Samantha Carbon’s debut novel All That Glitters was released in June and Samantha has written us an Author Article on why she decided to go down the self-publishing route rather than going through the usual channels of waiting for an official publisher to put in an offer. It’s a great insight into the world of self-publishing, enjoy!
I decided to go down the self publishing route to avoid being rejected. By self publishing I was self helping. At the start of writing All That Glitters it felt like the beginning of a counselling session. I knew I would have to commit., but the excitement at the beginning took over me. My head was full of ideas and scenarios, but I didn’t know how to explore and put them onto paper. As I began to write, my thoughts were becoming less heavy and the words began to flow and it was half way through writing the manuscript I decided there is no way, I will send my work to a literary agency for it to be potentially rejected. I had read all the horror stories, writers not hearing back from publishers, writers being charged to read their manuscripts. The thought of an office junior reading my manuscript, judging me made my decision to self publish easy.
The amount of time and effort I invested in writing All That Glitters was too precious. The knowledge my manuscript would potentially collect dust in a room with other unread manuscripts would keep me awake at night. I wasn’t going to let this happen.
I allocated some cash and worked towards All That Glitters going into print in time for my 40th birthday. I have had no regrets. The communication between myself and Authorhouse has been at all times professional. Words cant describe the feeling I felt, when I held my book in print the first time.
I couldn’t believe how professional my book looked. It was well worth the investment. Some may say, why not take the chance in sending off to literary agents, to save me the bother of having to self promote. I did my research on the internet and realised there are loads of writers out there trying to be the next J K Rowling. I am totally in control of how well my book performs. The feedback has been positive. For me, my personal achievement was getting my book out there. The words on the paper are worth reading.
Working with a lot of smart people, many have said they would like to write a book. I’m not sure what is stopping them. Time, discipline and patience were key factors. I had a lot of time back in 2004 when I began All That Glitters and I procrastinated along with every other writer. If writing is something one enjoys doing, then one finds the time. As previous mentioned, I was at the start of a long therapy session, my session is now complete. So, to all you buddy writers, take the self publishing route, I did and I’m totally healed.
Since November 2009
Because it’s nice to help out other Chick Lit sites, and to let our readers know about fantastic contests that are going on, I knew as soon as Danielle mentioned it that we would be posting about Chick Lit Shorties’ Extra Shorty Contest! All you need to do to enter is to come up with a story, but it can only be 10 words long. Yes, you read right, 10 words!
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A while ago we got to interview the very lovely Maura Brickell who works for Headline Publishing, and I can’t believe it’s taken so long for us to post it up! Maura has been a fantastic help to us, keeping us afloat of upcoming titles, letting us run some fab comps as well as great interviews with some wonderful authors! So, enjoy the interview, I know I did!
