What are the pros and cons of self-publishing vs. a publishing company?

Question

It seems that to publish your work, you need a literary agent, but to get a literary agent, you need something published. So is it better to self-publish your work? What is the best way to get your work published? Also, I don't want my work simply published; I'd like to have it seen in bookstores. Or is the marketing part really up to me?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Let me begin by saying that many journals and newspapers have a policy of not reviewing self-published books, which therefore have two or perhaps even three strikes against them. It would be better to publish something somewhere, possibly even an obscure journal; that may give you a start. If you are writing a novel, you could send a chapter to a mgazine which publishes fiction.
I will give you an example I know about from my research. Philip Larkin (1922-85), the poet, published poems in university magazines as an undergraduate, but he had no success in publishing a book, and so decided to publish his own work as "Twenty Poems" in 1950. But he came to interest George Hartley, the publisher of a non-mainline literary magazine, in his work, who then brought out "The Less Deceived" in 1955, with a hundred people interested in contemporary poetry subcribing to it in advance. It was not until 1964 that Faber and Faber, a mainline publisher, agreed to publish "The Whitsun Weddings," which then became a celebrated book.
My advice to to you is that you try to get someone else interested in your work, agent or not, and go from there. Many well- known writers have stared at rejection slips for years.
On the other hand, if your work is really good, I don't think self-publication is automatically a bad idea. It might gain a small audience if a bookstore agrees to display it. A few do, but not the big stores.
After a point you have to decide whether your work is unpublished bacause all new work is difficult to get into print or because you are writing what no publisher wants or whether you need to make the kinds of changes in your writihg which would improve its chance of publication. Another idea--perhaps you have tried it--is to put ypur work on a website and see if it attracts readers. That will give you an idea of the "demand" for it.
If writing is really the center of your life, you can persist in it longer even if you are unpublished than if it is not.

Answer 2

Self publishing is the quick, easy way to get your book PRINTED....not necessarily published. When you self publish YOU are acting as agent, publisher and marketer for a book. You assume all the cost....and all the work. Book stores, the chain ones anyway, don't accept self published books for display/sale. A small, locally owned bookshop may, I'm not sure. Also, after having spent the money for the printing and doing the legwork to get it on a shelf somewhere, there is no guarantee that you will recoup anything you have spent. Your are not paid for the book, as a publisher would pay.
All in all, self publishing is, and I'm really sorry to say it like this, an ego boost of great cost.

Answer 3

Living:
There are many publishers out there and believe me, it is hard to find one. I spent two years and many, many manuscripts sent with only three replies to the negative. One took three years to reply? Just type in (Canadian) USA Literary Agency's and try some of these.
I went the self publish route. Very hard row to hoe. It worked for me only because I am retired and had time to do many book signings. Self publishers cannot get an agent. Without an agent the big stores will not take your books. I became my own publisher, agent, distributer and promoter. I can help you if you wish to go this route. No charge. To much to show here. If interested talk to me on my email. I'll show you my way and how it became successfull. I have over 50 others doing what i showed them and are selling their books. Again I charge nothing, just want to help people like myself.
[e-mail]
Wayne Russell, The Vagabond Writer

Answer 4

I think aidan402 has a good point about self-publishing being an ego boost at a high cost. But there are, I think, examples of people who went first to self-publishing and had the option picked up by a house. So, there's a possibility of some good coming from it. Depending on what you write, there are all sorts of magazines and journals you can submit to. That way, you'll get some pub creds for when you mail out your manuscript to houses or agents. You make those small steps toward a larger goal instead of settling for the self-publishing option. At least, that's what I think is best.