Self-published Novels - good idea or no?

[merithyn]

A friend of mine recently self-published a novel that he's been working on for something like 20 years. At no time did he ever try to pitch it to a publisher. He's charging $2.99 for the book. (Nightflower)

Now, I read the first draft of the book, and it was pretty good. It needed a lot of polishing and a good bit of editing, but the story was interesting. It's also a decent time for it to hit the market since it's about a teenage girl vampire. (Yeah, not my kind of thing, but he's a friend so I bit the bullet and helped him out.) I think that had he sent it out to a few of the smaller publishers, there would have been a decent chance of it being looked at, especially since he's planning on it being a trilogy.

I'm wondering what you all think of self-publishing. I don't really know how it works anymore, but I know that ages ago if you self-published you risked not having the book published by a big house later due to copyright issues. On top of that, my experience with self-published books hasn't been very positive since they almost always need a lot of editing (not just copy editing, but actual editing). That kind of always makes me wince when I hear something is self-published, and I'm guessing that I'm not alone on that. Or am I just being an old lady snob?

[Viking]

If he started working on a teeny vampire book 20 years ago I think somebody should hire this guy as a futurist. Screw this writing shit and get him into trendspotting.

[CountDeMoney]

I wrap my stuff around bricks, and distribute them accordingly.

[merithyn]

If he started working on a teeny vampire book 20 years ago I think somebody should hire this guy as a futurist. Screw this writing shit and get him into trendspotting.

Probably more like 25 years ago. It started with an RPG.

[HVC]

If he started working on a teeny vampire book 20 years ago I think somebody should hire this guy as a futurist. Screw this writing shit and get him into trendspotting.

Probably more like 25 years ago. It started with an RPG.

He's still a virgin, right?

Well best of luck to him.

[Phillip V]

If you've got the time and desire, self-publishing seems quick and easy with chance for profit.

[merithyn]

He's still a virgin, right?

Well best of luck to him.

He's been happily married for 17 years, with twin boys the same age as Riley.

[HVC]

That's not a no


Another poster here self publishes, now that I recall. Don't know if it's outside TBR knoweldge, so I won't mention who. Hopefully he'll stop by and share his experience. Shockingly () writing isn't my strength, but self publishing seems like an interesting possibility for someone who enjoys writing.

[Syt]

I guess self publishing can work - but you have to make sure you have a marketing plan. Just putting the book on Amazon for download and hoping people buy it is not enough. You need to raise awareness that the book is there and why people should buy it. You need a cover that draws people in. If possible, try to create word of mouth through friends, facebook, whatever. Create a website, hold contests.

All that will still not help much if the book is amateurish, badly edited and has errors in orthography and grammar.

[merithyn]

I guess self publishing can work - but you have to make sure you have a marketing plan. Just putting the book on Amazon for download and hoping people buy it is not enough. You need to raise awareness that the book is there and why people should buy it. You need a cover that draws people in. If possible, try to create word of mouth through friends, facebook, whatever. Create a website, hold contests.

All that will still not help much if the book is amateurish, badly edited and has errors in orthography and grammar.

Good points, all.

I'll talk to him to see what his marketing plan is beyond, "I mentioned it on Facebook." My best guess is that he is just kind of hoping that word of mouth makes things happen for him. Unfortunately, it rarely works that way in the real world.

FWIW, I've just read the Prologue and Chapter One, and only found one typo. The writing is fairly solid, but the beginning never had many problems. I won't know until I delve more into it if he's fixed the issues with it from before. By the way, on Smashword, you can read a few of the chapters for free to decide if you want to buy it or not. If you like vampire/horror stories, it may be worth your time to check it out. No sparkly skin or happy family in this book. I promise.

[Syt]

Not a big fan of vampires, so I think I'll pass.

One example of successful self-publishing would be The Book With No Name by Anonymous which started publishing chapters of the story online and then the whole book at some point got picked up by a publisher after word of mouth spread far enough. It's an asbolutely silly action-trash-pulp book with bounty hunters, vampires, kung fu monks, a bit of True Romance and other action/horror/noir clichés, but a fun read. Couldn't finish the second book, though.

But I'd think its example is more the exception than the rule.

In other news: two more rejections for short stories for me!

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Is it better than "Edmund: A Butler's Tale" by Gertrude Perkins?

[Brazen]

The first thing I was taught is never to write for free and certainly never to pay for the privilege of being published.

For anyone considering self-publishing, I'd advise it's worth running the gauntlet of a couple of publishing house pitches first. The process offers the kind of industry feedback no amount of friends reading it could (albeit harsh) and instil discipline and a timetable to the process. And, yes, some much-needed editing of the final product.

There's some good advice here:
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/thebusinessofwriting/a/How-To-Pitch-Your-Novel.htm

[DontSayBanana]

Brazen's advice seems pretty sound.  Also, there's a third option that's a little safer with respect to your wallet: print-on-demand.  A writer friend of mine tends to use that option to get his books and cartoon compilations out in the wild.  The tech's caught up to where there isn't that terrible a markup on POD books.

[MadImmortalMan]

Does self-publishing cut off future possibilities to publish the same work though a major house? I didn't think so. If true, I say it's a great idea.