In 2004, I happened to be surfing the web when I found the site for Lulu Press Inc. Being a writer I had heard of self publishing and had lumped it in with vanity publishing but POD, or publish on demand publishing, was something new. This was something that I could afford and sounded intriguing. So I bookmarked the site and did a little more investigating.

I found both positive and negative reactions. There werent enough negatives to turn me off so I decided to take the plunge and dug out one of my older novellas. I reviewed it, tightened it, polished it and published it through Lulu. In November of 2004, The Bond, A Paranormal Love Story became my first published book. And what a journey that has started me on!

It took me eleven tries to get it right and ready for publication. There was always something wrong that I had to correct. The first few copies I sold contained numerous grammatical errors. I corrected as many as possible yet I am aware that there is two typos still within it. However, since it has gone to global distribution, it would cost $80 to fix them and it wouldnt be cost effective for two errors. But The Bond has received great reviews and even some interest from Hollywood.

But self-publishing is a lot of work and I am constantly trying to think of new ways to promote myself. Getting my books into bookstores is not really an avenue for me. Mainly because Lulu does not have a return policy on their books although I did hear of a Lulu author that got his book into a Chapters bookstore and a Chapters manager expressed interest in getting The Bond into a Vancouver store. Unfortunately nothing came of that. I did try but a few stores asked why I didnt go with a Canadian publisher and/or distributor and others just werent interested. So I tried other methods. I tried schools but I cant afford to send all of them samples, although I have sent a few. I have researched Canadian libraries. It took me almost two years to finally find out how to get a book into the Canadian library system. Ill have to advertise through one of their publications and I dont the money yet. But when I do, I will. So I am looking into other ways. I have fridge magnets made up, I post everywhere, I write articles, I review CDs and everything has my website address and the titles of my book. I use almost any promotion that is inexpensive or free.

Now my second book, Let Us Play, A Rock n Roll Love Story is in the process of being published and I am investigating even more ways to promote it. I sign up for everything I can that tells me how to promote, as long as it doesnt cost me anything. I live on a disability income so money is tight. Self publishing does not usually make one rich so if that is what a writer is expecting when he or she is getting into it, then I advise a different method of publishing. Or a different career.

I have also taken a lot of criticism for self-publishing. I have been told that I will have difficulty getting over the stigma of what Ive done, that I have ruined my career. That conversation motivated me to revamp my website and put aside a page for self-published authors and list well known authors who started out self-published. I have had arguments with other writers over this topic. Some feel that only the useless and untalented choose self-publishing while others admire those who take this daring step. I have been fortunate enough to talk on a Yahoo group with agents about this topic. One agent felt that self-publishing was a last resort for authors who couldnt get their work published any other way while another was interested in reading self-published product. So it depends on whom you talk to.

I dont feel that I have ruined my career by self-publishing. Rather I feel I feel I have enhanced it. I am learning so much about promotion and doing things differently. I am learning that I have push a little to get the things I want and not take no for an answer. At least not always. I dont intend on always self-publishing but life is about experiences and this is an experience I am glad I decided to go for.

Karen Magill
www.karenmagill.com