Now I Have to Make a Choice

I received the proof of The Mist of Allmharach today and now I just need to give the publisher a go ahead to have it on the market in both paperback and Kindle formats.

The decision I have to make is fairly basic – do I want to ‘self-publish’ this title or not.

Here is why there is a problem.  I began this novel 10 years ago and have put a great deal of work into it over the years.  A couple of years ago I re-wrote the entire novel from scratch and have put a huge amount of work into it.  I set it aside about a year and a half ago and went to work on a different fantasy novel which has been completed and is out to the good old slush pile.  In December I had this crazy idea to simply self-publish The Mist of Allmharach and sat down to take a look at it.  It was better than I remembered and my Friday readers group pushed me to spend some time on it.  I did and I found CreateSpace.com – a subsidiary of Amazon.com.  While technically a self-publishing company – it’s actually a ‘publish on demand’ operation.

I actually like the system CreateSpace.com uses where I maintain complete control over everything.  The onus of selling the book is on me and that may not be such a major obstacle. I have a few ideas on how to advertise it that are not the normal channels.

Okay, fine.  I received the ‘proof’ today and I’ll be damned, but it looks good.  All I need do now is authorize CreateSpace to release it and it will be on the market on AMazon.com and available to all other types of book sellers.

Now comes the dilemma.   I actually think it’s good enough to send to the major publishers and it may have a nice niche all its own.  I literally have begun that process.  I know with CreateSpace, I own all the rights and can pull it at any time for any reason.  That means if a major publishing house expresses interest, I can sell it to them.

The problem now is should I release the novel or should I hold it for several more months as I wait to hear back from some agents and publishers?  I do have another novel – Afterlife: Rebirth already out there making the rounds.  Should I toss out a second?

I guess I have a decision to make now.

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