Publishing

Well, the novel is about 2/3 of the way through, which means it is time to start seriously considering the act of publishing the manuscript.

For those who do not know, there are two types of publishing: self-publishing, and publishing houses, or traditional publishing. For my first novel, I went the self-publishing route, and I loved it. I had complete control over my product, it was published in less than a month, and it looked fantastic, exactly the way I wanted it to look. But there were two major downsides: it cost a lot more, and there was no marketing. It was all on me to market.

Traditional publishing subverts this. There is little cost, and marketing is almost entirely done by the publishing house (they want to make money too). However, you tend to lose control of the product via the line of editors, you don't get a choice in the way it looks, and it could take months or even years to finally be published (if they even accept you). There are guidelines to follow, and your product isn't simply yours.

I want to go the self-publishing route again, but this isn't a game anymore. I need this book to make a serious profit. And I'm really concerned that, by self-publishing, I won't make enough to make it seriously worthwhile. The package I would choose would probably range from $1000-$2000 dollars, meaning that, if I made $20/book (which is rounding up), I'd have to sell over 100 books to make a slim profit.

Now I would work my ass off to publicize this book, including posting on my blog and on here as well as asking to host several book signings. But eventually it would have to travel by ear by those I don't know. And that process scares me more than anything, thanks to my low self-esteem. I find it very hard to believe a mass amount of people would like my novel and tell their friends about it. I have to see that to believe that.

I don't know, what do you guys think? I really want to go the self-publishing route because I want the speed and control. But that requires taking a massive leap of faith. Do you guys think it would be worth it?