If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I spent the better part of the last 6 months trying first to find an agent who would represent In Her Mother’s Shoes, and then a small publisher who would take it on. In my last post, I had pretty much resigned myself to going the self-publishing route. I was just waiting to hear from the last of the publishers to whom I’d sent queries.

I started thinking about the time that would be lost – some of them said they took as long as six months to respond. I thought about the compliments I’d received about my writing. And I thought about what I wanted to do, going forward.

I didn’t wait to hear from those other publishers. We all know what they’re going to say anyway. At worst, it will be a scribbled “Not right for us….” At best, perhaps they’d add to my growing collection of “You write well, but…” and other such variations on that theme.

I decided – as perhaps all good writers should at some point – that one way or another I wanted to share my writing. If I couldn’t do it the traditional publishing route, then I would do it myself.

Over the past couple of weeks I dove into comparisons of self-publishing companies. I didn’t want to just do the ebook route, because I still like the potential for holding a “real” book in my hand and sharing it with others.  I narrowed down the list based on price and contracts and, frankly, my impressions of the sales people at each place. Who invested themselves in me before they knew for sure I’d choose their company?  Who allowed me the most creative freedom? Who was willing to work with me on a custom cover?

The decision came down to Dog Ear Publishing. Really. I loved the name! But I chose them because of their publishing package selections that could be customized enough to give me all of what I wanted and none of what I didn’t want to pay for. And I can set my own selling price, so I can make this book more competitive than Autumn Colors could be. No, I can’t go the 99 cent route. But since I’ve always been ambivalent about that anyway (devaluing the work or great marketing tool?), I liked that this limitation took that ambivalence away. The ebook will be priced at $2.99 – fair, competitive, low enough for readers to take a shot at an unfamiliar author, but I’m not giving the book away. The soft cover price hasn’t been set yet, but it will be in the $10.00-$12.00 range.

Surprisingly, once I made the decision to self-publish, I felt not just relieved but actually excited. The publishing turnaround time is about 4 months, so the book will be out much sooner than if a traditional publisher had taken it on. And one of the best parts is it sets me free. I’m no longer bound by the obsession to find an elusive agent or publisher. I no longer respond to every comment from an agent or publisher by wading back into the book to tweak to please. My book is my book (and of course I hope to make it yours eventually!).

Now I can ponder my writing future. Should I continue with Kiss Petey or go in another direction? It’s all up to me and what I want to do.

There’s no better feeling than that!