This blog is the third in a series about my book signing of “Too Soon For Sunset.”
I want to give you a sense of what it takes for me to publish “Too Soon For Sunset” as I am self-published through my own company, E-maginative Writing.
It started 15 years ago, when I went to an expensive writer’s conference in San Diego where hopeful writers could pay extra to meet with book agents. At the time, publishing companies wouldn’t even look at a manuscript unless it was represented by an agent. Out of the 500 attendees, only five writers were selected to be represented by agents. I was disgusted and discouraged.
The keynote speaker was Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, a new online publishing company. Much to the horror of the event planners, he outlined how e-publishing could eliminate the need for agents and publishers. He inspired me to self-publish. At the time, there was a stigma against self-publishing; as self-published writers were not seen as “real authors” unless they were signed with a “real” publishing company, like Houghlin-Mifflin or Penguin Books. After decades of trying to break into the book market, I said phooey to that.
Writers don’t need to be validated by antiquated print houses. Writers write because they are wired that way. To deny them a creative outlet and an audience was cruel. The publishing empire continually dictated to the American public books they deemed worthy of print.
So, I started E-maginative Writing, an independent publishing company that publishes e-books for new authors. Since I started my company, e-books have been widely accepted if not preferred and the old stuffy, monolithic publishing companies have folded one by one.