Friday, October 30, 2009

Be the publisher

I find myself constantly having to explain to people that self-publishing is publishing and they should think of themselves as publishers. Antipodean colleague Gordon Woolf says it better in an ezine article, “What is a Self-Publisher and Why You Should Aim Higher.”

The short version? When you walk into a room to greet readers, you’re a published author, not a self-published author. When you walk into a room to sell books, you’re a publisher, not a self-publisher. Identifying yourself as a self-publisher in any context is bush league.

2 comments:

Peter L. Winkler said...

And what does the self-published author say when someone asks, "So, tell me, who published your book?"

Do you lie?

Dick Margulis said...

No, of course you don't lie. You just point to the imprint. Yes, it's a small publisher. Yes, you're the sole proprietor. Yes, this is the first book you've published. But if you did it right and it looks professionally done, you have nothing to be embarrassed about.

This is more about the role you place yourself in in your own head than it is about deceiving anyone. I advocate honest, ethical behavior in all circumstances. But if you identify as a self-publishing author instead of identifying as an author and a publisher, you are doing yourself a disservice.