Today, I believe I finished formatting my second novel, Sunspots. The task was quite daunting and I did a lot of hit and miss figuring out how to do it. I used InDesign by Adobe but I had a dummy file to work from and the printed result should be fine. I didn’t hire anyone. Just little ole’ me. Pretty satisfying. So after another read, the book will be ready for Createspace. I have a partial with an agent right now, but I’m not optimistic. With everything that I have been reading, even if you get a NY publisher, the marketing falls on an author’s shoulder just like when you DIY. BUT and that it a big BUT. If a NY publisher thinks your book will become a bestseller, it will be supported by marketing and advertising. And that’s when an author can earn some really good royalties. Ah…That’s kinda like winning the Powerball lottery.
So now I have to make a decision about Createspace. Whether to take the free ISBN or pay $10 and use my own imprint. When I use my own imprint, I think I’m fooling people that I have a publisher. When you get the free ISBN, Createspace is your publisher and then everyone knows you’re self-published. Do readers care? A dilemma. A quandary. A realization that I am not too happy with being self-published. I long for legitimacy. But I’d rather do it myself and attract a few readers because a writer needs to be read and the alternative is having my book touch no one.
