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Hi community of awesome, I'm Ava Jae and this is bookishpixie.
So some years before I got my agent and I'd written five books and querying wasn't going
well, I started getting some questions about why I didn't just self-publish.
They largely asked because I'd been writing for a while at that point and put away a bunch
of manuscripts and self-publishing was becoming a big thing so why not?
And I kind of hit a turning point with this book because I totally believed in the project
and I loved it so much, so the thought of having to trunk it was a little harder than usual.
So, being the kind of person that I am, I started doing a lot of research.
I learned a lot about self-publishing from the basics, to marketing, to formatting your
book, and editing, and creating the book cover, and everything else.
And I read more posts than I can count about the pros and cons of self-publishing.
What became undeniable to me was if I chose to self-publish, it would A) change my career
plans as a writer, and B) require a lot more responsibility and work than just writing the book.
And that's without even considering the monetary stuff, because I recognized if I wanted to
do it right, I was going to have to hire some people to help.
So I gave it some real consideration, until I kinda decided that I didn't really want
to have to do all that extra stuff by myself.
I knew that I personally wanted the career guidance and partnership of working with an agent.
I wanted a champion in my career that could help me navigate the ups and downs of a writing career.
And, if I was being honest with myself, my dream was to see my book published, preferably
in hardcover, and distributed to bookstores nationwide.
And to be frank, I knew the chances of getting that were not-so-good with self-publishing.
Ultimately, I realized that if I had self-published, it would've been to try the roundabout route
of getting an agent, which didn't make sense because it's easier to get an agent if you
haven't already self-published your manuscript.
In fact, most agents will tell you if you've self-published your manuscript to query them with the next one.
Self-publishing is a totally legitimate choice, but I eventually had to come to the realization
that it just wasn't the right choice for me.
So, I decided at that point that even if it meant I never got published, I was going to
pursue traditional publishing exclusively.
And it took me several more years and five more manuscripts, but it ended up
being the right choice for me.
Traditional publishing isn't for everyone, and it certainly has its downsides.
But I don't regret my decision for a second.
So that's what I've got for today!
If you liked what you saw, don't forget to subscribe and comment, and I'll see you guise next week!