Self-Publishing

The concept of self-publishing both fascinates and terrifies me.

 

I have come to terms with the very real possibility that no matter how hard I work or how much I revise or query, I might never land an agent. And even if I do, that might not translate into a book deal.

 

And if that is the case, I can’t decide what I would do. Trunk my novel and write another one? How do I know if this is ‘the one’? What if I think this isn’t ‘the one,’ so I write another book, and it’s even less of ‘the one’ than the first?! If I feel good about my book but I can’t find a home for it, should I self-publish?

 

I’m a very analytical/research oriented person. I comb blogs and websites, looking for little nuggets of information to store away that I can use later (yanno, once I finish revising my book). I’ve giggled my way through Evil Editor posts, cringed at the poor souls who needed a shot with the clue gun in the Snarkives, and read everything Mr. Nathan Bransford has ever been gracious enough to share about the agent/publishing world. And I’ve come to realize there is no ‘right’ or ‘good’ answer to the best way to publish a book.

 

Self-publishing sounds not just difficult (although I’ve never given up on something just because it’s difficult), but like it involves a set of skills that I just do not possess and do not feel comfortable trying to locate via the internet. Clearly many authors have done it (finding varying degrees of success).

 

But I don’t know if it’s really right for me.