Topic: Self-Publishing

Purpose of this blog: Topics related to writing.

10-second review: Should you self-publish?

Title: “Should You Self-Publish?” Marcia Meier. The Writer (October 2010), 36-37.

Quote: “For years, self-published books have suffered from an industry bias—in many ways justified—that such books would never see the light of day with a ‘legitimate’ publisher. Typically they suffered from bad writing and editing, adding to the belief that a self-published book is inferior. “

Comment: I have self-published a book, Teaching English, How To…. Xlibris, 2004. It’s 538 pages in length. I’m an English teacher and in my estimation it is pretty well written. What it isn’t is “pretty well edited.” Once you have scoured the text for editing, you have to pay for every mistake you discover afterward. After poring over those 538 pages, time after time, I quit. I couldn’t afford to pay for the corrections that I continually found. And, in truth, there are a ton of mistakes that I continue to find. Taking on the work of self-publishing and self-editing is a crusher. RayS.

Quote: “Unless you have a good understanding of the entire process of book production and can do your own marketing, self-publishing is probably not for you. But particularly if you have a nonfiction book project and already have some publishing savvy-or are willing to put a lot of time into learning—it just might be the perfect choice.”