[stylist] 28. Self-Publishing and Insecurity (Miss Thea)

Wed Sep 30 20:57:15 UTC 2015

Estelle,

In order to produce and sell anything you write, you have to either submit
to a publishing house, or if you want a guarantee that you will be
published, you can go through a self-publishing site. Regardless, you will
need to purchase an ISBN in order to sell your material.

If submitting to a traditional publisher, you will need to send a query
letter and likely samples of what you hope to publish, if not the entire
manuscript. There are big publishing houses, like Random, and smaller,
independent presses, like St. Mark's. Submitting to a publisher does not
mean you will be published. It's very competitive, and despite all the poor
quality writing out there, not everything will be picked up by a publisher.

Self-publishing does allow you to be published because you are doing it, and
you will have full control over your material and promotion, which has its
pros and cons.

Stores and websites will not sell your material without an ISBN, which has
to be purchased.

As mentioned by others, it's in your best interest to seek an editor before
publishing, regardless of platform. Even experienced editors will have
another editor review their writing before submitting for publication.

While self-publishing guarantees you will be published, it's not very
lucrative. There's no guarantee that should a traditional publisher accept
your work that you will make a lot of money, but few self-published writers
make a living from self-publishing.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Estelle
Shukert via stylist
Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 3:31 PM
To: Writers' Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Estelle Shukert <samsestelleshuke at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [stylist] 28. Self Publishing and Insecurity (Miss Thea)

Hello,
  Thanks for your info about publishing. I'm interested in learning the
basics, which means I know nothing about what publishers do, if and why we
need them, if ISBNs are required, etc. We are just getting into writing some
books, and even a tactile coloring book, and want to keep things as simple
as possible. Any suggestions, books or other guidelines would be very much
appreciated.   
  Blessings, good wishes to all, and thanks, Estelle

> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2015 14:37:59 -0500
> Subject: Re: [stylist] 28. Self Publishing and Insecurity (Miss Thea)
> From: stylist at nfbnet.org
> CC: bkpollpeter at gmail.com
> 
> Self-publishing does cost. There are fees involved depending on what 
> you want from the service. And it cost to purchase an ISBN, which you 
> need to sell your book.
> 
> Editors working for companies will certainly be pricey. But you can 
> find independent editors who have more reasonable fees. I, myself, do 
> independent editing at times, as do a few others on this list. 
> Ultimately, unless you have experience as an editor, or are very 
> familiar with grammar and structure rules and editing guidelines, it's 
> in your best interest to find an editor. The editing/revision process 
> is crucial to the success of most written material.
> 
> Bridgit
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of April 
> Brown via stylist
> Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 7:09 AM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Cc: April Brown <aprilbrownshade at gmail.com>
> Subject: [stylist] 28. Self Publishing and Insecurity (Miss Thea)
> 
> Self-publishing companies won't charge you a penny.  They pay you. 
> Self publishing companies that are reputable include Draft2Digital, 
> Smashwords, Amazon, and even Cafe Press.
> 
> If you need an editor, that's a different story.  They will charge. 
> And their charges are not nice.
> 
> Publishers that request money upfront are scams, previously called 
> vanity publishers, and as you found out before, will introduce more 
> errors into your work than existed before.  As well as provide no 
> marketing without payment.
> 
> Small publishers will not charge you, if they are legit publishers.
> 
> April Brown
> 
> Writing dramatic adventure novels uncovering the myths we hide behind.
> 
> aprilbrownshade at gmail.com
> 
> Website: https://sites.google.com/site/uncoveredmyths/
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/UncoveredMyths Google Plus:
> https://plus.google.com/116003267969710767555/posts
> 
> > On Sep 30, 2015, at 8:00 AM, stylist-request at nfbnet.org wrote:
> > 
> > 28. Self Publishing and Insecurity (Miss Thea)
> 
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