Originally sent via newsletter on May 1. Subscribe for the latest updates!

To self-publish or traditionally publish? There are a lot of people screaming opinions about why one is better than the other. At the end of the day, it’s a very personal decision, and there is no right or wrong because it’s entirely dependent on the author’s personal circumstances, desires, and dreams. All I can do is explain why I chose the route I did. 

Traditional publishing provides a lot of validation. The general perception of self-publishing used to be: you only self-publish if you can’t get traditionally published (and thus are treated as an inferior writer). Getting traditionally published meant an editor read your book and believed in it enough to want to invest in it. That’s a huuuugeconfidence boost for authors who are generally, almost always, dealing with imposter syndrome, and also a signal to everyone else that you are a *serious* author.

However, there has been a shift these last couple of years with some brave authors challenging the publishing paradigm and finding massive success through self-publishing and making the independent path look like less of a banishment from the serious world of trad to a valid business venture. Suddenly, publishing isn’t so gate-kept by traditional routes. Now, you’ll find indie books in local and chain bookstores, and often you can’t tell the difference between a book that is traditionally published or indie published, which was not true just a few years ago. 

I decided to self-publish for a few reasons.

Number one, I’m not a fan of being told what to do.

Ask anyone who’s known me—I don’t do well with authority. The idea of sucking up to some corporate suits just to get people to read my work doesn’t fly with me. I can’t even maintain a traditional job because I always find a way to piss off the wrong person (which is why I now work in consulting, I guess).

The thing about trad publishing is that you do have to hand some creative autonomy over, and you don’t get the final say on anything. A publishing company and its marketing department decide the name of your book, the cover, and can even make major changes to the story if they think it will sell better. If you signed that contract, you’ve given them the power to do so. (Not to say that’s always the case. There are definitely small press publishers who let authors maintain more creative control, but it is true for larger, big-name publishers who invest a lot of money in a book’s success.) 

Traditional publishing is a great option for people who don’t have the time, money, or desire to do it themselves. It’s a lot of work. It took me weeks to format my book for print, so I GET it. Some people welcome the input and influence of a more established authority to help sell their book, which I understand as well. 

But I also suffer from how-hard-can-it-be-itis and enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of doing things myself (and honestly making my life a lot harder than it has to be sometimes.) The combination of that personality trait and the fact that I’m in the privileged position of having a bit more time on my hands and the flexibility to do things without an advance made me want to maintain control and treat writing and publishing as my own business instead of someone else’s. 

Another reason I decided to self-publish: timing.

Traditional publishing takes a long time, possibly years, to go from writing a book to seeing it on shelves. I’m impatient, and I want to see A Song on Salt Air published this year. Querying agents takes months, if you’re lucky. Finding a publisher takes the same amount of time, if you find one at all. Then, if you beat the odds and get a contract, it can take up to a year for it to reach readers’ hands. I just didn’t want to spend the time querying and waiting for others when I can do it myself a lot faster. I want to be onto the next thing. 

That said, since A Song on Salt Air is my first published novel, it’s been a huge learning experience. There’s a lot more involved with publishing than I originally guessed. I definitely did things a bit out of order, like getting my cover designed before getting the book edited or the interior formatted. Now I know for next time! 

I just sent my interior and exterior designs to a printer for a proof copy, so things are moving along faster now! I’ll probably announce a date once I get the proof back, just in case it needs to change. 

Tentatively, I’m saying June 19 … which fast approaches. I was going to do preorders, but I’ve decided against using Amazon or another service to do that. It’ll still be available for purchase on those sites the day of! 

However, I will be doing some preorders directly from me, which will include a signed copy, so stay tuned for that! I’m working on getting it set up on my website now.

On the personal front, this month has been challenging emotionally. Earlier in April, I found out that my dog, my best friend, has a terminal form of liver cancer. We’re watching him, and he’s stable for now, but it can take a turn fast. So I’ve been living in stasis, waiting for what feels like my own death sentence. I’m handling it better now, but I know that I will not be okay when the time comes. I can’t really say more about it now other than it’s a grief I’ve never experienced before. I started going to therapy again, and I’m trying to learn how to live and move through life with this new reality looming. But death is never easy to cope with. As a result, my energy has been low, my patience with others thin, and my social battery drained. I’m not good at letting others be there for me, likely a trauma-based default in my nervous system, and this situation has really highlighted that flaw. But I’m also so deep in the trenches of it right now that I don’t have the energy to rewire the way my brain reacts. Taking it day by day for now. 

On a slightly brighter note, I’ve been relying heavily on my coping mechanisms like reading, writing, and doing yoga. 

Here’s the content that’s been helping me stay sane the past month:

1. Listening to the Dungeon Crawler Carl series — I can’t get enough. I’m on book 4. If you’re not sure, just listen to the audiobook. 

2. Playing Celeste on Switch — I’ve never been much of a gamer, but I’m really locked in. As someone who isn’t very good at video games, I really appreciate that dying isn’t a punishment in this game. It makes trying something over and over again rewarding instead of frustrating. 

3. Owning my music — I canceled Spotify, and I’m now rebuilding my digital library. I’ve collected vinyls for a few years now, and I appreciate the value of physical media and having a more personal connection with my music. I’ve noticed that by owning music, I actually listen to the full albums, and I’m more familiar with my library. I’m tired of algorithms. 

4. Reading myth and folklore-inspired books — I finished Circe (loved it), which is inspired by Greek mythology, particularly the events from The Odyssey, but from a female character’s perspective. I’m currently reading A Sorceress Comes to Call, which is a dark retelling of The Goose Girl fairy tale, and it’s also very good. But I generally love all of T. Kingfisher’s books, so I’m not surprised it’s good. 

Thanks for staying in touch and up to date with my publishing journey. We’re almost to the finish line! Please let me know if you want to receive an ARC copy for early reviews! I set up a form for anyone who may be interested here. 

Same time next month?

Autumn