Back to Publishing! Traditional or Self? Print or eBook?

With so many materials and plans finally in hand, I knew the time had come to decide where to take R.J.'s Story, the initial story at the heart of my entire creative project. 

The publishing world was becoming an ever-changing hard shell that was more and more difficult to crack. If I pursued a traditional route, finding an agent to represent me would be the first task. I was sure that the list of agents I had accumulated years ago, when I was crazy enough to think anyone would even consider my initial manuscript, was long since obsolete. I needed to find a working agent who handled fantasy fiction for a general audience. That meant querying and waiting and querying and waiting. If I were lucky enough to be picked up by an agent, she would have to shop my book to publishers, whose numbers were dwindling and demands were far more finicky in today's market. I, as the author, would be expected to do much of my own marketing, since publishers no longer carried that burden alone. And if my book were published, I was probably looking at a 1.5 to 2-year time frame, from agent acquisition to printed goods.

Did I really want to go through such a tedious process that seemed so far removed from my original intent? If I was less concerned with establishing a writing career than fulfilling my creative goals and sharing my ideas within a manageable circle of influence, was the traditional publishing route going to serve my purposes?

Somewhere along the line, I became aware of the self-publishing option. It was the up-and-coming alternative, and many options within its realm were available to writers. I learned that independent publishing companies were sprinkled throughout my backyard, the Bay Area, if I was interested in a printed book format. I discovered several online options for eBook and/or print self-publishing as well. Amazon's Direct Publishing offerings were growing at breakneck speed. So were companies like Barnes and Noble PubIt!, Lulu, and Smashwords. I even found several eBook software options, which really allowed you to dig in and "self"-publish. 

Finally, after attending a presentation by Mark Coker, Smashwords' creator/owner, I made the decision to introduce R.J.'s Story to the outside world via the self-publish eBook options available at Smashwords. Its guidelines were easy to follow; it was gaining an audience at a rapid pace; and it offered a more generous potential for royalty income than traditional publishers, if the author did his/her marketing homework.

I opted to produce a printed version of the book at a later date.