The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author - Chapter 11

The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author

Chapter 11

Although we were discouraged by the lack of publishers who would pay us to publish our book, we were amazed by the vast horde that would take our money to publish.
How to decide?
We personally knew two other published authors, so why not pick their brains and learn from O.P.E., other people’s experience?
We met with our two friends on separate occasions. They were both supportive of our efforts and more than willing to share their publishing adventures and advice.
Although neither of these authors was self-published, both shared that while their books were selling well locally. They were not getting the national coverage they had hoped for.
They both cautioned that we should read any contract offers very carefully and be sure to retain the ownership of our manuscript.
We learned that even traditional publishers don’t necessarily offer all of the services a new author should have.
The publisher of one of our friends left the job of obtaining the copyright to the author. He applied and had been waiting two years for a response.
Not a happy story.
With their experiences in mind, we began searching the Internet websites of the self-publishing companies.
Knowing absolutely nothing about the publishing business, I had always assumed that once your book is ready for publication, your company will print the first edition, store multiple copies in a big warehouse and have them ready to ship when the orders come pouring in.
DUMMY!
What I found was that all self-publishing companies are P.O.D., print on demand.
What’s that?
In my limited experience, I pictured printing a book to be a long, laborious process.
In POD, apparently a single book can be printed and shipped in 72 hours.
Live and learn.
As I continued my research, I discovered why self-publishing companies are POD instead of printing multiple copies to warehouse ---- they don’t expect to sell any!
I also found that there was another name for the self-publishing companies --- vanity publishers.
Apparently, there are lots of folks out there who just want the thrill of seeing their work in print and don’t give a hoot if they sell anything.
Then there are those who publish poorly written and unedited manuscripts that are doomed to failure from the beginning.
But the message to the author is the same ---you pay the price, we’ll publish it.
Because this is the nature of the business, the self-published author is at the bottom of the food chain, the step-child of the publishing industry.
Unfortunately, all self-published authors, regardless of the quality of their work, carry this stigma.
You can’t submit to a mainline publisher without an agent and a legitimate agent won’t take you if you don’t have a track record.
So, you bite the bullet and self-publish, and like Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter, you are branded with the big “SP”.
Where is the justice in this?