Guest Post by Marlish Glorie: Self Publishing... a Circuitous Journey
The launch of my second novel, a
self-published ebook, was a quiet affair; the slipping into the world of an
illegitimate child, as compared to the celebratory racquet of my first: a print
book with a traditional publisher.
With my ebook Sea Dog Hotel an unshakable sense of
failure prevailed, of it being second rate. It seemed strange. It was strange.
My novel was in the ether. I had nothing concrete, nothing to hold. I was
dealing with the abstract.
It all started
in 2006 when I began work on the manuscript, which was to become known as Sea
Dog Hotel, a work of fiction of 78,000 words. Initially work on the manuscript
was erratic, snatches of time in between working on my first novel and other
commitments.
In 2010 I
finally had the space to give it more fuller attention, plus I had the help of
an editor courtesy of my then agent who always reassured me that they would
present it to a publisher when I was happy for them to do so. For a year and a half the manuscript bounced
between my agent and me until I asked that it be presented to a publisher. Suddenly my agent did a turn-a-round and told
me that she didn’t like the manuscript and to find myself another agent. Was I surprised? To be honest. Not really. By this stage I’d
learnt that the publishing industry is one huge amorphous blob, where no one
actually knows what’s happening. And where anything can happen - and usually
does.
I got another
agent and in 2013 finished work on my manuscript. Problem was, with my new
agent despite claims that she loved my work she felt it was too risky in the
current publishing climate. I was told
to present it to publishers myself, she might as well have told me to climb
Mount Everest blind-folded. I knew it’d
be impossible to get a publisher to take my manuscript seriously. Still, I sent
it out to twelve publishers - all of whom rejected it. My agent told me to put it away and to get
working on my next project.
But after years of working on my
manuscript, putting it away wasn’t an option.
I decided to self-publish.
Now the
operative word here is — self. You’re
the writer, the editor, the cover designer, the CEO; in short, you’ve become
your very own publishing house. You’re it!
It was fun, but it was lonesome. And “self” is distinctly, and greatly
disadvantaged as far as marketing and publicity is concerned. The only tool at
my disposable was social media. But it was to become a vital tool, not only for
advice with things like, what title to give my book, but also for the greatly
appreciated support and encouragement I received. It’s been truly amazing and
heartening, giving me the much needed strength to launch Sea Dog Hotel.
Throughout the
development of my manuscript i.e. from when my first agent ditched me, I had had
it professionally assessed twice, copyedited twice and proof read twice and
also read by quite a number of friends for feedback. It’s impetrative to
produce the very best book that you can.
I knew that self-published ebooks had a bad reputation, that they were
the bovver boys of publishing, not to be trusted, not be read. And from the
self-published ebooks I’d read by other authors, to a certain extent this was
true.
Self-publishing
authors still have a long way to go before they’ll be accepted as equals
amongst traditionally published books.
Self-publishing authors in the main need to brush up their act - to try
and produce the finest work that they possibly can i.e. having their work
professionally edited, assessed, and proof read. No short-cuts.
And would I do
it again? Should I not be able to find a
traditional publisher for the current book I’m working on, yes of course I’d
self-published, for its faults and limitations it’s a wonderful journey. My
only hope is that in however many years time, self-published e-books have
earned and subsequently gained a greater acceptance in the twin worlds of
publishing and reading.