I've recently begun the long and tedious process of finding a publisher or literary agent for my newest book, but I've run across the problem of my previous publications and the lack of marketing getting in the way of new companies wanting to take me on. I've had three respond back with an acceptance, if I'm willing to pay. Which I'm not. Another publishing company approached me with a contract but after further examination, I realized that I would be doing most of the work but they still got fifty percent of my profit. How does that seem fair?
So, this made me take a look at myself and my marketing skills. I'll be honest, when it comes to marketing, I suck. Plain and simple. I have the unique problem of being one of those weird people who want to see their work in print, but don't want to encourage people to read it because I feel like it's bragging. I realized to some, I've earned the right to brag. To me, I have not. Writing is something that I do merely because it's an outlet for me. Something that I enjoy doing. So then, I'm left feeling guilty about submitting my books to different companies when I really don't plan on doing a lot of marketing. Quite a pickle.
After much consideration and internal debating and stress, I came across a better solution for me. I plan on creating my own books through Amazon. I can have my own cover pages created through people who get paid to create them. I know how to copyright my stories as well as format them. All I would have to do is submit and go through the process of creating books through self publishing company of choice. A little bit of a tedious process, but for someone who just wants to write for a hobby, it's the perfect solution. In this way, I can market my book as much or as little as I want, without the guilt and worry about providing a loss for the publishing company I'm working for. Immediately, I felt my stress relief go down and my anxiety over what I should do, ease. This is truly the best solution for me.
If you're going down the path of writing and like me, only want to write as a hobby, self-publishing may be the thing for you too. Through Amazon Kindle Direct, Bookemon, or other such sites, you would be able to do exactly that. They help you along the way, try to make it as simple as possible, and you still get to see your book in print. Now of course, the cover page, formatting, and editing would be your responsibility, but there are plenty of online businesses that are willing to do that with minimal fees. The choice is yours. Copyright is another aspect you would have to take care of. For me, the payoff is worth it though. I get my book without the guilty and I can do what I want with it.
If you have any companies or experience with this, please feel free to share below! I would love to know who you use for cover art and formatting.