Author Renee Savage

Being a writer has always been my dream job. I want to spend my days telling stories and connecting with readers. A couple of years ago, I decided on a story and committed to writing it out, intending to publish it traditionally.

I didn’t think anything of the process initially. Everyone assumes their story is unique and magnificent, that agents and publishers will care right away, and that you’ll get that big, life-changing advance. The thought of it kept me writing, even when it was hard. After two years, I finished the first draft, had a couple of friends read it, made edits, and then began to query.

That was this summer. I have not heard back from a single agent.

So, I think two things happened. First, my story needs work. Investing time in edits and internal plotting will help it tremendously.

Second, even with a great story, breaking into traditional publishing is hard.

I am a no-one, no-following, no-name author in the midwest. I don’t have a big social media following, my blog is new, and I don’t make TikToks. The author’s journies I’ve admired don’t often reflect the journies I see now.

As I have learned about the advantages and freedoms of self-publishing, along with the rigor and work involved, I think this is the place for me. To start, it is a great practice ground for a young writer like myself.

It is an opportunity to build an audience, test in real-time what people are responding to, and get feedback from readers. In traditional publishing, it will take years from the purchase of the book to its publication. In self-publishing, it only takes as long as you want it to. Admittedly, I am a slow writer, so rapid-release may not be for me, but I like the idea of being in control.

When you build your own audience organically, you can eventually position yourself as an attractive option for traditional publishers. The market for your books already exists and can be taken advantage of quickly.

Self-publishing does demand a level of skill in writing, but it is much more forgiving of… well, mistakes. While I plan to be perfect, I know I am not going to get everything right. As someone who reads a lot of self-published literature, I know I am willing to overlook the occasional typo or continuity issue readily if the story engages me. I expect that is true of most readers.

But perhaps most importantly, there is a lot of money to be made in self-publishing! People are voraciously reading in my genres (I have a friend who reads a book a day!) and they don’t mind paying for something appealing. With more control over the book, a bigger share of the sale price belongs to me. While there is no advance to cover upfront costs, I can be practical about my budget and sales goals, trusting that by building a library, my backlist will begin to pay for itself.

Self-publishing is ultimately an opportunity to live the life I want to live. My resolution going into the New Year (although I pledged to do this for myself earlier in 2021) is to actively pursue a life that gives me joy. For me, that goes beyond writing, but I’ll cover that in another blog post at another time.