SELF-PUBLISHING

Don't allow the lure of self-publishing tempt you to circumvent necessary steps in your progress as a writer.  We see many writers assume they are ready for publication when in fact they are really at the beginning of their development as a writer, or perhaps somewhere in the early stages.  Sometimes overconfidence can lead a writer to jump into an expensive self-publishing venture, wasting an awful lot of time and money printing a few hundred copies of a book, when in fact what they should be doing is perfecting their skills and refining their concept.  The fact that you are interested in the concept doesn't mean that others will be.  Rather than jump into self-publishing too soon, spend time creating multiple works of fiction or rewriting the same work and getting lots of feedback.   There are many websites where writers can do this, including our favorite, Textnovel.com.  If you decide to proceed with self-publishing, make sure you follow the necessary steps to get your book in shape.  There should be NO ERRORS in the text.  There should be no grammatical deficiencies.  Hire a good editor and get lots of feedback from smart and thoughtful readers BEFORE you spend money publishing the book. 

One thing to keep in mind is that with self-publishing, you are launching what is essentially your own small business, centered around a product that is your novel.  You will need to understand and manage marketing, sales, website development and management, customer relations and many other  things that small business owners do.  Some writers enjoy this.  Others find it overwhelming and prefer to focus on what they love -- writing.

ON AGENTS

Once you think you have created a work that is worthy of publication, consider getting an agent rather than self-publishing or trying to find a publisher on your own.  If you have created a good and marketable book concept, and have devoted the necessary time to character and plot development, you should be able to find an agent.  If agents aren't interested, your concept may need some work.  Or you may need to keep looking until you find an agent that catches the vision for what you are trying to create.   Some agents focus on a particular type of fiction -- for example, while we consider almost any type of fiction, our focus is young adult and literary fiction. 

If you would like to submit your work to us, send it to stans@soperagency.com. 

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