As GOLIATH FALLEN goes through the last stages of editing, the time for an important decision has come: either self-publishing my novel or go the traditional route. It’s a decision every author will have to make sooner or later, and it’s not an easy one at that—especially for a debut novel. The stakes are high. Once self-published, my book will be out there forever. If it ends up sinking in the sea of self-published erotic fiction that Amazon has become, there’s little chance that a traditional publisher will pick it up. But, if I go traditional, it will be months of querying agents, and I might lose creative control once it’s sold.
Goliath Fallen represents six years of hard work, so it’s not a decision I take lightly.
Doing the research
Before making a choice, I turned to Google for validation like the responsible adult I am. Most advice I found came to a similar conclusion: if you have a platform and a solid marketing game, there’s a far greater chance your book will do well if you self-publish. Otherwise, going traditional might make more sense.
However, signing up with a traditional publisher might not be what one expects. It turns out that unless it’s one of the Big 5, there’s a chance your publisher will only market your book in a limited way (if they market it at all). In those cases, marketing is still up to the author. Some agents might not even bat an eye at your query unless you already have an established platform you can lean on.
On the other hand, there’s the budget. Traditional publishers cover all production costs, including editing, formatting, cover design, and distribution. If self-publishing, all those costs would come out of your own pocket. And trust me, it gets expensive, especially for a 92,500-word tome such as Goliath Fallen. That would make a strong case for going traditional.
In my case, there are some extra factors to consider. As a non-native English speaker, I wouldn’t risk querying agents before a professional editor revises my manuscript. So, I would have to cover the enormous expense that editing represents anyway.
Making a decision
The more I investigate, the more complex the decision becomes. So, before I go insane, I’ve decided to take a different angle: pick the one I find the most exciting.
I know for a fact that I suck at marketing. On the other hand, I also know that I suck even more at querying agents—I find the experience simply daunting.
It’s a matter of trying what I suck less at, I guess.
I find learning about the self-publishing process (marketing, distribution, pricing, formatting, building a team, etc.) very intriguing. I feel exhausted just thinking about it, but it still seems like an appealing experience. Even if my book crashes and burns, I built all that myself, and that sounds quite rewarding.
With that said, I’ve chosen to self-publish Goliath Fallen.
I’ll have to ramp up my savings to cover the expenses, but it will all be worth it.
So, onto the next step: figure out the budget!
Stay tuned for updates as I go through this journey from somebody who knows nothing about publishing to (fingers crossed) landing on a bestseller list.
Get Two Books for Free
Get a preview of my sci-fi thriller, Goliath Fallen, by joining my exclusive mailing list for access to sales and giveaways. And don’t worry, I dislike spam as much as you do so don’t expect any from me. You can unsubscribe at any time.