Self publishing vs hard copy publishing vs ebook publishing

[Manole Dan]

What's left after the publisher rejects your book? Drop out, or you could consider the self publish option (you'll get to keep all the profits, but you'll also have to market your book), or try an ebook publisher (not as good as hard copy, but you could still publish your book and make a profit although it's more likely this way to receive a bad contract or to be the subject of skams).

My preferences are:

1. Hard copy
2. Keep trying to publish my book hard copy
3. Self publish
4. Ebook publish but only with a well know ebook publisher

 

[Brian G Turner]

I think when a manuscript is rejected consistently, the writer needs to be able to seriously look at their work again.

It may simply be the case that luck is against them - but unless at least one agent has asked for more chapters, my suspicion is that it already fails on fundamental problems.

It's not always easy for a writer to recognise these, let alone be objectively critical from a publishing perspective.

In which case, probably a good idea to read a few books from the publishing side - Stephen King's "On Writing" is a great guide, and Carol Blake's "From Pitch to Publication" first few chapters are invaluable for anyone considering submitting - by her reckoning, nearly all of the submissions agents receive are obviously substandard for one reason or another. The trick being to correct any problems and ensure you're in the couple of percent that get you more attention.

Personally I think self publishing is too easy a way out - the publishing industry forces the writer to develop themselves better, but self publishing allows you to carry your flaws without question.

Also - moved this thread to the Aspiring Writers board from SFF Lounge.

 

[Anne Lyle]

What's left is that you write another book, because the next one will build on all the skills you learnt writing the first one. Rinse and repeat until you either get published or run out of enthusiasm/patience.

If you get a lot of feedback from professionals along the lines of "this is really good but I can't sell it", that's the point to consider another route. Personally I would go for self-produced ebook* - minimal outlay, and I already have a bunch of fans who read the opening chapters on authonomy.com and would probably buy a realistically-priced ebook (say, about half the price of a paperback). But YMMV...

* Scrivener 2.0 has awesome ePub export - you just need someone with artistic skill to make you a cover!

 

[Yog-Sothoth]

I agree with I,Brain, you should re-assess your work, dissect it until you spot the reasons why it has been rejected. Plenty of great writers went through alot to get their work published, its not as easy as you think beforehand.

Keep working on it, another year or two, if by then the situation is still the same, then consider self-publishing.

 

[J Riff]

If it's good and they won't publish ...maybe time for a new hobby or job!
Lots people don't get published/ Wrong side of the tracks, wrong family. Wrong subject matter. Nasty, but true.

 

[Steve Jordan]

Publishers don't always read and reject... in many cases, they simply refuse to look. This may have no reflection on the work, other than that the publisher just wasn't interested in seeing it.

In that case, I see nothing wrong with self-publishing, provided the author can manage the editing and proofing that the work needs to be professionally presented to the consumer. This was my route, after being ignored by publishers without a review of my work, and it's working out well.