Independent publishing or traditional, how do you tell which one's right for you?
When my gracious blog host asked me this question I thought of all the articles I’ve read in the past year praising or bemoaning the fast growing industry of self-publishing. I’m willing to bet that 99% of all authors hope and wish for a book deal with a major publisher. But an even higher percentage (99.99%?) won’t get that deal. In fact, they won’t even get an agent. The conundrum new authors face is that we can’t get a publisher’s attention without an agent and the agent won’t take us on unless we’ve been published.
Therefore we must publish on our own. I’ve written seven books over the past nine years and only tried to interest the industry folks with the first one. I saw a much faster and more rewarding future in being my own publisher and retaining all the creative control. It has worked for me, but I have a background of over three decades in education and my grammar editing has been honed by correcting hundreds of thousands of homework papers. (I’m not kidding; I can spot an errant apostrophe in a nanosecond.)
Self-publishing MAY be right for you because (1) it’s free or darn close to free and (2) it’s a first step. Check out Kindle, PubIt!, Smashwords, Createspace and others. Traditionally published authors and self-published authors inhabit the same online world, do book tours (real and virtual), have fan pages, websites, blogs and more. One may get a $5000 advance and the other may earn more than that over the life span of a book that never has to go out of print and pays monthly royalties directly to your bank account. Hmmm.
Self-publishing MAY NOT be right for you if your English skills are lacking. Because of the ease of self-publishing, thousands of unedited, poorly written and just plain horrible books are added to the list daily. These unpolished works give the whole category a bad reputation and make it tediously hard for a buyer to find that worthwhile read.
If you think traditional publishing is right for you, then that’s great and I wish you good luck; I still query a couple of agents once a year so I’m with you there. In the meantime, my books are being read and that it enormously satisfying.
Debra Chapoton, author of the YA thriller EDGE OF ESCAPE, children’s chapter books THE SECRET IN THE HIDDEN CAVE, MYSTERY’S GRAVE, BULLIES AND BEARS, A TICK IN TIME, BIGFOOT DAY NINJA NIGHT, and the non-fiction Bible study CROSSING THE SCRIPTURES.
Edge of Escape reveals the fractured heart of Eddie, an emotionally impaired 18-year-old who has spent most of his school years in special education classes. Placed there by an over protective mother who also blames her son for his unintentional part in his father's death, Eddie is kept separated from normal student interactions. Eddie's guilt and his place among the unaccepted serve to keep him invisible to the rest of the students, especially the popular ones. His uncontainable obsession for the popular Rebecca compels him to devise a plan to pull her into his world and win her over. What should have been appropriate advances become, for Rebecca, the terror of stalking and abduction. She wakes up trapped, she escapes, and then she makes a wrong choice and is trapped again. Throughout her ordeal as she escapes again and again, there are flashbacks into both Rebecca's and Eddie's lives and how those lives have been intersecting all through their school years. If she falls for the fragile spirit who stalks her, does love erase evil intent? If she fails to see the innocent infatuation for what it is, will she be responsible for the inevitable tragedy that foreshadows their tangled fate?
My Review:
Edge of Escape was different from other books. It was a mix of things that alone might not have made it stand out, but together, it does. The first is that it went from present, past, and future. The second was that the supposed bad guy wasn't all that bad, a bit deluded, and from a bad homestead. You felt sorry for Eddie, he had a hard time in life, and he really didn't know what he was doing was wrong. Plus it was just really funny, the way that she would escape, he would figure that out, try and find her again, and she got caught again, and he would wander off again, and it was just funny, she thought he was tormenting her, he was just wanted to explain things fully to her, but just never had the chance. It was hilarrious from the readers perspective!
I loved Eddie and Rebecca, they were just really great, and they were part of what made this book so great! I really enjoyed reading this book, I hope you guys'll check it out!
Author: Debra Chapton
Read: July 14th, 2011
Source: Virtual Book Cafe Review Copy
Reason Why: Sounded like a really great book!
Publisher: Createspace
Published: June 28th 2010
 |
| 4/5 Hearts |
 |
| 4/5 Books |
 |
| 4/5 Stars |
Debra Chapoton has taught kids of all ages in her main career as a teacher. She has a BA in Spanish and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English. She started writing in 2002 and was surprised to find out that the characters quickly take over the action and dialogue in the stories.
Her first YA novel is Edge of Escape. The main character, Eddie, is brilliant yet emotionally impaired. He fixates on pretty and popular Rebecca. He abducts her then tries to be her rescuer as she escapes his traps. His fragile devotion reveals a delicate spirit that Rebecca can either accept or reject. Stalking and obsession get a sympathetic twist in this story of physical and psychological survival.
Chapoton has also written the Big Pine Lodge series for kids ages 8 – 12. These books follow the adventures of Missy and Kevin as they explore the lodge, the cemetery, the old ruins and especially the labyrinth of caves which run beneath the lake and mountain near Big Pine Lodge. They solve mysteries, confront danger and face off with teenage bullies or wild animals in The Secret in the Hidden Cave, Mystery’s Grave and Bullies and Bears.
Other chapter books she has authored are A Tick in Time, a fantasy adventure into a parallel universe, and Bigfoot Day, Ninja Night, a pair of spooky stories that kids love. She has recently published a non-fiction work, Crossing the Scriptures, which explores the amazing connections between the 66 books of the Bible as they align with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This Bible study reveals the intricate weaving of words and themes in books that are spaced at equal intervals.
Contact and Buy AKA Links:
Blog
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Stops on the Tour:
July 10 - Meet and Greet at Virtual Book Tour Cafe
July 13 - Guest Blogging at Book Bees
July 16 - Guest Blogging at Words I Write Crazy
July 19 - Guest Blogging at Been There, Read That
July 22 - Author Interviewed at Sugarpeach
July 25 - Author Interviewed at Rift Watcher
July 27 - Guest Blogging at Wise Words
August 3 - Guest Blogging at Bibray Bookslut
August 5 - Guest Blogging at I Love Books
August 9 - Author Interviewed at BK Walker Books
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Stops on the Tour:
July 10 - Meet and Greet at Virtual Book Tour Cafe
July 13 - Guest Blogging at Book Bees
July 16 - Guest Blogging at Words I Write Crazy
July 19 - Guest Blogging at Been There, Read That
July 22 - Author Interviewed at Sugarpeach
July 25 - Author Interviewed at Rift Watcher
July 27 - Guest Blogging at Wise Words
August 3 - Guest Blogging at Bibray Bookslut
August 5 - Guest Blogging at I Love Books
August 9 - Author Interviewed at BK Walker Books
Very interesting book. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYep, it was a really good book :) Thanks for stopping by! Happy reading!
Delete