the glamour of print books

I’ve finally figured out how to do CreateSpace efficiently, so both the ebook and the trade paperback editions of SOUL OF SWORDS will come out simultaneously sometime in the next few days.

There’s something quite enjoyable about holding one’s own book in one’s own hand. I’d forgotten that feeling – the last time I had a novel traditionally published was in 2008, and holding a Kindle displaying your ebook isn’t quite the same as holding a physical book that you, personally, have written. There’s a feeling of…satisfaction, let us say, that you are holding this book that you have written.

Holding one of my physical books, I can see why so many writers remain so desperate to be traditionally published. Of “seeing my book on the shelf”, of holding the book, of being “good enough” to be published, and all the other things starry-eyed writers talk about when discussing traditional publication.  It’s really quite a powerful feeling.

Of course, I have come to believe that is a myth – the odds of traditional publication are vanishingly small, and if you do sign with a traditional publisher, you have an excellent chance of getting thoroughly screwed via the black sorcery of contract law. For 99.7% of the writers and the potential writers reading this, self-publishing is the better choice. That’s not my opinion or my feelings on the matter, that’s just math. And math, unlike feelings, does not lie.

Additionally, ebooks sell way, way better than print books. My bestselling novel has sold 9,000 copies so far, and if the print version ever sells a tenth of that, I shall be amazed.

Nevertheless…holding one’s own book really is a nice feeling.

But thanks to CreateSpace, you can have that feeling of holding your book, also while selling the book around the world, without signing away your rights until the heat death of the multiverse. And all it takes is a web browser, Microsoft Word, and a willingness to learn and do the work. (And $25 for expanded distribution, of course.  )

-JM