I just self-published a book, Am I still a writer? It's at http://www.wastelandpress.net/Zero2.html?

Question

It will also be on Amazon.com and other book sites. But am I less of a writer for this?

Answer 1

No agent or publisher scrutinized and chose your work for publication as they would with traditional publishing. You chose not to take that risk and allow a publisher to buy your work from you. Instead, took what you considered the easy way out and you paid to publish it. I could be the author of the Chinatown phone book if my check cleared the bank. A publisher and/or agent would chuckle if you tried to use your self published work as a writing credit. Nope - you are a self -published author - not an author. Your books will be on Amazon but try going into a bookstore and finding one on a shelf. They will not be there. And who will buy them from Amazon without you spending a ton of money to promote and advertise them. As many times as Maryn and I and other serious authors come here and state DO NOT SELF PUBLISH, people do it anyway. We try, we really do. I would suggest you go to my profile and read through the starred Q and A on publishing and writing., You will learn some cold hard truths.

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They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

Every day that you write, you are a writer. Period, end of discussion. I cannot give you much advice about the business end of it, but only you will know if your venture with self publishing is going to work out. Either it will work out for you, or it won't. Either way, I suppose this question will get you a little bit of traffic on the site. If that is what you are after, I guess it worked. I took a quick look and to be honest, the subject mater did not appeal to me. The bottom line though is that you did something, you carried it through, and you have the rest of your life to do something else. The only way you can be less of a writer at this point, is by refusing to write, or finding an excuse not to. For all of the naysayers who claim that self publishing is the path to perdition, I need only cite Christopher Paolini and his first novel "Eragon." He not only self published, but self distributed in every library his parents could get him to. Random House finally picked it up and it has just seen it's one millionth copy in print. He may be the exception that proves the rule, but hey, be another exception. There's plenty of room.

I come from an area of the country that has a large number of self published authors. The dirty little secret that never seems to get out is that when you are self published, you need to sell a whole lot less copies to make the same amount of money! If and when a major publishing house picks your book up, you have a much better bargaining position since you've already proven that them book sells. Some books never have more than a limited or regional appeal anyway. Does that mean that they shouldn't exist? What arrogance!

Answer 3

My father is a author/editor/writer and he tells me that in case you write, printed or in any different case, you're a author. Be pleased with your achievements. via the way my father does not settle for all the books sent to him for self publishing, there are nevertheless standards even in self-publishing.

Answer 4

zeroroom, this doesn't count as publication and makes you seem more desperate to be published than to learn the craft. Does that make you less a writer? Only you can answer that.

I know if I paid to publish, I'd be less a writer, but that's me.

Answer 5

No! There are many people who have self-published to start, and then went on to publish with a publisher. You are a writer if you write.

Answer 6

In my opinion, you are a writer

Congrads