Every aspect of my book is under my control. I’m the decider. I am a control freak. I like to be the leader — the head person in charge. I want complete control of my book.
There is a fairy tale about traditional publishing that haunts me. I’ve dreamed about it for a long time. I send my book to an agent. The agent reads it and declares my book a literal masterpiece. My agent overnights the book to a large publishing house where it is immediately accepted.
The publishing house publishes my book in every format — e-book, print and audio. Millions of people buy, read and listen to my book making me an expert on doing good for others. I’m a cultural icon. They cut a gigantic check for me. Stephen King becomes my best friend. (I like that last part!)
It is possible that some writer somewhere has lived that fairy tale, with one publisher and their first book, lots of money jumping in their pocket. There cannot be many. Some people “hit the Lottery” and become wealthy. Unlikely events happen. Hell, I wrote six books in six months. Now that was implausible.
The missing part of that dream is that the chances of my being published by a traditional publishing house are zero. Why? Because I don’t submit my stuff to traditional publishing houses. It is hard for them to publish what they don’t have.
Large and In Charge
I’m a self-published author in complete control. Writer, first editor, first proofreader, first formatter, marketer, banker, deadline setter. I approve tasks. I’m doing all the work. I’m supplying all the resources (labor and money). I’m making all the decisions.
I have the power. I also have the responsibility to ensure that the book produced is high quality and appeals to my audience. Badly written and produced books reach almost no one. Respect for your audience is one key to success. The self-published writer cannot go mad with power and write BS.
Is there a magic number that would entice me to give up control? There is.
No one will make me an offer I cannot refuse anytime soon.
Until then, I will keep plugging away at my second series. I love being a writer. Large and in charge. It’s all about getting my ideas out into the world the way I want. Self-publishing makes that happen for me.
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