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Looking back over the previous days’ posts, I may have sounded a bit too lighthearted about my decision to self-publish The Hell You Say. It wasn’t an easy choice. For one thing, I felt I was putting a match to my credibility as a “real” writer. I knew that once I resorted to self-publishing, most mainstream publishers would be leery of taking me on again. I comforted myself with the knowledge that most mainstream publishers would be leery of taking me on regardless of what I did: I was writing gay mysteries for God’s sake!

There’s a stigma attached to self-publishing, make no doubt about it. It’s not quite as virulent in niche, indie, or electronic publishing – but then electronic publishing carries its own stigma as far as mainstream publishing is concerned. And…let’s be honest. Often the self-pubbed stigma is deserved. Many self-published books are self-published because they are simply...not good enough.

I know that sounds brutal. And of course there are exceptions – wonderful exceptions and wonderful books that simply don’t fit into the current marketing paradigm – but mostly…mostly writers who resort to self-publishing are writers who can’t get published elsewhere. I’m being blunt because I don’t want anyone to think that just because I resorted to self-publishing I endorse or recommend it. I don’t.

That said, there are certain instances where self-publishing makes good sense -- where it is actually the right move at the right time. The trick is in knowing what's the right time. I felt my reasons were strong for taking that route. I knew I had a small but devoted audience waiting for this third book. I was pretty sure I could earn back my investment – even though I planned on choosing one of the more costly self-publishing packages in order to put together the best possible quality book. And there was always the hope I might even earn a bit beyond covering my costs. I felt if I could show a decent sales track record with this self-published book I might be able to interest one of the publishers who previously wouldn’t even consider a proposal from me. And most important to me: I wanted the book out fast, and I knew no traditional publisher could beat the self-publishing time-frame. But I also knew I was seriously limiting my chance of reaching any readers who weren’t already fans.

Did you know the average self-published book sells about fifty copies?

If you know what you're doing, you know what you're up against, and you're ready to take on the responsibility and pressure of being your own publisher and marketer and distributor -- as well as write your next book -- then self-publishing might be the right decision. But self-publishing is not a viable option for most of us. Bookstores are unlikely to carry your self-published book, and web-based sales are only about twenty-five percent of overall print book sales -- and I've seen even that number challenged.

I even went with a publishing package that meant I took a smaller royalty percentage in order to offer a deeper discount to bookstores – but that discount was still not competitive, nor was the no-return policy on the books. With the exception of the Lambda Rising Bookstore chain, bookstores simply wouldn't get behind me or the book. It was demoralizing, let me tell you.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before I self-published I comparison shopped all the companies and options out there. In the end I went with iUniverse which offered a variety of programs and services – and seemed to put out a pretty decent product (meaning cover art work, typeface, margins). I opted for their Reviewer’s Choice program – which meant the book was evaluated and critiqued by iUniverse staff. If it passed, it got a little endorsement logo, the idea being that these books were of a certain quality and standard – different from the usual iUniverse fare which hits the cyber shelves as is.

The book passed with no problem – in fact, the reviewer/evaluator said it was the best thing s/he’d ever had submitted. Which was nice, but maybe they say that to all the entries. Anyway, then I had the book copy-edited by a couple of trusted friends including Wayne Gunn, author of The Gay Male Sleuth. And, as I mentioned, I opted for a deeper discount for bookstores. I did everything I could think of to make the book both quality and commercial – I didn’t want to hear any of the usual crap about self-publishing. Not with my name attached to it. And not after my readers had waited for so long.

I promoted The Hell You Say all I could. I sent letters and free copies to bookstores, I sent copies to reviewers, I gave away copies on reading lists – I spent as much in promoting as I had in publishing. And, in a way, it did pay off. I sold about 1500 copies all told. Not bad for self-publishing in a niche market.

And from the response – both from reviewers and readers -- I saw that – assuming I wanted to keep paying to put out books – there was a market for my work. I didn’t know if I could afford that kind of writing career, as gratifying as it was to know that people enjoyed my writing, but if I wanted it, it was mine.