Has anyone here ever self-published anything? When I was younger, I was considering publishing my own work until I heard lots of bad things about self-publishing. Then, this year, I read a book about just getting yourself out there. What do you think? Is self-publishing okay?

I don't have any experience personally with self-publishing, but I am active in the writing field and from what I hear, it's kinda considered to be a last resort kind of thing.

It is indeed the last resort - something to do after you have sent out query letters to all the literary agents and publishers you can find, and they all have rejected your book. So your option then is to either shelf it or self-publish - just to get it out there, as you say.

What do you mean by self publish? That would be difficult. However, if you think you are capable of doing it then, go for it. I suggest you ask assistance from your family and friends.

There are actually self-publishing businesses that you can pay to publish your writing for you. I think you keep all the profits if it sell, but I don't think they have the ability to market your book like the big publishing houses do.

Self-publishing might be one option; however, it involves a lot of work from your part. And the most difficult aspect of it is to market your work. You need to research and find out all the possible ways to market your book in all the areas where it might sell. But if you ask me, I think that's quite the hassle and kind of like the last resort as it is mentioned by the other posters.

ButterflyEs is absolutely right, these publishing companies work pretty much like printers: they will print your books for you, but it will be up to you to sell them. Some self-publishing companies take care of things like getting your book an ISBN number and placing it with online stores like Amazon.com, but they will not have your book in regular stores. You'll have to do all the marketing and promotion, which isn't fun.

Yeah, that is true, but I read a book that made self-publishing seem like a decent option if you have a small audience. I still have hopes for self-publishing, but only for books I am certain won't do well in mainstream markets.

I haven't heard about self publishing and it sounds interesting. I guess it would be more affordable than to avail publishing services in known or big companies. Do they publishing something else other than books?

I appreciate your information, Joyjoy. I really don't have an idea as to what self publishing means. Does the publishing companies earn some commission when you are able to sell your book? I just want to know.

I don't know much about it myself, but from reading others' posts, I would think.. if you're willing to put the time into it and you don't mind, then go for it When something like this means a lot to you, I think it's worth the extra effort. It's funny you'd mention this, b/c I write a lot and dunno how to get my work out there either. I'm in the same boat as you. However, sounds like you've looked into it a lot more than I have

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-Brittany Brydahl

I've heard lots of good things about the site smashwords.com. They're a self-publishing site that has a print on demand (POD) business model. That means copies of a book are only printed when a book is ordered. The author sets the price of the books, and I think that the site takes a small precentage of the profits. The rest is yours to keep.

Different companies work differently, but there are 2 basic options:

1) You pay them to print a certain number of copies, pick up the books, and then sell them yourself. In that case, the publisher does not get any more money, all the profit is yours.

2) POD was already mentioned here. The publisher puts together your book and keeps it as an electronic file (you pay them for layout and design). When an order comes in, they print & ship the book. In this case, they get some of the money and you get some of the money as well.

I know that amazon.com has a good site for print on demand services, but does anyone know of any other places where I can self-publish?