Sue Collier | June 30, 2010
So I read a post on self-publishing over a Kidlit today. I’ve commented there, but I couldn’t resist more pontificating.
I’ll start by saying that I am not the average person who has no idea what lurks in slush. I spent many years in the trade, going through those very awful slush piles that [...]
Sue Collier | June 21, 2010
Even as nontraditional publishing continues to grow—Bowker reports a whopping increase of 181 percent in 2009 over the previous year—there is still a stigma attached to self-publishing. I’ve read the articles, I’ve seen the tweets. There is still a pervasive belief that self-publishing is somehow “settling”—and probably your only option because you were rejected by [...]
Sue Collier | May 28, 2010
When I first read this article by Garrison Keillor, I kind of chuckled to myself—I mean, how seriously can I take the opinion of modern publishing from the dude who hales from the (albeit fictitious) “little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve.” Obviously, he would prefer that the publishing world stay just [...]
Sue Collier | May 5, 2010
I read a blog post today about why authors should pursue traditional publishing rather than try self-publishing from the start. For authors of fiction, I would probably agree that traditional publishing is definitely the more ideal model; but for authors of nonfiction, self-publishing is often the best, most profitable way for authors to see their [...]
Sue Collier | May 3, 2010
There seems to be a fairly common misconception among some would-be self-publishers that if they want to take advantage of print-on-demand technology, they have no choice but to go with a subsidy outfit such as Lulu, iUniverse, or Author House. What they don’t realize is that POD refers to a digital printing process performed by a [...]
Sue Collier | April 27, 2010
One of the most appealing things about using a so-called self-publishing company for many authors is the lack of up-front investment. Companies such as Lulu cost very little, so eager authors jump right in—often without examining the fine print. Unfortunately, most authors quickly discover they are left with an unmarketable book that sells few copies.
The [...]
Sue Collier | April 15, 2010
I read another blogger today who asked this same question—and his answer was that 99 percent of self-publishing is a scam. I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with him on that one—but only because he is using incorrect terminology. Subsidy publishing—now there is a scam (for the most part—I would probably agree with 99 [...]
Sue Collier | March 30, 2010
Media Shift had an interesting article last week on The Pitfalls of Using Self-Publishing Packages. Basically, it offered a warning to authors who opt to go with so-called “self-publishing” companies such as iUniverse, Author House, and Lulu. This is a topic I have covered here many times, but I think it’s always worth a revisit [...]
Sue Collier | March 10, 2010
I have to speak up again today after reading this blog post: http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/CommentView.aspx?guid=8f273388-29f7-4bcc-9b1f-3efd79f5cf10
The blog wasn’t cooperating with my comment addition, however, so I’m going to put it right here:
“…the industry is now experiencing a “true self-publishing” movement that argues a “real” self-published author is one who eschews the use of services like AuthorSolutions.
“I find the [...]
Sue Collier | March 10, 2010
I read this blog post today
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/03/think-hard-before-self-publishing.html
from a literary agent, who basically thinks self-publishing is a bad idea for the vast majority of authors. Because I disagree with so much of what she says–from the standpoint of authors who are truly self-published (and this is an important distinction!)–and wrote a lengthy comment to the post, I [...]