Novel Update: Independent Publishing

So I’ve decided to publish my novel on my own.

I’ve been obsessing about this for month, and here’s how I decided.

Basically, I did research.

When I first realized my dark, erotic short story was turning into a dark, erotic novel, I had visions of getting an agent and having someone talk to me for hours about minute characterization details and then tell me I’m brilliant and write me a check for a bazillion dollars so I could write the sequel from the deck of my yacht in the Bahamas.

Is that too much to ask?

But it turns out traditional publishing is more like, “Here’s $1,000, some of which you may have to pay back if your book doesn’t sell, and we’re putting a shirtless beefcake on your cover, even though Loki isn’t a beefcake and is rarely shirtless.”

Whereas, if I publish independently, I get…

DRUM ROLL!!!

COMPLETE CREATIVE CONTROL!

That’s right – I’m a control freak.

My spice rack is alphabetized. My books are organized by genre, and then alphabetically by author’s last name. And I agonized about whether or not I should make a separate section for biographies.

Note: I didn’t. Empire of the Summer Moon is shelved with the rest of the nonfiction.

And yes, I might make marginally more money if I indy publish. But let’s be honest – if you’re writing a novel to make money, you’re probably writing a novel for the wrong reasons.

The real appeal is the control.

Just like The Clash

This novel is my baby. My dark, erotic baby. (Side note: Dark, Erotic Baby would be a great name for a band.) And I like the idea that I’ll get to choose the cover, I’ll choose the price, and I’ll decide when, where, and how to pitch it.

The downside?

I get all this because I’ll have to pay for it.

Yup.

I’m going to shell out for a sweet book cover (I’m estimating about $500 for the cover and some formatting help to make it look all shiny). And I’m going to buy an ISBN number ($125) so I can call my local library and request 250 copies of my novel.

Right…

And if I trip over $1,000 in the middle of the street this afternoon, then hey, I’ll hire an editor, too.

Anyway. I’m going to indy published because A) I want total control, and B) I don’t mind spending some money on my project.

That’s the plan. Now, back to editing!