For my first novel, Rose’s Wrath, I chose to publish it independently. It seemed like the better move at the time, and I don’t regret it! But for my next novel, I want to pursue the traditional route. The main reason being that taking on all aspects of publishing (hiring editors, proofreaders, cover designers, and reviewers) by yourself is extremely difficult! At this present moment in my life, I’m busy with college, so it’s even harder to devote time and money to self-publishing.
I’ve heard people advocate strongly for doing it yourself, and I’ve heard people think that indie-publishing isn’t “real” publishing. Whichever one you prefer, I don’t either one is the wrong path to take. Depending on where you are in life, what your ambitions are, and such, one could be the better choice over the other.
For me, indie-publishing was the best choice for me when it came to my Rose’s War duology. I had the time and money to put into independently publishing, plus, at the time, it was easier than traditionally publishing. Yes, a lot of work still went into it and I wasn’t taking the route where “errors are more acceptable”. To me, it was what fit.
But now, as I move into a different phase of my life, the pros of independently publishing feel more like cons and I’ve developed much more experience when it comes to the publishing world. So I want to pursue traditional publishing.
What I want you to take away from this is that both are equally valid, and just because one person’s journey is different from yours, doesn’t mean that one is better or worse. Us writers are all just dreaming up stories that we hope people will enjoy. Let’s focus more on that and less of the monetary and social success it could bring.
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