Q for the Poet
From A-Lotus:
The pros: Self publishing makes it easier to control your own "literary destiny." In other words, you control the cost of the books, the inventory, and the marketing. Lots of sites such as lulu.com make it easy to print and purchase books. And if you have a strong local network, or a good online presence, you can probably sell all of your initial print run.
The cons: you do everything yourself. I'm not that detailed oriented, so I don't want to worry about how my books get distributed. I don't care about tracking book sales or lugging a trunkload of titles to sell at my next reading.
Even the smallest of publishers can use their contacts and market insights to help your book find its readership. In theory, the publisher takes the risks and absorbs the costs. All you have to worry about is helping your title find its audience. Maybe there are more similarities between a self-published title and one distributed by a press. But for me, I've never wanted to self publish. Too much work, which takes me away from the creative process.
Does that help? I'd love to hear what others think about self publishing.
"How do you feel/think about self-publishing? I mean, many poets out there are doing that, and I was wondering about that versus small presses--in terms of pros and cons!"Admittedly, this is not my area of expertise, so I'm hoping others will chime in with their opinions.
The pros: Self publishing makes it easier to control your own "literary destiny." In other words, you control the cost of the books, the inventory, and the marketing. Lots of sites such as lulu.com make it easy to print and purchase books. And if you have a strong local network, or a good online presence, you can probably sell all of your initial print run.
The cons: you do everything yourself. I'm not that detailed oriented, so I don't want to worry about how my books get distributed. I don't care about tracking book sales or lugging a trunkload of titles to sell at my next reading.
Even the smallest of publishers can use their contacts and market insights to help your book find its readership. In theory, the publisher takes the risks and absorbs the costs. All you have to worry about is helping your title find its audience. Maybe there are more similarities between a self-published title and one distributed by a press. But for me, I've never wanted to self publish. Too much work, which takes me away from the creative process.
Does that help? I'd love to hear what others think about self publishing.
Comments
Definitely choose a small press. There's less worry for the author; it's a lot smoother and easier.
I workshopped each of the poems chosen for the collection, and had several poets whose work I respect read the collection as a whole before I put it together.
I had the book printed through Lulu and have been very happy at the quality and look.
While I wouldn't be averse to selling a few copies, that was not my primary goal in organizing the book.
As far as my fiction goes, I'm not interested in self publishing that, as I don't have the time, energy, or expertise in being the editor, publicity manager, agent, etc.
Hope all is well with you, January. Happy New Year.
I can't think of one case where a self-published poetry book released in the last 10 years has picked up enough momentum that it's been picked up by a larger press or gained the attention of the poetry buying press. I'm sure these titles exist but I don't know of a good example.
As a marketer, I have no issues with self promotion. But the road seems much harder if you're going it alone than with a publisher. Not saying one route is better than the other, I just don't think DIY is for me.
That said, I felt much more comfortable about self-publishing having received a grant for it. It somehow seemed to give it more credibility. Then there is my wonderful computer savvy husband who did the layout and prepared the file for the printer. But yes, we are all set to do it again.
But, that said, I am really looking forward to your book, January!
It makes me think about what I want to do with a book of poetry. I mean, that's why I shared my poems online in the first place--it was mainly for friends and family to read.
In terms of the publishing world, I have to think about what my goals are if I'm heading in that direction. Thank you so much!
But it is hard work and it's not taken seriously in the literary poetry world, because a lot of people see self publishing as vanity publishing, which its not but sometimes its difficult to explain the differences, especially to publishing companies who think they should be controlling the whole of the publishing world...