WHY I CHOSE TO SELF PUBLISH 

GEORGIO MOSLEY hi have wonderful weekend!

@@safinan8008 howdy!! You have a bless Happy Reading weekend too 😊🙌🍁

Thank you so much!!! I’m definitely in it because I love fantasy and writing, and I’m really happy that shows :) It can be quite expensive to self-publish (if someone takes all the necessary steps) but, like you said, that hard work and investment often pays off in the long run 😊

Thanks! 😄 It was a tough decision and not one I thought I’d ever go with, but I’m happy I went this route :)

Oh, who was the author? :)

Elliot Brooks Matt Colville. He's famous for D&D stuff now but he published his books Priest and Thief before his current popularity. They're only on Amazon. Priest is amazing

@John Foley There's an option to get 75% in some territories if the books meets certain page count requirements/price points

@John Foley Oh...I received 75% for a couple of mine which are under KDP select. Perhaps it's limited to certain zones, as I said

That question is such a hard thing to overcome as a writer. I think it’s difficult to answer even if you do have a publisher backing you! What I will say is that-of course-everyone’s opinions are different. There are books that most people love that I hate, and books a lot of people think are mediocre that I love. As long as the mechanics are there and the general storytelling elements are good, then it comes down to preference, tone, and originality. Sort of! There’s more to it than that, but whatever path you go with, I hope you feel great with it 💕

@@papyrusm things have changed? I didn't know that...

Thank you so much! And yay for epic fantasy :D

Thank you-happy reading to you! And good luck with your writing 💕

Isn’t it so hard to decide?!? For the longest time I HATED the idea of self publishing. I’m glad I actually started doing research and stopped being so close-minded 😆

Thank you!!! 💜💜💜

Thank you-your support always means so much! I saw V.E. Schwab speak at an event I went to for the release of A Conjuring of Light, and was surprised to find out how much of a struggle it was for her. So often people only see the success, and they don’t actually realize how much work went into that or how much the author had to do to get where they are. Also, metaphorically is the best way to describe the cover situation 😆

Your last sentence reflects my feelings exactly. Actually, your whole comment does 😆 There’s definitely a reason self published authors aren’t taken as seriously, and while it can make it difficult for people to give us a chance, I don’t blame them in the slightest.

Thank you-I always appreciate your super :D I always thought I wanted to be traditionally published, but after doing a fair amount of research and seeing some negative things happen to some great authors, I decided self publishing would be best for me :)

Thank you!

Yay for both routes! Both of the people that were critique partners of mine before I ever had a channel want to traditionally publish. I love that both paths are an option 💕

You’re welcome :)

Isn’t that so interesting?!? I know Theft of Swords, which is a pretty popular fantasy series, was self published first. It’s really surprising how often that’s happening nowadays 😮 Good luck to your son! I’ll admit that I’m of course a little biased in this video, so my self vs traditionally published video might be a little more helpful. It’s mostly the same information, but I try to keep my opinion out of it 😊

Best of luck!!! 💗💗💗 I hope everything goes smoothly :)

@@ebnovels Thank you. 😃👍💝

I appreciate that even while V.E. Schwab has success with traditionally publishing, she’s still honest about the hurtles that she had to overcome to get there. I’ve found that both routes are good for various reasons and it’s important for people to do the research and weigh the pros and cons for themselves :)

Best of luck! Both options are difficult but-as you said-there’s definitely a place for both 😊

Thank you so much! That means a lot. I will always support aspiring authors no matter which route they want to pursue. Both are great and there’s merit no matter which path someone chooses 💕

Ohhh, it gets better as it goes!!! Keep me updated on it, cuz it gets a lot better/more interesting very quickly :D

@@ebnovels don't worry, I will do. I feel like they'll be good to read as a second book because I tend to binge read at the weekend and sometimes need a quick break from a story

I still haven’t read it! I found them super cheap at a local used bookstore and figured I’d snatch em, but I still haven’t gotten around to them yet 😩

Haha, some of those covers are...interesting 😆 I’m glad you found it honest-I tried to be upfront without being snobby 😮😮😮

@@ebnovels Haha they sure are! 😜 You were not at all snobby! In fact you honestly told that most of the self published authors aren't bestsellers!😊 But you will be, I'm sure😘♥

I unfortunately don’t know of a good place :/ Hopefully as I get further into self publishing I will!

Hopefully it’ll be available through multiple online retailers, but I’ll keep you updated! And I’m planning on having it available in as many countries as possible as soon as it’s out :)

Ohhh, and I love Red Rising so much! It’s funny cuz I actually really like those covers 😆 I’m glad you finally picked it up and enjoyed it! And thank you for the kind words in reference to my story :)

Exactly. I used to be so opposed to the idea of self publishing, but eventually that pros list became more appealing to me. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best!!! Also, keep killing NaNo! 😄

@@ebnovels yeah I'm so back and forth on this topic it's giving me whiplash lol. Thank you.

I’ll be announcing preorders as soon as they’re available! And the spine will have the main image from the cover as well as the series number and some of the smokey effect :) Also, no need to apologize!

@@ebnovels thanku!

I do think many people involved in traditional publishing want to make sure great stories are told, but it is a business. Making money has to happen for the business to continue, and I can’t fault them for choosing what they think will be the most profitable. That doesn’t change the fact that I want creative control over everything though! 😆

Nope! I’m going to make it available in as many countries as possible 😊

@@ebnovels will I be able to buy it in Greece, or at least though the UK?

Given that many authors have been open about the lack of control they’ve had within their contracts, it’s pretty clear that those situations do occur. Here’s something V.E. Schwab shares: veschwab.wordpress.com/category/publishing-2/ Here’s an interview with Judson Roberts about his experiences with a big publishing company: www.johndbrown.com/interview-with-author-judson-roberts/ So I have “seen what traditionally published authors” have to say. It aligns with what I’ve said in the video. Other authors will have nothing but positive experiences. However, not every author has that turnout, and thus it’s not misinformation to share the potential for a negative outcome.

Going off of Writing Excuses (Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Brandon Sanderson) and other Writing RU-vidrs who are traditionally published (bookishpixie, Kim Chance) I have come across far more people saying that this is a misrepresentation of the facts. All of the above that I wrote has come from published authors giving advice to others to help them avoid the problems you mentioned, since they are avoidable. A lot of this is also in Brandon Sanderson's BSU writing course that you can watch online with the intent of helping his students navigate traditional publishing. It's not misinformation to say it's a problem, but it's a common thing with self publishing authors to act like you lose all agency when you traditionally publish and that isn't true, nor is it a claim that comes from experience. It has the potential to scare people out of a choice that could be better for them and I don't think that's helpful or informative.

I’ve listened to the Sanderson lectures and they’re great. Every author has a different experience, and I mentioned multiple times in this video that there’s a reason many traditionally published books are better than self published books. You initially said “misinformation abounds” and it wasn’t clear if you meant in reference to this topic, or this video. If you’re referring to the video, then your most recent comment is admitting that the video isn’t misinformation as you said “it’s not misinformation to say it’s a problem.” If your referring to the topic itself, is that based on articles and websites you’ve seen filled with untrue statements? I’m not responsible for someone else’s decision when it comes to self or traditionally publishing. If a person watches one video about why someone chose one path over the other and does no other research, then is “scared” into the wrong path, that’s completely on them. This was a video about my choice, unlike the video I referenced at the beginning about a side by side comparison of the two paths, which is just that: a side by side comparison, without my personal opinion put in. This video about my choice is going to have a clear bias-I picked one over the other. I did not say anything factually incorrect, however, when it comes to the potential of certain outcomes. I’d like to reiterate that it’s a potential, and not a guarantee.

My point was and is that there is a lot of misinformation about agency in traditional publishing and that anything that adds to that with claims that self-publishing is the only way to have creative control is part of the problem. Clearly you aren't responsible for every other instance, but it also seems silly to act like an individual's actions don't matter when they contribute to a repeating narrative. Saying "this has been some people's experiences" does seem quite different than building up stories about cover art and editing that you have not experienced. If I'm a travel RU-vid channel and I say "I would never go to China because I just can't deal with all the filth and pollution," my speaking from lack of experience to push a negative image about something else is an action I am accountable for. That's where the difference between a valid warning and misinformation comes into play.

Can people have creative control while traditionally publishing? Yes. Do they sometimes (please note I said sometimes, not always) lose some creative control when traditionally publishing? Yes. Both statements are true, which you yourself admitted earlier when you said “it’s not misinformation to say it’s a problem.” You yourself said it’s a problem in that sentence. Doesn’t that mean you’re now contributing to the claim based on your logic? To be clear, I don’t actually think you’re doing that. I don’t think I’m doing that either. I think we both think both options are valuable in their own way. You just originally made a statement that I was spreading misinformation, which you then said wasn’t misinformation. The cover example is something that has happened. I brought it up as an example that-as was mentioned in one of the links I provided for you earlier-can occur. It doesn’t need to happen to me to be true. As for the China example, I don’t actually think that’s applicable here, but here’s my response to that: if an individual doesn’t want to visit a place because of something about it, then they aren’t obligated to go just because they have content about travel. If their reasons for not wanting to go were completely untrue, that’d be a problem. If their reasons were based on research they had done, and that research went against their preferences, then them expressing that in a video titled something like, “why I chose not to go to China” would be fine, so long as they didn’t say anything factually untrue.

I knew he was self publishing initially but didn’t realize he still was 😮

Elliot Brooks Yes- it has to do with the publisher wanting certain rights like ebooks or something. You could probably find his reasoning. He’s said it in a blog post or email or something. His wife his his editor and runs the business side of things and they agreed they’d make more money self publishing the three remaining from the six. I know he writes the entire series ahead of time each time as well.

I don’t think that self-published books are going to be better. There are definitely a lot of self-published books that aren’t good.

@@ebnovels It was the "higher chance of better content" that you said.

Hahaha, control freaks unite! And that’s awesome that you did all of that before!!! I’m always really envious of people who have those kinds of skills :)

@@ebnovels Well, I'm envious of your violin playing :^) btw, when I complete my cover I'll give you a peek. Do you have an address where I can send it?