First Edition Design Publishing
Why I chose to self-publish
Guest Blog by Geoff Veit
It isn’t hard for me to explain why I chose to self-published my first book. I think my reason is common, but certainly not the only reason. When I have asked other writers why they self-published, their answers are usually one of these or the same reason I have.
- It is faster. I wanted to get this information out as soon as possible.
- It’s the way of the future. Self-publishing is the new platform.
- My book has a unique or narrow reader base. It is easier to target that base.
- I don’t have the time to send out query letters and find an agent.
And there are probably a few others that I don’t remember. As you can see, in most cases, it had to do with a timing and effort issue. I agree that it takes time to write letters not to mention the expenses involved for mail or for copy materials. If you work a full time job then your time is a legitimate issue.
Fott’s Journey by Geoff Veit published in eBook by First Edition Design Publishing
The reason I published electronically the first time is, in a single word, discouraged. I was discouraged about the conventional route. I wrote the query letters, I emailed, I called, I tried to get a foot in the agent’s door, any way I could. After struggling with that issue for a few months, I tried contacting the publishers directly. I had the same result approaching publishers that I had trying to find an agent. Dead ends, No person actually read my book and said “I don’t like it, no thanks” or “You need to clean it up.” They never asked about my other writings or tried to find out who I was or what might be the opportunity in my future writings. Nothing, no comments at all except an occasional letter explaining that the agent or publisher wasn’t accepting anything new.
I was past discouraged and in fact I almost let the discouragement stop me from doing what I love. The lack of publisher interest left me feeling like a failure. I didn’t realize there was an alternative until one Christmas morning, about 6 years ago. I was given a Kindle and that got me thinking about electronic books and from there I thought about self-publishing and a short time after that, I self-published my first book. All the things that I had let hold me back, were gone. I wasn’t discouraged any more. Sure, there was still a lot to do but now I had control of what to do and when.
What are your thoughts about self-publishing? Enter a comment below.
About Geoff Veit:
Author Geoff Veit
Geoffrey J. Veit, was born in Ithaca New York and now resides in Central Florida. Until now, his writing has been for the business world but a love for all children and having raised three children of his own, brought about a strong desire to write a children’s adventure book.
Without a fixed genre, Geoffrey is free to offer fiction and nonfiction in several subjects.
Follow Geoff on Twitter — @valuesys or Like his Facebook page
About First Edition Design Publishing:
First Edition Design Publishing is the world’s largest eBook and POD (Print On Demand) book distributor. Ranked first in the industry, First Edition Design Publishing converts and formats manuscripts for every type of platform (e-reader). They submit Fiction, Non-Fiction, Academic and Children’s Books to Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Google, Kobo, Diesel, 3M, Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Nielsen, EBSCO, and over 100,000 additional on-line locations including retailers, libraries, schools, colleges and universities. The company’s POD division creates printed books and makes them available worldwide through their distribution network. First Edition Design Publishing is a licensed and approved Aggregator and holds licenses with Apple and Microsoft.
Visit: www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com
First Edition Design Publishing - a hybrid publisher 