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Old 11-29-2008, 11:38 PM   #4
Andurian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jplumey View Post
Let's say I've written what I think is a pretty "sellable" book. Its fiction, geared towards the supernatural genre.

Now let's say I want to get the book out there to as many people as possible (to make money, of course).

Should I continue to support the paper industry or should I try to go electronic exclusively? Is there a middle of the road approach? Are there publishers with fair terms who will market both ebook and pbook formats?

Or should I just go it myself and self-publish. Thoughts?
Baen looks to be a good option. They are a major publisher and one of the best in the ebook realm right now. They only publish fantasy and science fiction, but supernatural fiction might be acceptible to them.

I am not a publisher or a published author, but I've looked around a fair amount on these topics and from what I've seen it *looks* like self-publishing is less likely to allow you to "hit a home run" than traditional publishing. If your goal is to become a household name, traditional publishing is for you. Of course you'll have to be both very talented and very lucky as well.

Traditional publishing is also probably a better option if you plan to (or rationally evaluate yourself as likely to) write only one or two books. Self publishing works better for those people who can build up an audience and a reputation over time and multiple works. You'd be relying more on word of mouth for readers, after all, rather than a professional marketing apparatus.

This certainly isn't meant to bash self publishing. I think the future is likely to be closer to self publishing than traditional publishing, and there definitely are people already around who are finding both money and satisfaction there.
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