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Polling the People – xpost

7 April 2009 6 Comments

I need advice, folks. As usual, again, and always – I respect your opinions, so feel free to… well, whatever.

Late last night, an idea of sorts burst (again) into what remains of my gray matter. It is a non-fiction writing/design project, but absolutely removed from what I usually write these days and leaning more towards what I was writing in the early bits of this decade.

It’s a selection of my old works on pagan crafting, cooking, rituals, etc. that have been expanded as I’ve grown while following my path, etc.

It’s definitely niche, with only a handful of publishers to choose to send to, and in fact, I’d probably rather just self-pub the stuff. It’s more of a ‘get it out of my system’ project, a ‘share this’ project than anything else. Well, and it’s unlikely that many folks are going to be that interested… LOL

So, a handful of questions for the people:

Should I self-pub?

And if so, Lulu, CreateSpace or ‘other’?

Should I use my trad name, over my current pseudo-pseudonym?

What do you think?

6 Comments »

  • Cate said:

    I’d try the handful of publishers first, but… I don’t think self-publishing non-fiction books have the same stigma as self pubbed fiction.

    # 7 April 2009 at 9:32 am
  • Kevin said:

    Considering it is a limited niche I don’t think self-publishing would be a huge deal. I’ve only experience with Lulu so I can only recommend that one.

    Personally, I’d try for some publishers first, and then go self-publishing route.

    I’d use your pseudo pseudo name :P

    # 7 April 2009 at 3:13 pm
  • KvN said:

    BTW I meant Jodi Lee. :P As opposed to your pseudo pseudo name Ivana Humpalot :P

    # 7 April 2009 at 3:14 pm
  • Michele Lee said:

    I don’t think it would hurt to self publish it to get the project out of the way, but I don’t think it would hurt to query those publishers either. Really the second path just takes longer and might end up at the same place either.

    I guess it depends on what you want out of it, a step in the career or a book in your name. I mean, self publishing is rarely a step to mainstream publishing, but if that’s not your intent and you just want something to shill and hopefully bring in a little money while you work on the more important stuff it’s a good option.

    # 7 April 2009 at 3:54 pm
  • Aaron Polson said:

    The self-publishing thing for a niche book isn’t a bad idea. Try a few publishers. Don’t cudgel your poor brain about it too much, though.

    Createspace gives you more profit but your distribution is limited (Amazon only). The initial cost for listings is a bit more with Lulu, but you can sell through more channels. I agree with Michele’s opinion (2nd paragraph) as far as reasons why.

    # 7 April 2009 at 4:32 pm
  • JodiLee (author) said:

    Little more info – the projects lend themselves better to the letter-size chapbook format, but could be squished into a large format paperback, if I put them all in one lump. Currently, the outline is working out at about 50 pages each, for 10 chapbooks.

    Thanks so much for your input, folks! *hugs* It means a lot that you took time to help out. :)

    Cate – I think you’re right. From all the conversations I’ve watched/eavesdropped on, it seems to be the genre fiction bunch that either detest or love (depending on personality..LOL) self-publishing.

    Kevin – My only issue with Lulu has been the shipping charges some folks run into. At one point, I was about to be charged over $100 just for two chapbooks (Parasitic Thoughts) to be sent to me. I see they’ve fixed that, for the most part, so… *shrug* We shall see.

    And x-P… I was thinking of using ierne LloerCariad. I save Ivana for weekends and full moons. ;)

    Michele – The biggest issue I’ve got in taking this to a mainstream publisher is the size. I don’t know if you’ve seen it or not, but size-wise, were I to combine it all into one project, it’d be kinda like the first edition of John Michael Greer’s Natural Magic. Depending on how I go about this, I may be getting in touch with you for pre-testing. :)

    Aaron – Have you guys worked with Createspace? I’ve been told they’re harder to work with and have botched more printings than Lulu ever has. And yeah, the distribution concept is far more interesting at Lulu.

    # 9 April 2009 at 5:26 am