A Book is a Book is a Book - Isn't It?
By Jean Sheldon

Current cyber speak suggests that neither publishers nor agents are interested in books that don’t promise to be blockbusters. We live in an age of super-sized reality. The publishing world is no different and yet it still surprises and saddens me. I’m new to fiction/mystery/crime writing. I self published my first book earlier this year, mostly because I felt that since I was older, I didn’t have enough years to spend submitting to agents and publishers.

When I first made the decision to publish, I submitted queries to agents and publishers. One agent told me I should keep writing and I would find my niche. I wondered what my niche was and if it would be different if I published my books or someone else did.

As I read many of the writing blogs and lists, I find there is a prejudice even among writers about self-published books. Some are not willing to accept you if you self-publish. That's a shame, because it is so difficult to find an agent or publisher these days. Yet, a book published by a 'real' publisher isn't necessarily a good book. I've read a number of self-published books that are wonderful, and many traditionally published books that were not.

We all want acceptance of our work, and would love validation, but that, like most measures of self worth, has to come from within. If you write because you need someone else to affirm your writing, you may need to reconsider how you spend your time. If you write to make money, according to some figures, you have a better chance buying a lottery ticket.

I'm not ashamed to have self-published, I'm delighted to have figured out a way to do it and still buy groceries. If I stop writing, it won’t fix the problem. It will only stop a newly found and extremely pleasurable activity.

For the sake of survival of the planet, I think small publishers will lead the way in supporting the continued growth of print on demand. In a world where every tree becomes more important, writers will want responsible production of their books, as will readers. The last 'Harry Potter' book had a run of fourteen million. That is a phenomenal number, and I would bet that most of them sold or will sell. For now, I'll rely on printing books for customers, as they are ordered.