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Self-Publishing and Marketing
An ongoing challenge with self-publishing is marketing.
I decided, after a large number of rejections over some 10 years from both agents and publishing houses, to self-publish.
Yes, I questioned if maybe I just was not as good a writer as I thought I might be. However, after much analysis, I concluded it was less my writing and more my chosen genres. As mainstream as they are in some respect, sci-fi and fantasy are niche markets.
Further — both agents and publishing houses are averse to risk. In a niche market, wowing an agent or publisher takes a lot of unknown factors, such as what they are looking for, timing, the popularity of similar TV shows and movies, etc.
Making this choice, I’ve remained aware of the many pitfalls. There are plenty of works out there that have been self-published that are sub-par at best. No offense to my fellow authors intended — but for every well-edited, polished work — there are unedited, non-proofread books self-published in every imaginable genre.
One of the biggest issues with self-publishing is marketing. When you are published by a major publishing house — and even some more minor ones — they handle a lot of the marketing. They have resources that you might have a tough time matching.
