One's Reasoning

It is a painful statistic that 0.5% of people who actually write a novel get published. That is half of one percent. Something that becomes obvious to someone who has tried to get published is that everyone else is undergoing the same procedures as you in order to stand out. For example, they will follow the ‘when formula’ for query letters. They will try to rake up a list of publications or credentials. They may even spend the twenty or thirty dollars in order to have their manuscripts printed and sent to the companies themselves, where their work is added to the ‘slush pile’ and probably not even glanced at. Soon they will turn to literary agent to represent their work, only to find that these agents have a slush pile of their own. I am just such a person. I learned after four years of writing my first novel, that the publication process was difficult at best.

After querying every publishing company and literary agent in North America who claimed to accept fiction, I was bombarded with e-mail packed full of the horrific work unfortunately. It came to the point where I didn’t bother reading the whole e-mail, because they were all the same. Unfortunately was all I needed to see.
In response to these aggravating e-mails and lack of process, I looked into self-publication, a beautiful thing. The idea was simple. I could pay a printing company to produce my book instead of having a publishing company do it. In this case, I did the investing rather than a publishing company. I would be forced to do the selling as well, but I didn’t feel as though I had much choice anymore. As time went on, and I got closer and closer to sending in my novel and a check for $1499 to the printing company (this was for fifty copies of my novel), I was forced to question myself. Was this really self-investment?

I’ve grown to learn a great deal about true self-reliance. The quotation “invest in yourself” has become one of my family mottoes, something my father discovered in a fortune cookie during his teen years. Somehow I didn’t feel as if I was doing it justice, and I stood to lose a great deal of money if the printing company didn’t pull through. It was then I was given the idea for true self-investment. After having a long conversation with a professional novelist, he asked, “Why the hell do you want someone else to make your books for you? You seem like a determined guy. Do it yourself!” From that day on, I was unable to look at books the same way again. I analyzed their very structure and questioned their design. It occurred to me how simple their construction really was. In most cases, they were truly just paper and glue! It was then I decided it was time to get creative.

After the investment of exactly $962.41, I have created my own small-scale publishing company, and am sitting next to over sixty books that I have shaped with my own two hands (many others already sold). Keep in mind this was an extensive learning process, and much of that money went towards trial and error. I have no doubt that I could make these sixty books from scratch within two weeks for half the cost…now.
I have founded Metcalfe Family Publishing, and the experience has been so rewarding. I have made many useful friends and contacts. I have learned every step of creating my own homemade books. I’ve been able to maintain complete ownership of my written work, having rejected the idea of selling for royalties. With effort and creativity, anyone’s personal project came be in print for friend or family (perhaps even books stores depending on you intentions).

Do not get me wrong. I have no problem with publishing companies at all. They publish what they believe will make money, which they have to in order to compete. They most certainly can’t afford to publish too many books at a time. They play it safe and often work with successful and well-known authors instead of new comers. Just because one’s work wasn’t accepted by a company, does not mean that it wasn’t worthy. That is why self-publication is an asset. I will go over the dynamics of the printing and binding processes at a later date. In the mean time…edit! (Trust me, there is always something you can do to improve your own work.)