Fa, La, La, La

I don't know about you, but I say, "Thank you, Lord, Christmas comes but once a year. Don't get me wrong this is my favorite holiday season. Starting with October I'm in a great mood. However, cooking and entertaining have worn me out. Not to mention ending up in the church Christmas play- as (drum roll) the Virgin Mary. There, I gave you permission to laugh hysterically at my expense.

So anyway now I'm looking forward to New Year's Day. I'm going to have black-eyed peas and cabbage in the great southern tradition of hoping it brings me money. The peas are for change and the cabbage (or greens, like collards or mustards) are for the bills- hopefully in the larger denominations. I also like starting fresh on new projects.

To that end read my post at Making A List and Checking it Twice at Blogging In Black

Happy New Year!

Vanity Publishing Explained

Author Laura Resnick gives a pretty complete explanation of the differences between self-publishing and vanity publishing in this Novelists, Inc blog post. Of course Laura makes it clear that she doesn't like vanity publishers.

So here is an early Christmas present for any writers out there that may be considering this route to getting their book in print. At least if you go forward you'll be armed with information.

I personally feel that authors should at least know that not going the traditional route is a big gamble and lots of work. The author must be a great, and tireless marketer. Also your book won't get much in the way of distribution, certainly not nationally. I can't say it enough- do your homework and network with other authors.

Self-Publishing vs Vanity Publishing

Okay. I've read several explanations of the differences between the two. Self-publishing is when the author chooses a printer, cover art and editing on their own. They don't buy a package of services from a vanity publisher with implied promises that said package will get the book more more love from bookstores and readers. Vanity publishing in fact has been referred to as a scam by quite a few authors. The bottom line to me is do your homework. Because even those who self-publish can be scammed. I've read accounts of writers who had sloppy printing done by the company they chose, or who paid a graphic artist for a cover and didn't get the art work. I've read writers warning others from doing business with these folks, and even with certain independent bookstores that took their books but never sent invoices on whether the books sold. Naturally this problem included the author not getting money for said books.

I self-published one small book as a project and raised a few bucks for a non-profit (I'm on the board). It wasn't fiction and I knew not to expect much in the way of sales. Again I say, "Do your homework!". Join a writers group and find out from people who have been down the same road. The great thing about writers is they are a helpful bunch of people.

Be careful. Sure there are a lot of ways to live the dream of being an author. There are just as many ways to get taken for a ride. Now write!