Comments on: Ask Daphne! About Self-Publishing

By: elmie yan

elmie yan — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:51:48 +0000

P.S.
My apologies : I should have addressed the above message to Kate instead of Daphne (?).
This is my first time to post, and I'm not sure of the procedures. I'm thinking everything is written by Daphne.
I wish you, Kate, and everyone a great day!
Elmie

By: Elmie Yan

Elmie Yan — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:33:53 +0000

Hi Daphne!
I admire you for being so generous with your time in answering our questions.
In your reply to JP, do I interpret it correctly that there is still hope for self-published authors to seek a literary agent for as long as the first five chapters or first fifty pages are submitted and not in its book form? Should I tell them that my book has been self-published through a company and is retailed on line? Thank you so very much in advance for your kind help!

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:52:32 +0000

Anon –
No, of course not. It's all about the writing. And there are always exceptions — the kid who wrote ERAGON is a self-publishing success story, to name one.
And I said above your self-published book would go to the bottom of my reading pile — but it would get read, and if you blow me away, then we're all in for a wild ride.
But I would hope that you might weight the time and money that you'd put into self-publishing against the time of an agent search, and consider which might be a better investment in the long run.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:30:46 +0000

But there are exceptions, right? Those who did it for themselves and then wanted to take it farther?…who spent the time and money on a proper editorial process?…who have demonstrated a certain amount of decent sales outside of their family/friends circle? In the end, it still comes down to the quality of the manuscript, right? I mean, an agent wouldn't turn down good writing just because it was self published, would they?

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:52:57 +0000

Hey Travis –
Self-publishing is a completely different fish than a small publisher. More and more every day, as I come in contact with fantastic small publishers outside the New York area, I am reminded that they're doing great and wonderful things, and many of them have had the kind of successes that translate into big numbers for subsequent books.
If your book has a regional slant, or fits a niche market that you may not feel is represented in a New York publishing house, or for many other personal reasons, a small, independent publisher may very well be the best route for you and your book.
My primary reason for denigrating self-publishing — the lack of an editorial review board — doesn't apply to a small publishing house.

By: Travis Erwin

Travis Erwin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:38:23 +0000

What about a small publisher. One that pays a small advance and royalties. Does this forever label an author as a blip on the radar or can that transition to greater things.
I know there are some really respected small publishers but I'm talking about the tier even blow the Algonkian type of publishers. The mom and pop type that seem to be all over th Midwest in particularly.