Why I self-publish

We’ve all heard it—writers self-publish because their work isn’t good enough to be published traditionally, right? While that can be true for some writers and some books, it’s not the whole story. I’ve been asked a few times why I chose to self-publish, so here they are.

I’m a control freak
Actually, I’m not much of one. But I cringe when I see terrible traditional covers, hear stories of writers being told to make certain editorial changes or else, or hear of people having their books pushed aside in the timeline for a more marketable book. Know where that doesn’t happen? Yeah. I choose my covers, I accept or reject editorial changes (heck, I hire my own editors and proofreaders), and I’m in charge of the calendar. No one will ever tell me a subplot needs to go or that I need to cut 3k words. I even set my own prices.

And let’s talk about post-publishing, shall we? I can play with pricing, join promos, and fix typos whenever I want. There’s no one else involved, no print run that needs to be used up before the pesky extra space can be removed. I can even update links and add newly published books with the click of a mouse and no one’s permission.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My day job doesn’t allow for it
I’ve run across a variety of small presses and agents who expect an author to be “responsive”, but the fact is, not everyone can be at their publisher’s beck and call. I take very infrequent personal calls at work and I never let my writing overlap my work hours. I’d guess a lot of writers don’t have those limitations, but they’re mine.

Same with deadlines. My job gets first dibs on my professional time, and it would be wrong to say, “Sorry, I can’t make that trip those days—I’ve got edits due to my publisher that week.” Yikes.

I write niche fiction
Shortly after I published Asrian Skies, I checked out at least a dozen small presses to make sure I’d made the wrong decision. Guess what? Not a single one of them would have accepted the book, no matter how well it was written. And I get that. Traditional publishing is about what sells, and a book with a limited audience will never make enough money to be worthwhile. Asrian Skies has long since made up its production costs, but if a small press had to pay an agent (yes, I know you can submit directly to most), editors, for marketing, etc? Nope. It would still be in the red—actually, it would have never been picked up at all. It’s just not that marketable, and that’s ok.

It hasn’t been my dream
Plain and simple, I’m a late-comer to the writing scene. I didn’t grow up dreaming of being traditionally published, and I never fantasized about having an agent and selling millions of copies of the Great American Novel. In fact, I simply can’t wrap my mind around people querying for years, shelving wonderful books because they don’t sell, and having a dream publishing house. I get that it’s common, but my brain doesn’t work that way. I’ve never had a default vision of how writing a book should go.

Do I regret not trying to query? No, not really. I do crave the validation and praise that writers with traditional contracts get from the community, and I’m constantly discouraged by the stereotypes surrounding indie authors, but it’s not enough to change my mind process going forward. I’ll cheer on everyone else from the sidelines.

So there you have it! Surprised at any of my reasons?