[Steven Lake]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Holy cow, what's in that cookbook?

lol. Would you believe it's a simple country cooking type cookbook?

Originally Posted by NickSpalding

This. I can understand the appeal of some wanting to go the POD route, but I seriously can't get my head around the idea that anyone would choose self-publishing over commercial publishing - or indeed would think it's a better way to be an author.

Well, if you're good at marketing yourself, and you've got a good book, with today's internet and social web, they pretty much sell themselves. Of course, you need to have a good book too, because if your book is total crap, even Random House couldn't sell it for you. But if it's really good and you're good at marketing yourself (or you get help like I did if you aren't), then you don't need a big house to succeed at writing. There's also a question of what you consider success. Is being picked up by a big house your idea of success, or is it selling a lot of books? Because being picked up by a big house is no guarantee of success. If you think it is, ask all the guys who have been signed by a big house only to find themselves in the bargain bin six months later.

Originally Posted by Moejoe

It's for the very same reasons that bands start up their own labels, actors still work in the theatre and writers now turn to the digital. Freedom. If you want to be tied down to some mega-corp and the feckless idiots who work the ladder within that corp, go for it. You're just another company man then, another yes-sir, no-sir, three-bags full hired gun. If you need the permission of a company to value your own creation, then that speaks volumes for that creation. Now you're making a product, not art, not literature. You may as well be flogging Cornflakes.

Epic ten thumbs up on Moejoe's comment! Well said! It's one of several reasons I never went with any of the big houses. At one time it was my dream to be signed with someone like Baen or Random House. That is, until I found out what they're really like. Now I could care less. I found a publisher I'm happy with, and I will keep publishing through them until hell freezes over or I find something better. How you're treated by a publishing company should go a long ways towards deciding who you will ultimately publish with.

Originally Posted by NickSpalding

First off, I don't quite know why your getting so hot under the collar...we've just got a difference of opinion, that's all.

Hmm, maybe it's your attitude?

Second, I didn't know what DRM meant when I posted the book up and of course Amazon won't let you go DRM free unless you republish the entire book again - which is a real winner of a procedure, I don't think.

Wait, you published a book and didn't know what you were getting into? Wow, that's epic levels of fail. Even *I* did my homework before publishing the first time. Yes, I got taken by Amazon, but at the time I did I wasn't finding enough negatives to give me a reason *not* to go with them. It was only after I started the publishing process that the sh** hit the fan.

The very fact my book is quirky and doesn't have an obvious place in the market is precisely the reason why I chose to self-publish it. It's also not the only thing I've written.

*raises hand sheepishly* Uh, stupid question. If you knew it didn't have a place in the market, why bother publishing at all? That's like going out onto a dry lake bed and expecting to catch fish.

I stand by the argument that to be a successful author - at this time - you need an agent and a publisher.

No offense, Nick, but I call epic BS on that statement. I've said it a thousand times before, if the book is good, it will sell itself, regardless of who you publish with, or how you publishing it, with a few obvious exceptions as stated before. Personally, if you're having trouble selling books, one of two things are wrong. Either your book sucks, or you're marketing it wrong. If the first item is true, pull the book from circulation, take a few years out and improve yourself, get feedback, and then write a new book and try again, and keep trying until you do get a good book. If the second is true, then either hire or find someone who knows marketing and work with them to improve your exposure.

Originally Posted by Moejoe

I'm hot under the collar because every other month it's another person in and around here defending DRM or calling people thieves when they share a story or having a go at the very system they're now utilising for their own ends. And then to boldly state that writers don't care or are not good enough because they choose to publish themselves, is an insult. Add to that a sense of bafflement that anybody who valued their own 'product' would blindly walk into digital publishing without knowing, or really caring about what DRM is and what it does to the audience.

You come off as someone who is gaming this site. Just using digital readers and their good will as a stepping stone or a stop gap on your way towards where you actually want to be, within the traditional publishing ecosystem.

Here! Here! Well said!

To those who support DRM:
DRM is very anti-consumer, and anyone who thinks DRM is a good thing, and people in general are thieves have serious issues. Why do you think the big labels in the music industry are in such bad shape? Or the RIAA for that matter. They treated their customers like crap and thieves, and it's coming back to haunt them. Piece of advice for you. Your customers are *not* thieves. So stop treating them like thieves by endorsing and using DRM. Be as pro-consumer and give them what they want, which is books that are not encumbered by DRM. They will thank you for it. Ultimately, DRM'ed vs Non-DRM'ed content will become a huge battleground in the future, and those who sell their stuff without DRM will be the ultimate winners. And if you don't believe me, take a look around. It's already becoming a big battleground now. Don't be on the losing side.