Bonne journee
Well, it's off again...
"Mass publishing has seen greater changes in the past ten years than at any other time in history since the invention of the Gutenberg press." http://www.madeforsuccesspublishing.com
Self-publishing seems to be the wave of the present. It has the upside of not having to send out millions of query letters to find an agent or a publisher. You don't have to jump through hoops to fit someone else's idea of what your manuscript should look and be like. There are several upside lures to self-publishing.
Then there is the downside of self-publishing. You may not have to send out all the query letters looking for an agent or a publisher, but both agents and publishers perform tasks that a self-publisher isn't aware of. They can help an author fine tune their manuscript (think novel or book) with insights on marketing, writing, phraseology, and pointers maybe on what your manuscript should look like. A publisher should have an 'editor' that will comb the manuscript for typos, nonsensical scenes, grammar and punctuation, a second set of eyes as you would.
When I sent my manuscript off to the first 'review' (at Writers' Edge) I went and read some reviews of that service (Writers' Edge). There were all sorts of comments and one that caught my eye --and made me laugh--went something like: I've sent my wonderful manuscript in and they didn't accept it, and they must be crazy, as well as unqualified....
Of course not having read the person's writing I really don't know, but having written things and having had my stuff reviewed and critiqued I am somewhat cynical. My main critiquer (who deserves accolades for sticking with me for 40 chapters...) her first comments were: you sure like those dots (ellipsis points) and dashes, don't you? We all think our writing is wonderful, marvelous, and almost God-breathed. As the author James Michener has reportedly said, "I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter."
When I was in grade school and middle school, on occasion teachers would encourage me in my writing. However, it takes more than just talent to make a story, and more than talent to make a story good. I have leaned much on this good journey. I'm sure I have much more to learn. When I began I definitely wanted the reassurance of a 'traditional publisher'.
My thought was that anyone can slap a story together and take it to someone and publish it. That is even more truer today than it ever was. No, I wanted my work vetted. I wanted it to have the assurance that it met a 'publisher's' criteria. I have learned that if someone says they didn't have money for—it can be an edit, a professional cover, a second edit, or you name it. Unless they are an English major that has the ability to edit and write, they aren't ready to self-publish. Even if they are an English major, an extra set of eyes as well as a second opinion is priceless. On a course I took last year the teacher, a multi self-published author, shared that he has no less than five professional edits, and usually six.
Last year about this time I had what I believed would be a professional edit. I'm new in this business, so I don't know about prices and many other things concerning edits. It was an expensive lesson. For some reason the freelance editor apparently was looking for something that I didn't have. I think it was 'romance'.
"If I Should Die", is the first book in a series. The detective, Julius C. Armstrong is the main character, and this book is a detective/mystery. It is not a bona fide 'Romance'. There is what publishers tag as a 'love interest', but it isn't front and center. The mystery isn't 'does Michael and Ruth?'. So, this is not a Romance. I would have a definite publisher if it were. But my first editor must have been looking for that nuance. So, last fall I had another freelance /diagnostic edit. This time I chose a freelance editor who has worked for an actual publishing house and it was cheaper. She didn't seem to be looking under every rock for romance.
And this is where we're at. I've implemented some of her suggestions, and made a number of improvements. Yes, I do believe it keeps getting better. I have not decided whether to look for that traditional publisher—this diagnostic edit should help me decide, or to go the self-publishing route. Two things that are in the balance: a traditional publisher would probably have more resources for marketing/sales, and if I self-publish I pay all of the costs. The final edit alone would be between $1,800/$3,000. And honestly, I don't want to put my name on something that doesn't have that final edit. There is the cover design, proofs, and printing, as well as the ISBN number, and etc. So, you see all of this figures into the Traditional Publish/Self-Publish dilemma.
For now, however our 'baby' is at the freelance editor's and will be there a few weeks. While I wait on that one to come back, I will get out the next book in the series: As A Lovely Song, and begin revising it. Hint, it is a mystery as well. It is about Seth (from If I Should Die) and his estranged wife, whom he is trying to be reconciled to. And then she disappears.
