Why I Chose to Self-Publish
Many of you may be wondering why I decided to self-publish my young adult fantasy novel, Fire & Flight, over traditional publishing the first of many books to come in my author career (or at least that’s the plan)! After spending so much time writing and revising Fire & Flight, facing the world of traditional publishing seemed daunting—and demoralizing. The more I learned about “trad publishing,” the less inclined I was to put my novel’s fate in the industry’s hands. From royalties to legal ownership to creative ownership, there was so much I didn’t know I didn’t know about the publishing industry, and that’s when I started to look toward self-publishing. While my July 2022 release hasn’t happened yet, I can honestly say I don’t expect to look back or come to regret this decision because at the end of the day, I take solace in the fact that the Heirs of Tenebris trilogy is safely in my hands, and mine alone.
When we think of traditional publishing (ie: any author published by a publishing company, but most likely the few “big” publishing houses we all know by the insignia on the book spine), names and titles like those seen on bestseller lists probably come to mind. But let me tell you that those success stories are the exception, not the rule. Shocking, right? I thought so. I thought anyone with a good book could make it and join the coveted ranks of “bestseller.” As it turns out, the publishing industry—and yes, the bestseller list too!—is like any other industry: it’s about who you know and navigating the status quo.
That’s not to say traditional publishing doesn’t have its benefits, it just wasn’t the right fit for me. I didn’t want to spend more time in a holding pattern sending queries to agents who had their own tastes and preferences in literature, as every one is entitled to. I didn’t want to wait for a literary agent to submit my book to editors who also reserve the right to pass on novels they aren’t wholly passionate about, to then wait a while longer to submit my manuscript to publishing houses to either accept or reject my heart—I mean my novel. Traditional publishing presents a lot of trials and waiting. And that’s fine, but I spent about six years writing Fire & Flight. I didn’t want to spend a moment more waiting for the “right” circumstance to come around. By spring 2021, I was ready and so was Fire & Flight. And that’s when I began to take these kernels of information I’d picked up along the way and started to seriously consider self-publishing.
The final nail in the coffin for my traditional publishing dream? The fact that this epic fantasy book I’d spent years pouring my heart and soul into would no longer be mine. Landing a deal with a traditional publisher means they foot the bill—which is fine because publishing is expensive—but because they pay for everything from marketing to printing to oftentimes editing, they obtain the legal and creative rights, as well as the majority of the royalties from book sales. The word on the street is most authors who’ve traditionally published only make $1-$2 a book. Now think about the price of books. Most hardbacks are upwards of $20 if not closer to $30. Most paperbacks are about $15 depending on age group and genre.*
Royalties aside, total legal ownership and creative rights/the ability to have the final say in my book that I spent years writing and developing, and then spend years querying** and pitching to publishers didn’t sit well with me.
That’s why I decided to self-publish. I’ve always admired characters that take their fates into their own hands—much like Nyla and Xander do in Fire & Flight—and try to forge their own paths or diverge from precedence. Taking inspiration from them, I decided to self-publish. Armed with the knowledge of my research, I set out to find some help because I didn’t know much about printing or formatting books, which led me to partner with Paper Raven Books, a consulting company I chose to help publish Fire & Flight.
Just like my favorite characters, I decided to take my chances and take the fate of my epic fantasy book series into my own hands. I don’t know what to expect for my debut novel, and I’m not trying to set any expectations, but I’m excited nonetheless! No matter what comes of Fire & Flight’s release next month, I’m leaning toward counting this foray into self-publishing as a success because my novel is published and I’m coming into myself as an author. Doing things like actually being interactive on social media and *gasp* sharing things about my writing, all while doing it my way. Here’s to July 2022 and the debut of the Heirs of Tenebris trilogy with book one: Fire & Flight!
(*I went with $15 because that’s about what I usually pay for young adult and new adult books, but classics tend to be about $5-$10 depending on the publisher and format, and adult books tend to range depending on genre and format too).
(**For the record, I didn’t spend years querying…I said “no thank you, this isn’t for me” after about a year while still making revisions to Fire & Flight and even started something new).