Self-Publishing vs. Commercial Publishing

Now, I have a problem with the title of this post: it should read self-publishing and commercial publishing.

 

Many, many authors I've conversed with feel as if it should be one or the other, and really, I'm not sure why. Is it because of the stigma attached with each? Is it because if you self-publish, you may as well say goodbye to a certain amount of readers, who will never read indie books? Does getting published commercially automatically give you kudos in being able to write?

 

It's all just snobbery, and it drives me nuts. I've read a huge number of self-published work that I think is good (I've included a few links below). Of course, there are self-published books that are awful, but there are commercially published books that are awful too. I come across too many readers and reviewers who will not review self-published work, or who go out of their way to pick every last fault they can find in a self-published book -- why? Really, why?

 

I see mistakes in commercially published books -- not huge ones, but ones that are obvious and shouldn't be there.  Generally, yes, there are more mistakes in a self-published book, but a lot of authors painstakingly try their damnedest to make sure there aren't.

 

I don't place one type of publishing over another -- they both have their pros and cons. If you self-publish, you get to choose everything from release dates, to cover art, to your blurb, to the amount of artistic licence you use in your writing style, and everything about the whole publishing and editing process. The BIG con: marketing. Marketing, promotion, marketing, promotion. Every waking hour you spend doing this, and then you've got to fit writing in as well.

 

If you commercially publish, your book should be edited to a higher standard, and the BIG pro: someone else guides you with marketing and promotion. Your work load in this respect is cut right down leaving you more time to write. Someone else can worry about the format and design of your book, and, rightly or wrongly, you're seen as someone who can actually write, before anyone's even read your work. Unlike self-publishing, where you're seen as someone who might be no good, because you couldn't get work published.

 

News Flash: many self-published authors choose to self-publish, even if they've had work accepted elsewhere! It has nothing to do with not being able to get published!

 

The stigma is a shame, but it is slowly changing as readers come to terms with the great news flash above. There will always be self-published authors who aren't worth reading, but more and more self-published books are gaining interest fast, as creations of intelligence and skill.

 

I for one, will always look to both ways of publishing. They're both joyful ways to bring work to others, as long as you're adaptable and open-minded. And I firmly believe that both methods can be beneficial to each other.

 

Good self-pubbed books/authors to read:

 

Heather Killough-Walden

Tina Folsom (Erotic fiction)

Screaming In The Silence, by Lydia Kelly

On Dark Shores, by J.A. Clement