the right people. It's learning how to sell your work–maybe even before it's a fully finished product. This includes contests, agents, editors, publishers, all kinds of people in the industry. But at the same time, you don't know if any of these will pan out, if they will even get back to you, if they'll have something cutting to say about your work. So it's a lot of courage and work to get your book into the hands of those who will help to guide you (because the process is just beginning at that point) from there on. And sure, some decisions will then be out of your hands and you can relax marginally (because who's going to rest until their book is fully out in the world), but there are still so many things to consider even at that stage.

And self-publishing? Sure, you skip some of that tension and the long waits and rejections on the front end, but you make up for all of that with the amount of research and decisions and such that you need to do all on your own. You don't really have someone holding your hand as you sort through editing, formatting, covers, distribution options, setting up the whole actual business portion, marketing, etc. If you self-publish, the work is on a different end of the spectrum, and the pressure is less about what others will think and more about how well you can execute your dream.

So I've been juggling all of this, but I'm feeling pretty good about where I've landed. I'm nervous and excited and still trying to figure out what this means for a timeline, but I'm also dedicated. I'm gonna make this happen, so I hope you're prepared for the storm ahead too!