the Stigma

I have experienced the stigma of self publishing and find it frustrating to deal with. Yes. I did pay to have my books published. It isn't a free process. I came to the decision to publish on my own after doing research and finding only two publishers accepting submissions of picture books. I did send in my manuscript to both of these publishers and received back a standard form letter rejection stating that they only publish a few picture books a year and that mine would not be one of them, that this had nothing to do with the quality of my work, blah blah blah.

So I was left to make a decision. Leave my story in a drawer...or find another way. Why should I have to wait around for other companies to decide they were ready for more submissions only to be rejected six months later in a form letter?

I found a different way...possibly a way that will become widely accepted and rather than allowing a few acquiring editors around the country to decide what is worth publishing... it will let the readers decide.

I started with a manuscript and sketches for my illustrations and found a company that provides illustrations through an art department. Every single aspect of the book and illustrations are based on my instructions. For a flat-fee I was able to publish my book at a top level professional quality.

So. The Stigma. Is the process I followed based on vanity? I don't think so. I think the term "vanity press" comes from fear by the publishing industry that perhaps the industry as it is known today could come apart at the seams... If an author does not require their services to put a book on the market that could completely cut Publishers from the process. Now books can be published directly by an author and the readers can decide if it is worthy of being read...or not. It is up to the individual author to assume the risk and deal with the stigma attached...and hope that down the road it will diminish. If you are willing to work hard to market your books and you have an audience that will buy and read them it won't matter how you went about publishing them. That said...there are ways to minimize being tarnished with the Stigma.

1. Quality Counts! Make sure that your illustrations are professional. Hire an artist or choose a company that will provide an art department.

2. Focus! Resolution and images should be perfectly focused. Nothing shows an unproffesional product like blurry illustrations or photos.

3. Edit! Hire an editor if necessary. I completed this process with my first book and still felt like I should use my finished copy to try and find a publisher to accept the book. I was shocked and excited when I met with a prospective publisher only to be told that I Didn't Need Them! I had already done all the work that they would have offered...It was time for me to distribute. The "publishing" was done. So, I continued on my distribution journey and kept my chin up. Yes. I self published. And lots of people like my book. In fact, my books have been recognized with some awards...so now it's up to me. Time to market and distribute.

Have you been down a similar path? Do you have something to share? Please post!

2 Comments to the Stigma:

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Tamara Paulin on Saturday, January 15, 2011 3:30 PM

I'd like to comment on "Hire an editor if necessary". I'd add, "Hire an editor no matter how good you think you are at grammar/etc." They're not that expensive, compared to the costs you're already sinking in. As for stigma, well, piffle. There's always going to be some sort of stigma. "Oh, Sci-fi, you say? Ew, I don't read GENRE fiction." Or, "So you write for children? Well, I guess it's easier than writing for adults."

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	Sharlene Weingart on Saturday, January 15, 2011 4:40 PM LOL I didn't hire an editor because my books are so short that it wasn't really necessary. But...not having an extra set of eyes did cost me. When I was publishing Grandma Loves there were two times that a mistake was made that I didn't catch and it cost me money to correct. The first time my book was 26 pages, which raised the printing price by $5.99 per copy. Crazy!! So when I had them delete two of the pages it messed up the whole book and the text and illustrations didn't match throughout the whole book. I assumed that someone would notice that. I learned the very hard and expensive way. If you publish on your own, you really are on your own. No one noticed, or probably even looked. I ordered 250 copies of the misprint book. So, now I wait and get a hard copy in my hand before ordering. That way I can be sure it is exactly what I expect it to be. The company I used did not cover any of the costs for corrections or the misprint books. I took the loss and called it a cheap lesson in the big picture, but it was a hard one to swallow. I find the stigma more dealing with people in the publishing industry than readers... "No, you can not put your book forth for our award because you used a "Vanity Press." I think they are probably missing out on some great books...Even some well known authors are self publishing now to keep control over their own work. I hope that more people self publish quality books and Tamara you are one of them!!! I love your writing.

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the Stigma

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