Self publishing 'the failures'

Self publishers ‘the failures’

I was doing some research earlier for a magazine article that I am writing about self publishing and was highly insulted when I came across an article on Yahoo about E L James from 2012 which said;

‘Last month ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ became the best-selling book in Britain of all time. More astonishing is that it began as a “self-published” book, a route to market traditionally taken by less-talented authors who failed to secure a publishing deal.’

How rude I thought! It’s not because I have “failed to secure a publishing deal” that I self publish my work online, it’s because I want people to read my work, and read my work they do. In the first week one of my short stories had over 50 hits, which I was astonished by, I haven’t even told my friends or family about my writing online. I haven’t even tried to get any of it published though a big publisher yet and if I don’t or my work get’s rejected I wouldn’t see that as I had failed because I wasn’t talented enough.

It made me think about what a talented writer is, what they think about, what they write about. In my opinion a good writer is someone who has let someone else read their hard work and that person has enjoyed it; a good writer is someone who takes the time to write down what comes into their heads and lets other people have the privilege of reading it.

Self publishing is a ballsy thing to do, because if you went to a big publisher and it gets rejected, or no one reads it, then no one else knows apart from you. Whereas if you self publish, your work is out there for the world to see and judge straight away.

I have had people from America write to me and tell me that they can see themselves mirrored in my stories; they have been through what my characters have been through. Stories reach to anyone and everyone. I don’t care if 10 million people hate it, if one person likes it and gets enjoyment out of reading what I write, then that makes my day. I glow now just thinking about the comments on my work.

If it wasn't for the world of online self publishing then my stories would just sit redundant on a computer, for just me to enjoy and that is selfish. Without the world of self publishing we wouldn’t have 50 shades of Grey and where would we be without that book? Love it or hate it, you know about it, have read it, have heard the name and even thought you’re ‘not a fan’ you still may even sneak off to the cinema to watch the film when it comes out. 50 shades made Self publishing come alive and made writer’s dreams a possible reality.

Self publishing is not for the ‘failures’ it’s for the winners, the doers, and the determined. It’s for all of us writers, not just for the “good ones” from some pompous opinions. I am even going to post this to my Facebook as I believe that this is a good piece of writing and to the ones that think it’s not, I don’t really care, It’s out there whether you like it or not and you’re reading it right now, self published.

I have also posted a link to this article on the comments below her article.  I will let you know if I get any responses. They will probably point out some grammar errors I have made, damn the ‘failure!’

Read the rest of Emma Lunn’s article: At least 50 Shades richer: How EL James made £20million in 18 months here: http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/how-rich-is-e-l-james.html