The hybrid way

When I wrote the Panthera series of books I always planned to self-publish them.  I'd had enough of being rejected, of the near-misses, of "you write well, but" letters.  

The Panthera books have never been submitted to any agent or editor.  They're complex, with four or five viewpoints and an interweaving main and sub plot.  I worked out a detailed chapter plan before I started to write, and I knew the structure worked.

I'm lucky that I'm part of Pentangle Press.  I have two brilliant beta readers who are writers I've known many years.  We've learned to become professional writers together.  I'd thought our critique sessions  got nit-picky before we started Pentangle, but it really stepped up when we started to self-publish.  

My two readers pick up different things in the manuscript.  One is brilliant at the details, and is brutally honest if I don't need a section.  The other acts like a commissioning editor, suggesting re-writes and changes of emphasis.  She's also brilliant at analysing the psychology of characters, and telling me when they wouldn't do something.  They both read through the final draft of the manuscript, and the proof copy. 

Our process is the same as an author would work through with a mainstream publisher.  And now I've been through it I can put my books out there, confident that they work.  I've sold books to strangers at conferences, and had good reviews on Amazon from readers I don't know, so the process works.  And working with my two friends has shown me the discipline needed to work with an editor.  I've lived through the discomfort of someone saying parts of my manuscript don't work.  That preparation will come In handy when I eventually get a mainstream contract.

Yes, I haven't given that up.  There is a validity in being published by a mainstream publisher that it's hard to get as a self-published author.  And tapping into a major publisher's marketing and distribution channels are things that add value to a writer's exposure.  Getting books into major bookshops is difficult for a self-publisher, and this is where the big publishers score.  It's not likely that a new writer will earn much, if anything, in royalties, but I'd gain exposure, the endorsement of a big publisher, and the use of their marketing machine.  

I envisage the future as a hybrid way.  Publishers may take some books, but the others I will self-publish.  After all, professional editors have no more idea of what will sell than I do, so it makes sense to explore all avenues.  I have a lot of books to put out into the world, after all.