How do you know what's best for you?

In life there any many decisions we have to make. Some on a daily basis. Some are real easy. There's a clear cut best option. But what about the harder things in life? How do you choose?

In my line of work, there are many options for success, but no clear cut perfect way. Which I guess is a good thing. Years ago, the only way to get published was to grab an agent's attention and then have them sell your work to a publisher. In the last decade, since I started my writing journey, things have changed so much. There is no one and only way anymore. So it makes it tougher to know what the right way for you is.

We're all looking for success and happiness. I think we can all get there. It's okay to take different roads. But it sure is hard as hell when you're staring down a path that branches off in about ten different directions. It's real hard to know which one is right for you when you can't see how any of them twist and turn along the way.

No matter what road you take, you have to just jump in, do your best, and go back to the beginning if you need to.

The traditional publishing world moves like a glacier.

It's no secret. Everyone who's ever submitted a single query knows how slow the publishing industry moves. It's just how it is. Agents and editors are bombarded with content every single day. Plus they have a ton of other things to do beside read queries, partials and full requests. They have to keep on top of their current clients and authors. They're always on the go. I follow enough agents and editors on Twitter and have heard enough speak at conferences, etc...to know a good amount about how their lives go. They are crazy busy.

So yeah, it takes a while to hear back from them. I can't say it's always easy to sit back and just wait. And wait. And wait some more. But it's part of the process of pursuing a traditional publishing career. I've come to accept it. I've learned how to deal with it and stay sane.

Recently I listened to an author speak about her journey and why she has chosen to self publish her work. And one of her biggest reasons was the time issue. She chose to self publish, and was very adamant about encouraging us to do it for this same reason as well, because she could write her book and get it out to readers immediately, instead of waiting a year for it to come out through traditional means. She started making money immediately instead of in a year.

And yeah, that does sound nice. I love writing. I love when readers enjoy my creations. But a girl needs to eat and I do need to make money. I don't look at this year of waiting time for traditional publishing as a waste though. There's so much that can be done in that time.

So here's an example. My agent currently has my book out on submission. Let's say it sells tomorrow and won't release until April 2014. I have a year to write more books and get those sold and ready to release after that book does. I have a year to work on social media and build excitement for the book/s. And the money aspect- I will pay $0 for editing, $0 for cover art design, $0 for formatting, etc. So even though I have a year of collecting $0 in royalties, I have also paid $0. It may take a little longer for the money to start coming in, but I personally feel that is a better base for a career. For me. I know others feel differently.

Every writer has a decision to make when it comes to their career and going traditional or self pubbing, or even a combo of both. It's a personal decision and everyone has their reasons. This girl has her reasons too. And for me, traditional is just the best route, despite the fact that it takes longer to get there.

Indie Vs. Selp Publishing...my choice

Today I'm over at Fiction Groupie talking about Indie publishers and self publishing and why I did what I did. Come stop by and check it out!!

Click here!

Epublishing is NOT the same as self publishing!!!

I am very proud of the fact that I persevered and found a publisher who adored my work as much as I do. They are a primarily digital house, meaning the majority of their titles are only available as eBooks.

There seems to be this HUGE misconception in the publishing world where people- published and non-published writers- think that epublishing is self publishing. Well let me tell you, it absolutely is not!

I have contracts with a fantastic publisher, Lyrical Press. They are an epublisher but by no means are they an avenue for writers to self publish their work. I had to submit and be reviewed before it was accepted for publication. Then I went through several rounds of copy edits, then line edits. Then I had to review a galley proof.

It really really irritates me to read blogs of writers and authors who use the terms epublishing and self publishing interchangeably. They are not the same. I am not self published.

Yes, there are many avenues online for writers to self publish and do it digitally. Amazon, Smashwords, etc...It's easier than ever to write anything you want and throw it out into the world of digitally publishing. But there are authors who have worked really hard with teams of editors through legitimate publishing houses that just so happen to also publish digitally.

I chose not to self publish and I need to state clearly that I am not trying to insult anyone who has chosen that route. I have read my fair share of self-published work. Some is good...some it is easy to tell the author did do the work necessary and has hired a professional editor to make sure the work is the highest quality possible. But I have also read utter crap where it is clear the author wanted to publish their work and had zero ability to see it's flaws. I honestly believe no writer is able to see all of their own flaws...and we do have them. If you think you don't, you are mistaken.

So please, give credit where credit is due. Don't call me a self-published author simply because my work is published electronically.

But the one fortunate thing here is the fact that the general non-writing, book-reading public does not know the difference. They will download ebooks that sound interesting to them and when they start reading the ones that obviously have had no editorial help, they'll lose faith in that author and stop spending their money on them. Thank God for sites like Goodreads!!

My thoughts on self publishing...

From the very beginning, self publishing was just not from me. I wanted to get paid...not pay out my money to have my book published. (Though I know traditional publishing does not make an author an instant millionaire). I wanted to see my book on the shelf of a bookstore not peddling it out of my trunk. (I know there are other avenues for selling self published books, but in the beginning, this is what I envisioned). I needed the publishing world to tell me I'm good...I could not say to myself "I am good". (Yeah, I may have some self esteem issues).

Now before self published authors come for my head...I completely respect those who do self publish and I think there are good reasons for self publishing. Sometimes a book is so niche that it doesn't appeal to an agent or publisher. Or poets....from what I hear, finding an agent or a publisher for a book of poetry is impossible. Or the writer who just wants to put together something for their own personal enjoyment, a family cookbook, a memoir, whatever....this is a way to do it and receive a nice looking product.

It takes guts, lots of em', to put yourself out there and do the work that is necessary to make money on a self published book. To make a self published book a success, it takes more work than a traditionally published author. (And I also know how much work it takes for a traditionally published author to make their book a success too...but being backed by someone helps, a lot).

At one point I thought of self publishing my second novel, the one that is now contracted by Lyrical Press, A Bitch Named Karma. I love that story so much and it was killing me that no one loved it as much as I do. I needed to see it published. I queried that thing like crazy and it just never found it's right match until I queried Lyrical.

I don't know all the details of the new Harlequin self publishing thing.....but I am a bit appalled at the way they plan on basically saying: "Your work isn't good enough for us to publish, but you can pay us to do it."

I read a self publishing blog called The Self Publishing Review. For that brief moment when I was on the fence about self publishing, this blog definitely made up my mind. It tells it's readers why self published books do not do well....unless the author has paid for professional editing services, many of the books are just not up to the standard that they could/should be. This blogger reviews self published books and gives them 15 mistakes before they close the book...many don't make it past page 10. That is a clear cut dose of reality.

Now that I am in the editing phase with a professional editor through my publisher...I see how, even after I've done multiple edits on my own, the story is still far from perfection. So glad I didn't shell out all that cash to self publish.

I hope I didn't offend anyone with this post...it's just my thoughts about this topic.