8 Comments

That was a useful read, Alison!

I self-published my first book of my art in 2019. 'SneakyArt of Eau Claire' won an IPPY and Midwest Independent Publishing Award in 2020, and has done me a tremendous amount of good in several other ways. I chose self-publishing for a number of reasons, including the ones you explained in this post.

To add a small point to the ones you've made, I would say it is a writer's responsibility today to objectively assess the book's target audience. For example, should a first-time writer in Wisconsin have the singular goal to reach the NYT Bestseller's List? What about having a dozen copies in every bookstore in their county? I would argue self-publishing makes the latter option more realistic and more rewarding at the same time.

Success is a small word with many big meanings. Every writer today should unpack it and decide what they truly want.

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I am at 2-3 on the scale. The only case when I will go the traditional route is if I find some passionate people in some publishing company, where I don't have to compromise too much with my composition.

Otherwise, I am all for self-publishing irrespective of how many copies my book sells.

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I've already made my decision (I am not only an indie publisher but I'm putting my novels on Substack first and THEN going to Amazon!) but it's fantastic that you've spelled things out so nicely for others. It's a hard, often gut-wrenching decision for most authors to make (what if! being such a hard thing to overcome), and it's helpful to have someone spell it all out.

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