Official Site of Yasmin Shiraz |
I’m an author who has had two books published with a major publishing house and I also publish titles through my independent publishing company. In many circles there is a negative stigma associated with self publishing / indie publishing. In most cases, I feel the stigma is unwarranted. But, the stigma serves a mighty purpose: to attempt to limit and minimize the growth of self-publishers /indie publishers. Since I’ve had both experiences, I’d like to dispel 3 Myths about Self Publishing.
Self-Published titles are inferior. I am a member of various librarian groups and I’ve often read comments from librarians who’ve stated, “I know it’s not right, but when I see the book is self-published, I don’t bother.” There is a tangible bias against self-publishers but people need to recognize they are discriminating unjustly. One of the biggest criticisms I hear about self-published titles is: “They are full of errors.” Some titles are, but titles from major publishing houses have errors as well. My first book, The Blueprint for My Girls, was submitted to Simon & Schuster without any errors and in their first printing, the had input an error in the prologue which didn’t exist in the self-published edition. Yeah. The major publisher added an error. Remember a few years ago when the author James Frey in his “non-fiction” book made up a bunch of stuff that wasn’t remotely true? The major publisher didn’t fact check him and basically sold a book to the American public which was misleading and full of lies. A MAJOR publisher committed that act, not an indie. This proves major publishing houses make mistakes just as self-publishers/indie publishers make mistakes. (Disclaimer: I am not denying the existence of independent books which have a bunch of typos. I am saying every independent / self-published book is NOT full of typos and therefore should not be deemed as unworthy.)
You make more money as an author signed to a major publisher. I’ve had two separate book deals with Simon & Schuster and yet I make more money from my independent publishing company. If you read Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing manual, you’ll understand why. But, basically, if you sell a book for $10.00 and are signed to a major publisher, you get $2. If you sell a book for $10.00 that you published, you get $8.00. You have to sell WAYYY MORE books signed to a major publishing company to make the same amount of money. It’s no wonder that successful independent publishers like Tamika Newhouse remain independent.
Self-Published Titles Don’t Get Recognized. There are many people/organizations who claim to love books, but they actively ignore independent titles. This is unfortunate. My book Retaliation was recognized by the American Library Association as a Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Of all the books that were published in 2009, my book made the top ten list. I published it through my own company. This was a major coup for my company after all is there a bigger book organization than the American Library Association? I doubt it. At any rate, there are various organizations which recognize self-published /indie published titles. I believe authors should seek them out. Here are a few to consider.
Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards
African Americans On The Move Book Club Awards
Book Works Awards
eLit Book Awards
Foreward Reviews Book of the Year Awards
Next Generation Indie Book Awards
There are more, but just check some of them out and see how it goes.
When I was in California recently, I realized I must do more to support authors and to promote literature featuring African Americans because I know it is sorely needed. If you are an author, who’d like to receive more support for your books, please email me: yshiraz@yasminshiraz.net I am starting a new initiative to increase the number of reviews and social media exposure for our books. I’d love to hear from you.
Peace & Love,
Yasmin
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