Okay guys so it seems like a silly question but I sat down recently and really thought to myself, exactly what is self-publishing?
A person write a book and decides that they shall self publish it, but how is this done? Do they go down to a FedEx Kinko's and print out half a dozen copies and then go to bookstores and distribute it in hopes they will accept? Yes E-books make it easier but even then writing an e-book would mean you go to websites to do what? Find sites that help you with publishing as in giving you tools to use, helping you print out copies which means to me that yes it's self publishing but then again it's not cause the main ingredient of getting it made is being done by someone else. Now obviously anyone who wrote their book, made all copies, edited it themselves, made the cover and promoted it would be pretty damn impressive but obviously since writing has come along way and we have websites and online publishing companies the whole "self-publish" aspect at least to me seems more not as hands on or direct to it's meaning. Which brings me to my next statement. Do you need people or need to know people to self-publish? It helps and couldn't hurt right? Does it help having actual friends when publishing a book? People whom you can rely on to get feedback or maybe not in the sense that because you are close to them that they won't give you their true opinion because they know you? Yes, this in unfortunately how my brain works folks. I look into something so much to the point that I question it's meaning and I'm doing that now. Is self-publishing more of a term for something else or is it actually just that..in fact self publishing. It seems Self-Publishing is more pertained to when someone wishes to make an e-book? That would seem logical to me then someone publishing an actual book in book form that they want published. Self-Publishing to my understanding also means you control your price and you call the shots and even if you were to use a small company to help they don't lock you down to a long contract and don't give you a bunch of dumbstruck rules and regulations but rather small basic ones that each party can agree to. Is it my understanding that the difference between self-publishing is that your not under contract and that you can freelance your work, publish, set pricing, and promote it all on your own without any worry from your publishing company telling you you cannot? While I feel like I maybe answering my own questions they are merely statements as I don't truly know and it's more opinion of what it seems like to me more than anything else, this post and others feedback will give more clarification. I sit here and ask myself, am I a self-publisher and if not could I become one and truly understand it and accept its many ways and wonders and if so embrace it and take in all that it offers so that I can do what it takes to be successful in the writing world?
A person write a book and decides that they shall self publish it, but how is this done? Do they go down to a FedEx Kinko's and print out half a dozen copies and then go to bookstores and distribute it in hopes they will accept? Yes E-books make it easier but even then writing an e-book would mean you go to websites to do what? Find sites that help you with publishing as in giving you tools to use, helping you print out copies which means to me that yes it's self publishing but then again it's not cause the main ingredient of getting it made is being done by someone else. Now obviously anyone who wrote their book, made all copies, edited it themselves, made the cover and promoted it would be pretty damn impressive but obviously since writing has come along way and we have websites and online publishing companies the whole "self-publish" aspect at least to me seems more not as hands on or direct to it's meaning. Which brings me to my next statement. Do you need people or need to know people to self-publish? It helps and couldn't hurt right? Does it help having actual friends when publishing a book? People whom you can rely on to get feedback or maybe not in the sense that because you are close to them that they won't give you their true opinion because they know you? Yes, this in unfortunately how my brain works folks. I look into something so much to the point that I question it's meaning and I'm doing that now.
Is self-publishing more of a term for something else or is it actually just that..in fact self publishing.
It seems Self-Publishing is more pertained to when someone wishes to make an e-book? That would seem logical to me then someone publishing an actual book in book form that they want published. Self-Publishing to my understanding also means you control your price and you call the shots and even if you were to use a small company to help they don't lock you down to a long contract and don't give you a bunch of dumbstruck rules and regulations but rather small basic ones that each party can agree to. Is it my understanding that the difference between self-publishing is that your not under contract and that you can freelance your work, publish, set pricing, and promote it all on your own without any worry from your publishing company telling you you cannot? While I feel like I maybe answering my own questions they are merely statements as I don't truly know and it's more opinion of what it seems like to me more than anything else, this post and others feedback will give more clarification.
I sit here and ask myself, am I a self-publisher and if not could I become one and truly understand it and accept its many ways and wonders and if so embrace it and take in all that it offers so that I can do what it takes to be successful in the writing world?
check out the full discussion on my blog about it @http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...