Reflections on Self-publication

Now that I have paid to have Inconceivable! printed and bound, I am an indie publisher. I have a beautiful physical version of Inconceivable! that I can use in whatever way I want to promote the property to agents, publishers, magazine editors and contest judges.  I drop a copy in the mail and there you are, without cost or obligation, on the threshold of an adventure in literature.

To some, the indie model is an inferior or stigmatized publishing model.  Their view is that unless the manuscript is represented by an agent who has brought it to the attention of a publisher that in turn brings it to the attention of wholesale buyers, it can't be a valuable property.  The anguish of screening works to protect the public from the unworthy, they say.

Not with the internet! The publishing food chain has been completely disintermediated by the digitization of manuscripts.  As an author who seeks validation, an editor's praise would be nice, an agent's energy is appreciated.  A publisher's investment is expensive, but to an author, the resources of a mainstream publisher are worth it. Without an agent, editor or publisher, what have I got?

A franchise completely within my control, with no rights granted to anyone, with a path up to me to navigate.  Not to mention 200 copies for sale at $16.95 softcover or $6.95 electronic in the format of your choice.

Nothing stands between me and my fantasy executive producer, Barbra Streisand! All rights reserved, Barbra, and all rights available. I wrote a character thinking you would play her.

[Several of you have back-channeled your praise for the book. Thanks! Please review it when it finally appears for sale on the ebook site of your choice.]