Friday, June 10, 2011

To E-publish or Not to E-Publish

I have a YA book sitting in a drawer at home. It’s sitting there because I couldn’t get an agent to pitch it to an editor. I had several agents that told me that they loved the book. But they couldn’t represent it because someone sold a book with a similar plot element (though it hasn’t been published yet). So I put the novel in a drawer.

My daughter thinks that’s absolutely ridiculous. She’s been hounding me the last few months to e-publish it. I’ve blown her off. She’s hounded me more. I made excuses. She shot them down.

1. Me: I’m too busy, Ariel: It’s summer. You’re not too busy.

2. Me: I’m not tech savy. Ariel: But I am, and I’ll do all the formatting.

3. Me: I can’t afford to have someone proofread it. Ariel: Mom, you worked for Harcourt as a professional writer/editor. I think you can probably proofread your own book. Besides the Chicago Manual of Style sits on your desk proudly stuffed with post-it flags.

This morning she hit me with a sheaf of pages. Printouts on everything from the tech aspects to the copyright to the front matter and back matter.

Now I have to ask myself “Why won’t I do this?” Maybe it’s pride. But e-pubbing is not a copout. Lots of well-published authors are now e-pubbing on their own. And I’m not giving up on traditional publishing—the “platypus” is currently on exclusive with an agent. But for YA, e-publishing is the perfect vehicle. So maybe it's time.

I’m 90% convinced. I’d love to hear what you all think. 

15 comments:

  1. I think you should DO it, and tell US all about the process. Think of it as research for your blog ... as a selfless service to those of us who are sitting on the fence contemplating e-publishing ... not to mention, it'll also get your daughter off your back. (I have one of them, too!)

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  2. I'd say go for it! Like you say, it's not a cop-out, not really. And if the only reason no agent would take it on is the similarity between it and something else on the market, you have no reason regarding the story itself to keep it buried. Share it with the world! We need more good YA, whether in traditionally bound books or e-books!

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  3. I'm thinking: "Why not?"

    If you can't come up with good reasons and do decide to e-publish, remember to include me in the blog tour.

    :-)

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  4. Thanks, guys! I'm about 95% there. I guess I should start pondering cover art. I think I'm the only writer I know of who doesn't have a mental idea of what the cover of her novel should look like.

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  5. I think it's amazing that your daughter is so on board. I'd do it just to have a project to work on with her. Selling it is secondary. And I think it's true the e-publishing has become a more acceptable way to go, and especially since you're still pursing traditional publishing with other work, I'd say go for it!

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  6. Go for it!! Go for it!! It'd be awesome!! Digital distribution is quite easily the future of most if not all forms of media..!!

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  7. The only thing that still worries me with e-self-pubbing when I intend to still pursue traditional pubbing is whether low numbers from my self-pub would hurt my chances with editors/agents. Not that it's rational and the vibe on it keeps changing too much to base a decision on...but it's what's keeping me from wanting to jump in the deep end right now. But--I can't wait to see what you decide and to read about the process!

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  8. I promise that if you e-publish your book I will buy it with my own money and read it on my mom's kindle. Is this the murder mystery or the time-traveling one?

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  9. Hey, I'd love to see it. The general e-public will like it a lot, I am sure;) as my dad would say "I'm all over this like a hobo on a ham sandwitch!"

    Hmm...cover art...well, there are a lot of great independent artists out there who would jump at a chance like that. I'd check out DeviantArt or something. The people there are usually pretty reasonable and hungry for portfolio plushing.

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  10. Grace

    Ariel pointed out to me that one very successful writer who does both e-pub and traditional pub uses DeviantArt. Worth looking at.

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  11. I think you should do it. You have the approval of the difficult-to-please publishing world. They wouldn't bite simply because they were afraid of muddying their own waters with something vaguely similar. This is not your problem.

    Do it!

    Also, I'm always brainstorming covers for my friend who's about to epublish. I'd be happy to brainstorm for you.

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  12. Well, with so much enthusiasm and help from your daughter, not to mention agents who loved the book, it sounds like e-pub really could be a great way to get your YA book out there.

    I'm curious to see what you decide, but good luck with whatever decision you make!

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  13. As I understand it, the risks are that if you publish something traditionally next you can't be called a "debut author" and that a traditional publisher would want to take into account your e-pub numbers (what Rowenna refers to).
    If those risks aren't a problem for you, then go for it.

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  14. I'm excited for you. Sounds like you're almost there!

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  15. Go with what your heart tells you. Personally, I don't think e-publishing is a cop-out. It's a legitimate avenue to get your story out there. Good luck! :-)

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