Self-publishing

I'm a freelance writer, an editor, and an author. I offer writing, editing, and formatting services at my freelance writing and editing website.

I agree here with Christine.  I have one book published through lulu.com and it is now on amazon.com

I have found other ways (thanks to Writer Magazine and its contributors) that a self published author can market themselves and their book.  If you are interested please contact me at sue.york@ymail.com

You can also visit my website at sueyork.weebly.com

have a great writing day!

Sue York

Author

sueyork.weebly.com

I have to respectfully disagree, Christine. You may argue against what I have to say though. This is just my opinion.

When one self-publishes, it is typically done as a last resort, and I quote:  "If you have not had anything published yet, I highly recommend self-publishing." This implies it is a last resort.

When a person self-publishes to start their writing career, they must do all the marketing themselves. Every aspect of it. People will wonder why you chose to self-publish- Is it because you are not good enough to have a real publisher publish you? This is a question that is always raised in my mind when I see a self-published book. I'm not saying you are not good enough. That was just an example.

Self publishing can easily taint a writers reputation right from the start. There are always exceptions, and I've read many success stories involving self-publishing.

I, myself, had planned on self-publishing, but a contact I have who owns her own publishing business highly advised me not to. She elaborated more than I have, but I realized she was right.

So while there is a chance self-publishing can be a good thing for writers, I, like my contact, highly advise against it.

(Unless of course you don't want to mass produce, and just want something small to sell to friends or family or whatever the case may be.)

My Work: http://dubbedpublications.com/mattgannon/

Hi Everyone!

This is my first time to join The Writer Mag. community. I've got a question about self-publishing. Did you get an editor to go through your work before you published? Or does Lulu provide one for you? I have a non-fiction manuscript about teaching, I'm thinking of self-publishing it through Lulu but I'm not sure about the editing part. As writers, we all know how important it is to see our work flawless -free of grammatical errors, right?

I would appreciate any tips and suggestions regarding this. Can't wait for my publisher to make a decision whether it's a go or not. I can be reached at curica41@yahoo.com

Thank you! Have a great summer!

Lulu.com has a list of editors on their site (IIRC), but they don't directly supply an editor. Lulu publishes what you send them, warts and all. Therefore, it's imperative that you have your manuscript edited before you submit it to Lulu.

'Course, that's the case no matter where you self-publish. The other author services companies (AuthorHouse, Xlibris, etc.) have staff editors, but you'll have to pay for that service. However, the quality will likely be less than you'd receive from a professional book editor.

As owner of a publishing company, CyPress Publications, I can say that I always prefer to have a well-edited manuscript (less work to bring it to publication), but I can live with a few grammatical or spelling or diction errors if the manuscript is otherwise well written and marketable. Errors I can fix, but a bad manuscript often can't be salvaged.

Hope this helps.

Lee Raymond

Publisher, CyPress Publications

Hi MoonOrchid,

I'm happy to hear that you are planning on publishing with Lulu. They do have editing services within the "Laureate Publishing Package" that includes an editorial quality review and a full copy edit, but the cost of the entire package is expensive. Lulu does not have a separate service just for editing.

I recommend, if you decide to self-publish, that you have a friend, family member, colleague, or all three read through their own typed and printed copy of your manuscript (after you have edited it at least once yourself) and ask them to write their comments, edits, and suggestions on it. Encourage them to be honest but reasonable when editing, and to make their markings legible. Offer them a free copy of your book when it is published for helping you out.

So, you may not need a professional editor, just different eyes to view your work. However, you can pay a professional to proofread your manuscript if you want it more polished, and it shouldn't be too expensive. In fact, I may be able to do it for you inexpensively, compared to a business. I am an independent freelance writer, editor, and author. Check out my professional website below and contact me to discuss your book.

Good luck to you! Let us know how you're making out with your book.

Christine

I'm a freelance writer, an editor, and an author. I offer writing, editing, and formatting services at my freelance writing and editing website.

Why self-publish?  You've accomplished nothing, and how rewarding can it be to see something in print that you didn't earn?  For most who write, self-publishing is still vanity.

If you want your best writing to be in book form, sell it to a commercial publisher.  If it is good, they'll buy it.  If they won't, it isn't good.

Everyone deserves the right to publish their writing. Quality writing is not determined by a traditional publisher, who is limited in the number of books they can publish due to limited time and staff, and which are merely opinions of quality.

Most books are self-published now. Soon print books and traditional publishers will no longer exist. Traditional publishing is outdated. If you are still pro-traditional publishing, your beliefs are old-fashioned.

I'm a freelance writer, an editor, and an author. I offer writing, editing, and formatting services at my freelance writing and editing website.