Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m taking a break from talking about teen issues and discussing something a little more personal today. I’m in such an energized mood because I’m working on my Coming of Age novel and I’m really enjoying it. I love my main character! I’m sure every writer has a manuscript that she’s just so in tune with that she can’t put it down.
I’m worried about myself when I get it completed. Will I feel a sense of loss? I hope not. To avoid that feeling, the idea for the sequel’s already brewing in my little brain.
My beta readers are enjoying this story too. That’s always a good sign when they’re asking for more chapters. As I write, I wonder if I should go the agent route or small press route.
If I choose the agent path, it will take longer and there’s no guarantee they’ll sell the manuscript. If I go the small press route the manuscript will be published faster, but I will be responsible for most of the marketing of the book. Which isn’t a problem for me, but having a major publisher help with the marketing is always a plus.
As I feverishly work on my story, this question bounces around in my brain. One day I’m leaning one way and the other day the next. Sigh. Then of course, there’s self-publishing.
I considered this option for a long time, and I haven’t ruled it out. However, I feel that I need a large following to make this option successful and since I’m writing for an older age group than my previous novels. I don’t feel that I have enough of a following to choose self-publishing yet.
What I like about self-publishing is that I get to see where most of my sales are coming from. That type of information is invaluable when you’re trying to market your books. That’s one of the major advantages of this choice.
You also get to see how you’re doing on a daily basis. I’m one that likes to check my numbers so I can tweak my marketing plan as I go. That’s hard to do when you have to wait three months for your results.
I would love some input from fellow authors out there. Have any of you gone the self-publishing route and built a following that way, or is there a stigma still attached to self-publishing?
Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. If you could share your opinion, I’d love to hear from you!
