If I self-publish, does it mean I’m not good enough for traditional publishing?
If I self-publish, does it mean I’m impatient?
If I self-publish, does it mean I’m selling myself short?
If I self-publish, does it mean I’m taking charge of my own work?
If I self-publish, does it mean traditional publishing will never happen for me?
If I self-publish, does it mean I don’t have faith in my story?
If I self-publish, does it mean the desire to share my work with others outweighs the vanity of wanting to see it in bookstores?
If I self-publish, am I settling?
This is what keeps me awake at midnight. This, and the overwhelming fear that if I keep doing nothing, nothing will ever happen.
I used to have these same thoughts. As I read in a article recently, the word “self-publish” used to be akin to vulgarity. Now it is the “in” thing to do. There are several USA Today and New York Times bestsellers who have turned to self publishing as apposed to continuing with the big publishing houses. There are also those who have been picked up by big publishing houses as a result of the success their work achieved through self-publishing. For some, yes, they self publish out of a bad case of impatiences and it shows. But I believe that if polish your work and present it as you would your child on the first day of school, you will do well. I plan to self publish hopefully sometime next year. 🙂 BUT I am not at all closing my heart up against big publishing houses. The verdict is still out there. Whichever way you choose to go just be true to your art! Cheers!
I suppose the lesson is to stand in confidence whichever direction you go, right? Either way – own it. 🙂
Absolutely! 😀 And I reckon THAT is almost as hard as doing editing and revisions lol