As soon-to-be self-published authors, we have taken on a great responsibility. We have read and attended workshops, researched and gnawed on the details of taking all of a publishers’ responsibilities into our own hands.

We have made our contacts, hired professionals, discovered resources and
bought guides. All so that we would release a well-written, proofread book
with a professionally created cover and edited to snuff. We believe that
self-publishing should not equate to a book full of typos, lack of research
and badly flawed story. Those authors who self-publish without putting their
books through the basic steps any publisher puts their material through,
contribute to the bad image self-publishing has developed of late.

Having said that, I have to stress that a book’s story is still the key. Take
it as an example my latest read. I just finished a novella published by one
of the big names in publishing (and no, I am not going to name names). It had
so many editing flaws and typos I was about to create a tally to keep track
of them all. Yes. Big name, and yet, the book was poorly edited and released.
Still, the story captivated me. I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up until 3am
to finish it and I am now on the hunt for more stories by the same author.
Would I have preferred to read that book with less mistakes? To enjoy it
without editing it in my head as I read it? Yes, definitely. But it still
didn’t detract from the story. The meaty part was still there ready to be
consumed and enjoyed.

The point I am trying to make is that even big publishers make mistakes. Even
those with access to good editors 24/7. So it’s unfair to judge self-
published books solely by their method of reaching the public. Although we
all know that a good number of authors taking that route did so to cut
corners, many chose to self-publish just because their story didn’t fit the publishers’ cookie cutters or that agents and publishers considered marketable.

Self-publishing allows the reader freedom of choice. It allows the market to
expand to include new genres and new stories that would never see the light
of day if it depended on companies that only accept stories they know for a
fact will sell. Yet, to those taking the plunge into self-publishing, a few
words of advice. Please do not butcher your story solely for the sake of
reducing word count. After all, we all love a good long tale. BUT please, do edit. Please, do proofread. Do your research. Check your facts. You will be helping all self-pub’d authors in the process by raising the bar to which we all should adhere.

Sláinte!