Here’s what I learned about myself from publishing my own novel.
Like many aspiring authors, I dreamed of landing a book deal with one of the “Big Five”: Macmillan, Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Penguin Random House, the publishing houses that produce most of the novels we read today. Most publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, meaning you can’t represent your book yourself. A literary agent must represent your book. Acquiring a literary agent is a lengthy process of its own (called querying), and the majority of writers do not succeed in it.
Nevertheless, in 2023, I began researching literary agents via social media, literary agencies’ websites, Manuscript Wishlist, and Publisher’s Marketplace. There are tons of resources and articles on how to query. I read many of them, and by the end of the year, I entered the query trenches, submitting The Nameless of Ginah Valley to literary agents via QueryTracker.
I had little luck with it.
There are several reasons for this. For starters, my query letter and opening chapter needed work, but to be honest, from the moment I started researching agents and their wishlists, I had a realization.
They don’t want this story.
I combed the literary agents’ bios and wishlists, and I couldn’t find my story in the tropes and genres they were looking for. I didn’t fit the description of the author they wanted to represent. And with most of the agents I queried, I had some trepidation about whether I actually wanted to work with them. Maybe if I waited a couple of years, the industry would change, and agents would want a book like mine, but I decided not to wait. Because as I queried, I was also researching indie publishing.
At first, I saw indie publishing as the fallback for writers who couldn’t break into traditional publishing. That’s true for some, but not for everyone. For me, indie publishing became the best path forward. It all came down to one thing: control.
Creative Control
A book is ultimately a product, and a publisher is investing in it. A traditionally published author does have a say in revisions, editing, and book covers, but they don’t have full control. An indie author, by default, has to do it all themselves, but they also have the opportunity to choose their own team of people by hiring out.
I had strong opinions of what I wanted the cover of The Nameless of Ginah Valley to look like and NOT look like. The dual illustrations are pretty unconventional, and heavily illustrated covers cost more. I doubt a traditional publisher would have wanted to take a risk like that. But I could because I am the publisher.
Control Over Pricing, Distribution & Deadlines
Traditional and Independent publishers have their own unique benefits and challenges when it comes to pricing, distribution, and timelines. I won’t speak to the traditionally published side, but one thing I’m loving as a self-published author is that I’m in charge of my own schedule and deadlines. I make goals, and there are some hard deadlines with tasks I outsource, but ultimately, I decide my publishing timeline. There is way more flexibility to push things back if something takes longer, or speed things up if I’m getting excited about a project. As a mom, I’m so thankful I’m not under contract and on a deadline. Some people thrive under that kind of pressure—I do not.
Picking out print-on-demand companies for paperbacks and hardcovers, and choosing ebook distributors, was fun! I loved having the freedom to say yes or no, to release formats on my own timeline. Setting everything up myself means I decide when to run a sale, and I can adjust prices whenever I like. Best of all, I can sell directly to readers and keep most of my royalties. That kind of flexibility just isn’t possible with traditional publishing.
Learning As I Go… And Loving It
A traditionally published author still has to wear many hats—most authors can’t be a hermit in this day and age—but unless you outsource, a self-published author has to do everything. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the growing checklist, I got excited.
This is what made me realize self-publishing was for people like me. I love learning. When I get bored, I end up creating something. There’s always something new to learn with marketing and indie-publishing. I’m always working toward something, and I’m enjoying the journey as much as the destination.
Where I Ended Up
By the time I quit querying, my book pitching skills had improved, I rewrote my opening chapter, and I had outlined a marketing and business plan for myself. I was ready to self-publish.
Will I always be independently published? I have no idea. I’ve seen successful independent authors get picked up by literary agencies and sign book deals with traditional publishers, and I’ve seen traditionally published authors buy back their rights to go indie. Who knows what the future holds, but for now, I’m grateful that I self-published my debut novel, giving it all the love and attention I believe it deserved.
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