Happy mid-week check in! I just paid all my bills and transferred some to the savings account. That alone is cause for celebration around here.
Don’t forget to check out Thriller Thursday tomorrow. I’m interviewing New York Times Best Selling Author Allison Brennan. She talks about her writing process as well as the changes in the publishing industry, and I’m really excited to share the interview with you.
This week has been productive in a different way for me. Ever since my good friend Donna Galanti (who’s enjoying vacation at Disney right now!) signed with Echelon, I’ve been doing a lot of research on digital publishing and smaller presses. At this point, I’m not ready for self-publishing, but there is A LOT of appeal to publish with one of the e-publishers like Echelon, Carina, or Wild Rose. The royalties are much higher, they’re author friendly, provide cover art and editing, as well as marketing help. No, you don’t get as high of a royalty as you do on Amazon, but when you consider these publishers ebooks sell for a few dollars more and they’re providing services a self-publisher has to look to out of pocket, it evens out at the least. In case you missed it, James Scott Bell spoke about the digital publishing trend here and basically reaffirmed my thinking.
You still have to query, your book still has to be great, and that appeals to me as well. I want the feedback and the chance at getting my work edited. Of course, I want the affirmation, just as we all do.
I’m not saying agents are going the way of the dinosaur. I don’t think that’s the case with the good agents. They’ll evolve, and I’m certainly still going to query them. I want the experience and hopefully the feedback. But after speaking with Donna, my critique partner and good friend Catie Rhodes, and TJ Proofs, a great lady with industry knowledge and an eye for proofing, I’m going to be focusing on the e-publishers. To make that decision is monumental for me.
So I’ve spent the last few days researching, creating my spreadsheet of publishers and agents I want to query, and fine tuning the novel. Not a lot of writing done, but important tasks.
I’m heading out of town this afternoon to visit family in Indianapolis, so the rest of the week will be a bit of a wash. That’s all right, though. Family comes first.
What about you? How’s your week been? What are your thoughts on e-publishers verses agents/Big Six?
Stacy Green, Psychological Suspense Author 
What a timely post. LOL I still don’t know what I want to do. Here’s something that just came to me while reading your post, though. You can’t have everything. Each of these options has its pluses and its minuses. The important thing, I think, is for each of us to figure out what’s important to us in the grand scheme of things. Thanks for keeping me thinking about this big decision.
Catie
Absolutely! There are pros and cons to both, and we all have to figure out what works best for us. And it’s so hard because you just can predict the future. I think it’s best to go with your gut feeling. You’re welcome, and Allison Brennan actually weighs in on this tomorrow with some great responses.
Don’t forget about Samhain, Entangled, Crescent Moon Press …
Plus, they all have editors that go through your book thousands of times before the release … and some have publicists that work in setting up blog tours and reviews and help you with your website and social networking, etc …
I’m all for it.
In fact, I have two fulls out right now with two of them 😉
If that doesn’t work out, I’m shooting for agents … I’m too scared of self-publishing (for now). I think it’s great, but the marketing and the self-promotion scare me away … Perhaps someday, with another series …
For now, I chose small presses first, then agents …
Anyway, have fun with your family!
Juliana
I do have Samhain on my list. Entangled and Crescent Moon were ones I hadn’t looked at, so thank you!
The editors are a big plus for the digital publishers verses self-publishing. And absolutely on the marketing guidance. That’s so key, and debut authors need all the help they can get.
Good luck on your fulls! And I feel the same about self-publishing at this point. It would be third on my list of options.
Thanks, and thank you for stopping by!
Congrats on paying your bills and remaining chipper enough to write this post! I look forward to your interview with Allison Brennan tomorrow. Enjoyed the info on digital publishing, small presses, and agents. I truly wonder if agents will become a thing of the past. It’s a rocky road out there! Hope you have a good time with your family this weekend.
Thanks, lol. It’s definitely a rare occasion. I wonder the same thing about agents. I think only time will tell, and it will probably be a mix of things. Allison’s interview is great, too.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
From what I’ve read recently, one small press to cross OFF your list is Aspen Mountain, they/it are in a world of lawsuit/mismanagement.
I already have an agent, and though she hasn’t sold my work to date, I chalk that off to timing/MY books not hitting the spot, not her lack of effort. So, for myself, I’m not jumping out of the canoe yet, even if there is banjo music going. But I am paying close attention to all the developments in the publishing world, self & traditional, and not ruling ANYTHING out.
Thanks for the tip, Beverly! Congrats to you on getting an agent, and yes, I’m sure she’s putting in all the effort she can. I think paying attention and keeping an open mind is the best thing to do. I will definitely query agents.
Thanks!
My agent is submitting my novels to editors right now, and I would love to get a contract with one of them. That’s my dream. I think e-publishing isn’t going away and I hope my books will get picked up in both print and ebook formats. But for now, I’m not going to go the epub only route. Maybe I’m asking for too much, but I want both. 🙂
I think we all would. Many of the e-publishers do print as well, so there’s always that open. I don’t think that’s asking too much. I’m going to query agents – I just worry about getting lost among the crowd/their fears. Good luck, and thanks!
You may want to check out Ciara Knight’s blog, she’s been running a great series on publishers. I’m not at the point of needing to make the self-pub or not decision but having that profession eye appeals to me as well. It sounds like great progress Stacy!
Have fun with your family 🙂
I will definitely check her blog out – thanks for the heds up. I think the benefit of all the changes is the publishing world is that there are options for writers out there. It’s a good dilemma to have.
Thanks!
Thank you for the heads up on her blog! She’s got five great publishers on there I can query:)
The good news for authors is all of the options available for publishing. The bad news is it sometimes feels like looking at a Starbucks menu and trying to figure out what you want. I’m still working from the traditional route plan, but I’m researching other ideas as well. Thanks for sharing your own journey.
Exactly. I’m not opposed to agents, and I will query a lot. I just think e-publishing is a great option and possibly a more realistic one. With all the technology of today and generations coming up that have been raised on it, e-readers aren’t going anywhere. BUT, getting into print is important, too.
Thanks for stopping by!
Sounds like a great choice for you Stacy! I like what one commenter – let’s not rule anything out! 🙂
Thanks so much, Laura. I’m definitely not ruling anything out. It’s just nice to have some real direction:)
Good luck! I can’t wait to hear how it all goes and what all you learn! Marketing makes me want to step into on-coming traffic.
Thanks, Heather. I know it’s going to be a long process. And I feel the same way about marketing. Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve heard great things about Wild Rose, Crescent Moon and Entangled. I’m more of a traditional publishing kind of gal. Would love to find an agent but I am also looking at publishers, too, like Daw and J. Taylor.
Have fun on your trip and thanks for the awesome post.
That’s so great to hear you’ve heard positive things about those publishers. One of my major concerns is finding out how authors are treated, sales records, etc. Thanks for the information and comment!
Super proud of you Stacy – that is amazing progress towards you goals. Researching what path you are going to take is a big part of the entire process and is soooo exciting! I am sure that momentum will help carry you through the next months! Woot woot – I can’t wait to hear a million more deets! Enjoy your family visit – you are right, there’s nothing more important!
Thanks! I know the rest of this week is going to be slow so I had to push. The research has been a long process and a lot of second guessing. I feel pretty good about it now, but there’s no right answer and no way to know for sure if you’re making the right decision.
Thanks so much!
Congrats all around. Moving forward. And I agree with you about the e-publishers. I’m looking into a few as well. I’m still nervous about reaching out to an agent and/or big publishers. I love writing. I want to continue to love it. I’m afraid that if I get with the bigger companies, it will be too much pressure and become work. But I am also the biggest chicken on Earth.
Enjoy the family and have lots of fun.
Keep up the good work 🙂
Thanks, Wendy! I know it’s a tough decision, and that’s a good point about getting with big publishers. But one of my worries with e-publishing is that you’ll need to turn out books faster to keep your audience. Just one more of the many pros and cons to weigh.
Thanks so much! Have a great week:)