A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Self-Publishing (Excerpt from Publishing for Smarties: Finding a Publisher)
Excerpt from Publishing for Smarties: Finding a Publisher Why Would You Want To Self-Publish As an acquisitions editor for a small publisher, I have sometimes received proposals that clearly indicate that an author would be better off self-publishing. Typically, just one or two exchanges with that author will make that preference clear. Such authors will want full control of the book—cover, title, release date, size of the book, and the like. They will often even say something like, “I can take care of the editing; I just need the press to do the marketing.” Well, frankly, the industry does not work that way. Any press that is going to market the book is not going to turn over full control to an author, and any author that thinks he or she can manage full control in a quality fashion is clearly a neophyte. If an author cannot detach himself or herself emotionally from the “baby” (the proposed book), then no kind of functional working relationship will be able to be buil